Ice Spider
Soil Dynamics So know that you know a little bit about the tundra and the permafrost, it seems appropriate to explain how Amanda Koltz’s research connects to the permafrost and the tundra. As…
Drunken Trees in Taiga
Tundra When I teach my students about the tundra biome, I usually tell them to think of it as a “cold desert.” There are no trees and the precipitation is relatively low (and it is mostly in the…
Arctic Circle
The Journey of 3,816 miles begins with a cab ride Hauling my 55lb bag down 3 flights of stairs to a waiting cab at 6:15 am is a great way to start your morning, right? Well maybe not, but it was…
Luna? Salario?
What’s in a Name? As the school year starts to wind down and my expedition date quickly approaches, I realize that our ever present class mascot is still nameless! In my previous post, I asked my…
Toolik Field Station
Loon Calls Last week in class, my students were learning about the byproducts of coal burning power plants. We were investigating how mercury can end up accumulating in the tissues of water birds…
Scientific Discoveries
The Many Colors of Ice Science is about making mistakes and seeking answers - don't be afraid of the unknown! Dr. Erin Pettit, who will be working with Yamini Bala on the West Antarctica Ice Sheet…
Northern Lights
So This is What 5° Looks Like! You never know what technology is going to do in the cold. Sometimes you just have to go with it. Orientation Day 2: Information Sponge The majority of the day…
Bone Carving
I'm spending the summer WHERE? Alakan native. I don’t think I’ll run into her this summer at Toolik Field Station. Holy cow. When I was selected to become a PolarTREC teacher, I was excited…