25 July 2008 What is everyone doing here? Part II

This entry introduces the other half of the young scientists of the Svalbard REU team along with their work here in Svalbard.

Maya Wei-Haas: A junior at Smith College in Massachusetts, Maya is majoring in GeologyThe science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is undergoing. and minoring in chemistry. She applied to the Svalbard REU project because ... "Why not? I am a geology fanatic, and love fieldwork! The Svalbard REU is an amazing opportunity to apply what you learn in the classroom to real world situations. I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to conduct my own research project, from collection of samples to playing with data sets." Her project title is "Relation of HoloceneThe time period beginning at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago and characterized by the development of human civilizations. climate evolution to sediment provenance in Kongressdalen, SpitsbergenSpitsbergen is the largest island in the Norwegian High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. To see a map of Spitsbergen and Svalbard click here., Svalbard." She states the goal of the project as "....through determining a chemical "fingerprint" for two rock types in Kongressdalen, I hope to analyze how the source of sediments into the lake changes through the HoloceneThe time period beginning at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago and characterized by the development of human civilizations.. I additionally hope to apply these changes in provenance to the HoloceneThe time period beginning at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago and characterized by the development of human civilizations. advance and retreat of Kongressbreen." After graduating from college Maya plans to attend graduate school to pursue a doctoral degree in geochemistry of biogeochemistry with hopes to work in academia or for the USGS. Her favorite college class was Coral Reefs and Carbonate Systems in the Bahamas, and her favorite high school classes were geometry and chemistry. She enjoys alpine skiing, running and sculpting among other things.

Jesse Burrows: Jesse is a non-traditional student who began his college career at a junior college in Santa Barbara after a few years of working. It was there that Jesse found geography and geology and after graduating, he enrolled at Northern Arizona University where he is majoring in GeologyThe science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is undergoing.. His project here is titled "Stable isotope investigations of the Linne GlacierA mass of ice that persists for many years and notably deforms and flows under the influence of gravity." and the goal of the project is to create a timeline of stable isotopes of the glacial ice to provide the paleoclimatic history of the ice. Jesse applied to the Svalbard REU program because it fit with his interest in geosciences and his love of field work and his love of exploration. After graduating from college he plans to attend graduate school to study Earth and Environmental Sciences. His hobbies include anything outdoors including camping, hiking, and bike riding. He's an avid reader and enjoys old movies.

Stephen Bate: Steve is a student majoring in Geography at Aberystwyth University, U. K. and University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Norway. He applied to the Svalbard REU program to "develop and become familiar with a variety of different paleo-environmental techniques." His project is titled "Reconstructing the Equilibrium Line Altitude of Little Ice Age Glaciers in Linnédalen," where the aim of the project is "to produce a reconstruction of the glaciers that would have once been present within Linnédalen and that have either now reduced in size or disappeared entirely." After college Steve plans on attending graduate school to pursue a PhD in either Quaternary or polar science. His favorite class in high school was geography and his favorite classes in college were anything Quaternary or polar related. Outside of his studies he loves sports like soccer, rugby and badminton. An interesting fact about Steve is that he spent some time in Romania teaching English!

Antoine Cousot: Antoine is a student at Open University, Oxford Brookes, U.K. where he is majoring in Geosciences and he is taking part in the Svalbard REU program as a student enrolled in the course called "HoloceneThe time period beginning at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago and characterized by the development of human civilizations. and Modern climate Change in the High Arctic" at UNIS. His project while enrolled in this course is titled "Influence of local weather conditions in the Linnédalen," with the goal "to show relationship/correlation between local weather conditions and Linnébreen mass balance." After finishing his coursework he plans to work 3 years in Norway before sailing to New Zealand and applying to a PhD program in marine geology, paleoclimatology or something similar. When not engaged in coursework, Antoine enjoys reading/writing, traveling, sailing...enjoying life with friends. An interesting fact about Antoine is that he has been sailing for the majority of his life, including a career of sailing new vessels to ports.

Leo Sold: Leo is a student at University of Tübingen, Germany where is majoring in Geography and Mathematics, and he is also taking part in the Svalbard REU program as a student enrolled in the course called "HoloceneThe time period beginning at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago and characterized by the development of human civilizations. and Modern climate Change in the High Arctic" at UNIS. He enrolled in this course because he wants to gain practical knowledge about global climate change so that he can properly educate his future students on this topic. Last semester he studied at the University of Oslo where he took courses like "Snow" and "Snow Hydrology." He loves being in the snow, and taking part in Svalbard REU allows him the opportunity to be in the snow in the summertime. His project here is titled "Snowmelt in Linnedalen" where the goal is to "quantify the amount of snowmelt in the spring in correlation to weather conditions, and perhaps transfer to river discharge." After completing his college studies he will start a career as secondary higher education teacher in Germany (ages 10-18).

Now that you have met all ten Svalbard REU students send them questions about their projects (methods, data collection) and their lives in the "Ask the Team" forum.