On 1st March 2009 three intrepid polar explorers, Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley, set out on foot on a gruelling trip across the Arctic ice cap. The aim of their expedition, known as the Catlin Arctic Survey, was to gather data on ice thickness that will help to predict when the North Pole sea ice cover will melt, an event that will have dramatic consequence for the Arctic ecosystem and the Earth's climate as a whole. 

The current issue of our Plus online magazine brings you the result of a collaboration with Arctic Survey Education, who commissioned Plus to produce mathematics and science enrichment material for ages 14 to 19 (key stages 4 and 5). The material consists of three "toolkits", focussing on some of the science that underlies the Catlin Arctic Survey.

The free toolkits look at climate and sea ice models, GPS and cartography, how to predict future climate trends, and how to present statistical evidence, giving readers the chance to see familiar science and maths applied to real-life problems. Each toolkit is made up of a background article and two worksheets with guidance notes for teachers. The overview article can be read on its own, or used as motivational material for the two worksheets. The worksheets are designed to promote group discussion of the topics, as well as provide hands-on activities.

You can also read more about maths and climate change in the Plus article on Maths and climate change: the melting Arctic, focusing on the work of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge, or learn more about the Catlin Arctic Survey in the Plus article On thin ice.