It’s been 9 ½ months since we sampled the White Spruce trees near Mancha Creek. During that time the samples have been stored at the Tree Ring Lab at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory near New York City. The cores taken from live trees and the ‘cookies’, slabs taken from ‘sub-fossilized’ (aka downed and dead) trees, were planed and sanded so that the rings and ring patterns were easily discerned under the microscope. A technician spent countless hours counting the rings and measuring the width of each ring, compiling an extensive database from all of our samples. This week I visited to the lab to meet with Kevin Anchukaitis to review the data that has been obtained and to learn how that data will be used to further analyze our changing climate.
Here's a box of processed tree '...
What does a PolarTREC teacher do when they have 10 days to fill in Alaska between expeditions? The hardest part of this question is deciding just where to spend those days. I chose to explore South-Central Alaska and headed down to the Kenai Peninsula with my husband to explore the world of glacier and ocean--two environments that are non-existent in Colorado.
The perfect Alaska view; fireweed, mountains, and snowfields.
The trip began with a long drive to Seward, almost 400 miles south of Fairbanks. Seward was named after William H. Seward, who was Lincoln's secretary of State and was responsible for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. It is now a major fishing and tourist center, surrounded by spectacular peaks rising from the ocean. It is also a great spot to...
We're back in Fairbanks where the electrons flow like water (or, perhaps, just like electrons!) from that funny little thing that is attached to the wall of my dormitory room here at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks campus. Today is a day for drying and re-packing gear, catching up and updating journals and photographs (I will be adding some pictures and 'new and improved' text to some of the journals), and relaxing.
The electrons flow like water!
The transition from the field to what some call the civilized world is often a bit abrupt. It is even more abrupt when you are magically transported from the proverbial middle of nowhere to the relatively middle of somewhere known as Fairbanks in the matter of 5 hours. The miracle of concentrated fossil fuels! It's certainly a bit...
Our weather has taken a decided change for the wetter, with occasional rain showers and gray clouds replacing our searingly sunny days. So, what can you do on grey days? If you're a dendrochronologist, like we are (well, two of us are dendrochronologists-in-training), you make cookies. Now, these are not some kind of special tundra chip wonder made from some crazy blend of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. These cookies are made from trees using sharp folding saws and a little bit of upper bodywork.
Kevin Anchukaitis and his special japanese folding cookie cutter.
We are cutting our cookies from what is called sub-fossilized wood. This is, to me, funny dendro-speak for wood that is dead and lying on the ground. Since most of this wood will rot long before it has any chance of...
It's a beautiful evening as I sit on here on the gravel at the edge of Mancha Creek. I'd include a picture for you, but it takes too many of those precious electrons to download pictures from my camera, sort and prepare them, and send them off through the ether. So you'll have to use your own imagination tonight. Don't worry--I'll add lots of images once we return to Fairbanks next week. (NOTE: somehow this journal didn't post while I was in the field, so I am re-posting it with all the bonus pictures I promised!)
Here's the view from my creekside writing perch. The light is beautiful at 10pm as the sun makes its way along the horizon.
It's about 58F right now with a slight breeze. My little handheld Kestrel weather station puts it around 3mph. Almost enough to keep the...
While I know that there's a lot interest in the science we are doing, I also know that many people just want to know the nuts and bolts of our daily routine; where do we stay, what do we eat and drink, and how am I able to communicate with you from the heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness?
Well, last things first. I like to call my set-up "Circuit City". I have never gone on a camping trip with so many electronic 'toys'. I have a laptop computer, a satellite phone, a solar panel, a digital camera, and a pile of cords and connectors. I write my journals in a notebook, then type them on the laptop, download the day's photos from my camera, and create a series of emails with the journal and separate ones for each photo I want to include. The photos are resized to...
After a day spent drilling holes in White Spruce and extracting cores, I can honestly say that coring is not boring. Our plan for the day was to explore the slopes across from our camp, taking samples from trees on two different slopes. We had a sumptuous breakfast of instant oatmeal with fruit and nuts plus the caffeinated beverages of our choice (I'm a tea drinker, Kevin and Angie are coffee people--what does that say about each of us??). After breakfast we packed up and set off for the day with our daypacks loaded with tools, water, snacks, and extra clothing. Don't forget the DEET and bear spray, as well!
Kevin and Angie study the map as we make a plan for the day.
Getting to the site involved crossing the braided channels of Mancha Creek a couple of times, followed by a little...
As I write this while I sit in my tent, the sun is shining, Mancha Creek burbles gently nearby, and it's almost 10pm! It was quite a journey to get here today to our study site in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Our journey started at the Fairbanks Airport, with a flight run by Wright Air Services. Before we loaded the flight, everything had to be weighed--including us! Our crew of 3 and all our gear weighed in at 740 pounds. It's amazing how it all adds up. Maybe we shouldn't have gone out for delicious Thai meals the past two nights!
Welcome to Arctic Village, Gateway to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
We flew from Fairbanks to Ft. Yukon, stopping there to let off 2 passengers. Then we continued north to Arctic Village, we met up with our pilot, Kirk, for the next leg...
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory researcher Kevin Anchukaitis and I arrived in Fairbanks around midnight on July 3rd. By the time we had collected our bags and found the rental car, it was July 4th. There were even a few fireworks going off as we drove to our dormitory accommodations at the University of Alaska. Seeing the fireworks reminded me of arriving here near midnight back in February for PolarTREC orientation. In February, however, it was dark and there was a hint of the Aurora Borealis in the night sky. Now, it was still light at midnight and a few sporadic fireworks displays were visible. Somehow, fireworks aren't quite as thrilling when it isn't dark out!
The view from the campus in February.
The view from campus is quite a bit different than it was in February.
The...
Every once in a while, you meet a person who has a truly unique mission in life. Some people try to climb every peak or raft every river, while others might focus on reading all the works of a particular author or seeing every species of bird in the world. My friend Shan has what might be termed the 'tastiest' mission--he bakes and sends cookies along with all his world-travelling friends. He even has a cookie-log, where he keeps track of all the cookies he has sent out over the past 25 years!
Here's a few tasty statistics. Shan has baked and sent over 500 dozen cookies to all 7 continents. I was lucky enough to have a few dozen with me when I went to Antarctica 8 years ago. He has also given my husband and I cookies when we've gone rafting in Idaho and through the Grand Canyon....
While preparing for my upcoming trip to Alaska, it seems like a good idea to spend some time in a tundra environment. So, with that in mind, I've been venturing out and up in my big backyard. I live where there is ready access to high peaks and stunning vistas. There are many local trails that will lead me up and up to 12,000 feet. This year, due to an 'extended' spring (there was fresh snow on the peaks just last week), access to the high country has been a little difficult. But, with perseverance, and a bit of snowy walking, I have managed to hike to some of my favorite spots to check out the scenery and see how spring is progressing up high.
Enjoying the view. It was a cold and windy day!
There are some fundamental differences between the alpine tundra and arctic tundra. First...
The San Juan River is in my blood. If you've been following Paula Dell's journals from Antarctica, you already know about the ice fish that have no hemoglobin in their blood. Well, sometimes I think that if you were able to analyze my blood, you'd find one part San Juan! While I've floated down many rivers, the San Juan is the all-time best. It's got beautiful canyons, incredible archaeology, and is incredibly 'user-friendly', with only a few rapids--none of them death-defying. I'm here rafting for 3 days with a group of 8 friends. We met near the town of Bluff, Utah to launch our boats and set off down the river. We'll take out tomorrow at Mexican Hat, Utah, 28 miles downstream. This is day 2 of our trip. So far we've had incredible sunshine, hot temperatures, and plenty of water...
This spring our weather in Colorado has been, to put it kindly, schizophrenic. We have swung madly between winter and summer, with everything in-between. My mantra throughout the months of April and May was "It's warmer and sunnier in Fairbanks", as our snowpack increased and apricot blossoms froze. While the thermometer rose and plummeted I continued planning for my upcoming trip to the north.
Planning takes many forms. Thus far, much of my so-called 'planning' has been to get outside in a variety of weather conditions to put into practice the adage that 'there's no bad weather, only bad clothing'. One weekend foray took me to the desert for a quick backpack on our one warm weekend in mid-May. It was a joy to escape from the white backdrop of the mountains and backpack into our...
This past week I traveled to New York City to meet with my research team at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). The LDEO is located in Palisade, NY, approximately 30 minutes from the heart of Manhattan, but seems to be a world removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. The campus sits on an old estate that was once a weekend residence for Thomas Lamont and now, according to the lab's website, houses a "leading research institution where more than 200 research scientists seek fundamental knowledge about the origin, evolution, and future of the natural world". Certainly not a small task!!
Welcome to the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
In July I will be travelling with researchers Kevin Anchukaitis and Brendan Buckley to the headwaters of the Firth River to assist them...
What do you need to know and do to be safe while working in Arctic environments? Polar Services Company, the folks responsible for all the logistical details that make research in the Arctic run smoothly, feel that this is important information for researchers headed to work in the Arctic. They feel so strongly about this that they have created a 2-day class to help researchers identify and address specific safety issues that come with working in remote and cold climates. Instructors Allan O'Bannon and Kate Koons covered everything from how to fix yourself if things go wrong (basic first aid) to how to not have things go wrong at all (risk management).
We began the course with a review of first aid basics and patient assessment protocols. This is the point where you size up the scene,...
Today was mostly about logistics. I found a variety of definitions of logistics on the Internet, but the best one is: Logistics - The science of planning, organizing and managing activities that provide goods or services. -- (MDC, LogLink / LogisticsWorld, 1997). What’s involved in the logistics for a PolarTREC experience? Planning and practice.
Practice makes perfect.
Communication is foremost, since that is a cornerstone of the PolarTREC program as we send out reports from remote locations at either ends of the earth. In order to be able to communicate, we’ve learned how to upload our journals and pictures onto the PolarTREC website. Some of the Polar TREC teachers will be working and living in locations with reliable, fast access to the Internet. I will be at a remote camp in...
It’s a Field Trip!!
Today we were rewarded for being diligent, hardworking students. We piled in the van and went on a field trip. Teachers like field trips as much as students!! We had two destinations; the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North and the Reindeer Research Program. You know you’re in Alaska when the exhibit sign outside a museum is made of ice!
At the Museum of the North, even the current exhibit sign is made of ice.
The Reindeer Research Program, started in 1981, focuses on developing a viable reindeer industry in Alaska. Using reindeer that originally came from Russia, they have developed a breeding program at the Farm as well as working with native villages in the Seward Peninsula as they create viable reindeer herds for meat production and sales.
How are...
Why do we journal? What is the value of creating and posting daily journals on the PolarTREC website? How do we make our journals interesting, informative, engaging, and just plain enticing? Who is reading our journals? Whose face do we see while we write those daily journal entries? Finally, is writing a journal about writing journals like looking into a mirror while looking into a mirror while looking into a mirror?
The journals are the heart and soul of the PolarTREC experience. They are a way to communicate with the varied audience who may be avid followers of your expedition or may just have stumbled upon the website quite randomly through an act of Google magic. In our journals we attempt to communicate the science behind our daily activities. It is our job to make the...
Imagine spending a snowy Sunday in Fairbanks, Alaska with a group of incredibly talented, experienced, and passionate teachers. This wasn’t just any group of teachers. This particular group has been selected to be the 2011/12 PolarTREC cohort. We have come from all over the United States and from a variety of educational venues with one goal in mind; to learn the way of the PolarTREC warrior. It is a winding and twisting pathway, facilitated by the staff of PolarTREC and supplemented with sessions taught by PolarTREC teacher alumni.
Today we had an overview of the PolarTREC program, its goals and objectives, the history of the program, and what our roles will be as teacher/researchers. Over the next few days we will be learning about the technology we will be using to communicate...
