This semester the UAV team is going to be working with the Fresno Discovery Center to create an exhibit that will be displayed to help children learn more about science. The Fresno Discovery Center has requested that the team work on an exhibit that will teach children about climate change and some of the dangers it poses. Our team will be discussing how climate change is affecting the permafrost in arctic regions and what these effects may mean in the long term for our environment.
Permafrost in the arctic regions is soil and portions of the earth that are frozen and stay frozen all year. Due to climate change and the rising of world temperatures, these permanently frozen pieces of earth are beginning to thaw. Normally, because these sections of earth are frozen, they would act as a sponge that traps in CO2 gas. The thawing of the permafrost has actually begun to do the opposite and release CO2 gas back into the air at a faster rate. This release of gas will accelerate the rise of global temperatures and in turn will thaw the permafrost faster repeating this cycle.
Our team’s goal is to create an exhibit to explain the dangers of climate change as well as how scientists are using newer technology to learn more about these changes and ways we can combat global warming. Scientists with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) are working on using drones to better survey the lands of the permafrost and taking data samples with the drones. This can help lead to new breakthroughs on how we can combat climate change and prevent the cycle of permafrost thaw and gas release.
