Variables

    All scientific experiments can ultimately be boiled down to two very concrete parts: the independent variable, or that which the experimenter manipulates (the treatment) and the dependent variable, or that which the experimenter collects data on (the result or response). In a lab, it is imperative that the experimenter eliminates as many confounding (or outside/other) variables as possible so that they can say with certainty that the outcome of the experiment was a direct result of the manipulated variable, as it is the only thing that differed from the control (comparison) group. For example, scientists make sure to control as many aspects of the lab as they can - make sure the lab is at constant temperature, all glassware is clean, precise measurements are used every time, gloves are used and not reused, timing is precise, etc. Most of the time, this is fairly easy for scientists to do - they use expensive technology, work in sterile environments and follow exact protocols. In the field, however, all bets are off.

    Doing science
    Even a trace amount of soil on your shoes could seriously throw off the data collected in an experiment.

    The Five Ps

    I often tell my students to remember the Five Ps when approaching any problem: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Before scientists head out to the field, days and days are spent preparing for every possibility. Data sheets are printed, tools are packed and shipped, protocols are written and rewritten and fingers are crossed that nothing is forgotten, as most field work occurs in remote areas where it is difficult to get materials if you run out. Scientists are highly organized and efficient - their whole job is based in problem solving, so the best way to do that is to be prepared, have the ability to think quickly and prioritize. Those skills are necessary when the field (i.e. Mother Nature and other things beyond your control) decides to throw a monkey wrench into your Plan A. And Plan B. And let's be honest...plan Z.

    Data
    Becky’s meticulous data sheets (on waterproof paper) to record observations in the field.

    Prepping for cores
    One of 4 coolers packed with some of the materials needed to remove soil cores from the tundra. The cores must be placed in coolers after harvesting to maintain their integrity.

    Science in the Field

    So what happens when you show up to your field site only to learn that there are new variables that you could not have possibly anticipated? You adapt. When the research team arrived at Toolik, they found out that a key component of their experiment could possibly be highly compromised due to environmental conditions. Modifications to the original experiment had to be made on the fly (this is why scientists spend years of coursework developing rich content knowledge) – with only the materials packed and shipped ahead of time. Remember my last post – Toolik is in an extremely remote location. When the team needed a way to contain the experiment in the tundra, it was Becky’s preparation that saved us. Thank goodness Becky had shipped lots of extra plastic tarps – no need for fancy equipment here…

    Dealing with the unexpected
    Dr. Lee Taylor installs a containment tarp in an experimental plot.
    Bringing materials to the field site
    All materials must be hauled up the tundra boardwalk to the field site.

    The TundraA treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs. Variable

    Even when adjustments to the experimental plan have been made, there is still one variable that can be planned for but not predicted for – the tundra itself. The thawing tundra soil creates conditions that are different from one plot to the next, which means the same experiment can take 2 hours in one plot and 4 hours in the next one. Remember that every step of an experiment is done with precision and accuracy to make sure that there are no confounding variables. Protocols are constantly refined to deal with the soggy soil, foggy conditions, nearly frozen (or highly thawed) soil, malfunctioning equipment – well, you get the idea. At the end of the day (and the past 3 days seem to have been never ending), scientists will do what ever they need to do to make sure that their experiment runs in the most controlled way possible – even if that means working 12-14 hour days, skipping meals and just. getting. it. done. So what is “it” anyway? Stay tuned for next journal post, when I outline exactly what Team Deep Roots is doing out here.

    It's never too late to keep working
    It’s 9:15 pm and we are just heading back from the field. Lots of sunlight = lots more time to work in the field.

    TundraA treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs. Soil Video

    Here’s a quick video I made in 2013 to show what slicing into the tundra soil is like. Make sure to listen for the squelch at the end.

    Author
    Date
    Location
    Toolik Field Station
    Expedition
    Weather Summary
    Cold, partly cloudy
    Temperature
    50 F

    Comments

    Cara Pekarcik

    Hi Nell - I am a PolarTREC teacher headed to Antarctica in 2 weeks! Thank you for this journal! I think it is so important for students to understand the nature of science - that it isn't always easy and that there are so many variables that cannot be controlled. I look forward to hearing about the actual experiment - especially to find out why you cannot where your shoes in the dry lab. I will have the same experience on the Nathaniel B Palmer because we are studying trace metals on a metal ship! Have a great time!

    kayla Richardson

    So for you to get a great performance, how long did it take you to prep for your experiment.

    Judy Fahnestock

    It sounds like you have had a couple of field-intensive days! The boardwalk is quite impressive at Toolik. How far do you have to walk to your field sites? And thanks for the video--great tundra extraction sounds at the end :)

    Taylor Davis (…

    Ms.Kemp i am an incoming 8th grader at Lindblom and i was wondering what could happen if external soil got into the facility .

    Alexis Thomas

    What is the purpose of you guys analysing of the organisms in the tundra soil?

    Alexis Thomas

    If outside soil did get into the lab what would be the steps of starting over and how much would it effect everything?

    asia foster

    What will happen if the tundra soil becomes effected from global warming.

    asia foster

    Is there a difference between hard and soft tundra soil and if there is do both have the same or different steps and results?

    Susan Steiner

    Sounds like you've been working super hard. Yes, doing science really brings home the process of science, and it is so much more important and interesting than any textbook ever conveys. Glad you guys had what you needed! Wondering if the skeeters are gone? I noticed you had a bare arm exposed with your watch! Hope you get time to enjoy a few good amazing Toolik meals!

    Elijah looper

    Do you know any scientist that don't prepare and make the plan up as they go and still are successful.

    Mia Palmer

    What is the worse thing that could happen in not being "prepared" enough? Will it end in messing up the whole experiment or your studies?

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Cara! Good luck in Antarctica! You will have a fabulous experience on the Palmer! I actually don’t know what is going on the Dry Lab (it’s not the lab we work on), but I am sure they must be doing something with trace minerals in the soil out here. Have a great trip, thanks for reading!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Cara! Good luck in Antarctica! You will have a fabulous experience on the Palmer! I actually don’t know what is going on the Dry Lab (it’s not the lab we work on), but I am sure they must be doing something with trace minerals in the soil out here. Have a great trip, thanks for reading!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Judy!I read somewhere that the boardwalks at Toolik total 8 miles, and I have a feeling our field site is ½ mile up the boardwalk from the main camp (although that is an extremely rough estimate). Needless to say, if you forget something once you’re up in the plots, it’s not a quick jog back to get it, so you often figure out how to proceed without it!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Taylor,
    Thanks for reading! That picture was not from our lab, so I'm not sure what is being studied in that particular facility. Since it did mention something about shoes, I have a feeling they might be investigating something about trace minerals in soil samples or something, but I'm really not sure.

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Alexis,
    Great question! The microorganisms in the soil are SUPER important to understanding the ecosystem, since they are the detritivores and decomposers that break down dead/decaying materials into simpler nutrients that the plants can access through their roots. Remember that everything in a ecosystem depends on each other, so without these microorganisms the plants wouldn't be able to grow. Another important thing to note is that in the process of decomposing material in the soil, these microorganisms release greenhouses gases like CO2 and methane which can have negative effects (warming) and positive effects (potentially increase photosynthesis in plants). Thanks for reading and asking this question!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Alexis,
    Taylor asked a similar question, so I've cut & pasted my response below:

    That picture was not from our lab, so I'm not sure what is being studied in that particular facility. Since it did mention something about shoes, I have a feeling they might be investigating something about trace minerals in soil samples or something, but I'm really not sure.

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Asia!
    Such a great question about tundra soil. There is absolutely a difference between soil types out here - there are a lot of different ways of characterizing the soil, but one of the big ones is to talk about the "active layer" which is typically warm, spongy, and full of roots and living things (so it's "soft") and then the harder mineral soil which can be pretty muddy and mucky and doesn't usually contain a lot of living things. The mineral soil is what typically sits above that frozen permafrost layer. I'll talk more about the tundra soil in a future journal post, so stay tuned!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Susan,
    Yes! We are mosquito-less now :) We do occasionally have some gnats/small flies to deal with that are pretty annoying because they fly into your mouth/eyes/nose...but at least they don't bite! I am also already putting on the pounds from the amazing Toolik kitchen - steak tonight!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Elijah,
    I don't think there is any scientist that would ever go into the field without preparing! I'm sure that there are times when they can't prepare as adequately as they'd like, but they still always have some sort of plan in place. The nature of science itself is problem solving, so scientists are pretty good at coming up with solutions to unexpected problems, but that is mainly because they are heavily prepared!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Mia,
    Yes! Being unprepared (not having the necessary equipment or materials) could definitely lead to huge problems in your experimental design. If you don't have the correct equipment to measure your samples and record your data, then you won't be able to draw accurate conclusions. Bottom line - BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING!!!

    alexis harvey

    Hi Ms. Kemp, what would will the soil from your shoes actually do to the tundra?

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Alexis,
    The soil from our shoes wouldn't damage the tundra, but it is a very fragile ecosystem and we don't want people walking all over it and destroying it. The tundra is very marshy and wet, so when people walk through it, a lot of the plants can be easily torn up and damaged. Since so many scientists are conducting experiments here every summer, the field station tries to protect the ecosystem from damage by laying out wooden sidewalks (called a boardwalk) built above the tundra itself.

    Hope this answered your question!

    Jonathan cruz

    why does wearing outside shoes affect the science?

    Jordan Beasley

    If the land/soil is frozen over, why is it so easy to cut through it? Is permafrost different than standard ice? Also how cold is it? Is it warm enough for there to still be green land?

    Amirah Ibrahim

    Can the same organisms in the Tundra Soil break down and do the same thing in external Soil?

    Amirah Ibrahim

    Just like Jordan asked how come it is so easy so easy to cut through if the soil is frozen? What is the organisms big purpose in the Tundra Soil?

    Olivia Jackson

    What kind of organisms are Miss Koltz analyzing and how do they impact the tundra?

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Jonathan,
    Someone asked a similar question, here's my response: That picture was not from our lab, so I'm not sure what is being studied in that particular facility. Since it did mention something about shoes, I have a feeling they might be investigating something about trace minerals in soil samples or something, but I'm really not sure.

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Jordan,
    To answer your question - think about cutting an ice cream cake. If you cut it when it's mostly frozen, it cuts a lot better than when it is mostly melted (then it's a soggy mess). The soil composition up here is a lot different then in Chicago (there aren't any trees, different plant types, etc) so that means it can get very swampy and mushy when the ice layer underneath starts to melt a bit. The permafrost is not ice - it's soil that remains frozen all year, but it above it there is soil in which plants grow (the active layer). The active layer soil above it is definitely warm enough for life - which is what we are picking through and looking at. We are trying to see what different plant roots are in that layer and how deep they go. I'll be posting a journal in the next day or two talking about that. Thanks for reading!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Amirah,
    A simple answer to your question is yes - there are LOTS of different organisms that break down dead material in soil. Those same organisms are found in the soil in Chicago, but they might have slight differences because of the environment here and different plant life, etc.

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Amirah,
    See my answers above - I think I answered them for you already!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Olivia,
    Dr. Koltz's experiment in 2013 was focused on the Arctic Wolf spider and the organisms they eat (https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/predatory-spiders-in-the-arctic-f…), mainly microscopic bugs called collembolans). The Deep Roots team (my current expedition) isn't that interested in the organisms in the soil, but rather the plant roots found in the soil - I will be publishing a journal post about it in the next day or two.

    Peyton Fox

    Hi, Ms. KempSince the thawing Tundra can create conditions that are different from one plot to another. Did the experiment ever take more time expected for it to take ?

    Susan Steiner

    Thanks for replying to mine and so many others' questions! I appreciate it and just got through reading your replies from my previous posts, so thanks very much. Glad to hear it's mosquito less and the food is still amazing.! You have lots of great student interest going on, and I'll hopefully be adding mine in next week, if they only get to catch a couple of your journals they will learn a lot!

    Kyla Willis

    Why would the environmental conditions compromise the key component of the experiment?

    Karabo Muhammad

    What information do you get from slicing the tundra soil.

    Karabo Muhammad

    Is there a difference between the soil in Illinois and the soil in the tundra? If so what is the difference.

    Lennox Lyles

    how do hard and soft tundra soil differ?

    Nell Kemp

    Peyton,
    I'm so glad you picked up on that! Yep, one day we were working from 8 am to 10pm in the field because some plots just took a lot longer than others. The thing about field work (especially in a remote location) is that you only have a set amount of days that you can work – which means you work in the rain, or cold, or hot sun – and you work for as many hours as it takes. Since the thawing varies from one plot to the next, that means you can have a general estimate of how long something should take, but you really don’t know. Mother nature keeps us on our toes!

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Kyla,
    It’s not that the conditions “compromise” the experiment, it’s just that you can’t control or predict what the soil conditions might be. We have a general idea what the permafrost soil conditions are, but if it was particularly wet spring or there are a lot of rocks under the active layer, etc., that can affect the outcome of the experiment. For example, in a future journal I will be talking about how we conducted the actual experiment, and we had some difficulty in plots that had a lot of shrubbery and/or particularly wet/muddy soil.

    Nell Kemp

    Great question! Stay tuned and I will explain the full experiment and what information we are gaining from these tundra samples in a later journal post.

    Nell Kemp

    There is absolutely a difference, the main one being that the soil here is above the permafrost. This permafrost layer limits the types of plants that can grow here (no deep roots can form, so no trees), which then impacts the amounts of certain nutrients, water drainage, etc.

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Lennox,
    Asia asked a similar question, so I've cut & pasted the response I wrote her below:

    "There is absolutely a difference between soil types out here - there are a lot of different ways of characterizing the soil, but one of the big ones is to talk about the "active layer" which is typically warm, spongy, and full of roots and living things (so it's "soft") and then the harder mineral soil which can be pretty muddy and mucky and doesn't usually contain a lot of living things. The mineral soil is what typically sits above that frozen permafrost layer. I'll talk more about the tundra soil in a future journal post, so stay tuned!

    Nell Kemp

    I know!!! I am so impressed by my students and their great questions that I have really made it a priority to answer them as completely as I can. I'm hoping that I can keep it up for the rest of the expedition!

    Noel sim

    do you know if there is a true difference between wearing new shoes and old shoes on the treatment?If so why

    Nell Kemp

    Hi Noel,
    As I stated in a previous answer, that picture wasn't from our lab so I don't actually know what the scientists were doing or why having soil on your shoes would impact their experiment.

    Brian Pugh

    Hi ms kemp. Do some of these organisms in the soil still decompose prehistoric animals?

    Kendall West

    Hi Ms. KempHave any of the results ever been corrupted at the Toolik Field Station by mistake? If that were to happen, what would be the protocol?

    Kendall West

    Hi Ms. KempHave any of the results ever been corrupted at the Toolik Field Station by mistake? If that were to happen, what would be the protocol?