Shrubs Snow and Nitrogen in the Arctic

Update

Now Archived! PolarConnect event with Svea Anderson and Dr. Donie Bret-Harte from Toolik Field Station on 13 August 2018. You can access this and other events on the PolarConnect Archives site.

What Are They Doing?

Willows along the bank of Toolik Lake. Toolik Field Station, Alaska. Photo by Regina Brinker.

Ecosystems develop and change through interactions between living things and their physical environment. A shift in vegetation is one of the most important changes an ecosystem can experience, because it can alter exchanges of energy (originating from sunlight), water, and elements such as carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) between air, plants, and soil. In the Arctic, a widespread shift from tundra to deciduous shrub-dominated vegetation appears to be occurring.

This project will assess contributions of different shrub feedbacks to carbon and nitrogen cycling, and improve predictions of the consequences of shrub expansion in the Arctic for regional and global climate.

Where Are They?

An aerial view of Toollk Field Camp with the Brooks Range in the background. Toolik Field Station, Alaska. Photo by Regina Brinker.

The research team was based out of Toolik Field Station, an 8-10 hour drive north from Fairbanks, Alaska. Toolik Field Station is operated by the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has hosted hundreds of researchers and students every year since 1975. The team will drive to an additional field site ninety miles north of Toolik Field Station.

Latest Journals

22 August 2018 Leaving Toolik

A week ago I drove away from Toolik, down the Dalton Highway, back to Fairbanks and eventually traveled back home. My co-pilot slept almost the entire time so I had 8.5 hours to reflect on the expedition while navigating the often one lane dirt road that winds around mountains and has potholes the…

Read Journal 0

13 August 2018 Sagwon Field Site

Just because the pluck is over doesn't mean that there isn't work to do! On Saturday we headed to the Sagwon site 90 miles North of Toolik. Driving on the Dalton Highway is always an experience and sort of like the old video game Frogger where instead of dodging cars, we dodge potholes. After…

Read Journal 1

10 August 2018 Now What??

What an incredible few weeks I have had! The pluck ended earlier this week after eight days of carefully removing plants from earth. Eight days and fourteen people sitting around a table working from 9:00 am to at least 5:00 pm, if not later. The plants were then put in one of six scientific ovens…

Read Journal 25

6 August 2018 The Last Day of Plucking

Plucking is hard work! It requires attention to detail and long hours. Today is day eight of the work. We have worked nonstop since last Monday, somedays even until 10:30-11:00 at night. Plant identification is harder if the plants are dried out, so once we start a quadrat, it has to be finished…

Read Journal 32

Project Information

Dates

22 July 2018 - 15 August 2018

Location

Toolik Field Station, Alaska

Project Funded Title

Collaborative Research: Shrub Impacts on Nitrogen Inputs and Turnover in the Arctic, and the Potential Feedbacks to Vegetation and Climate Change.

Expedition Map

Journal Map

Journals

Meet the Team

Svea Anderson - Educator

Educator

Agua Caliente Elementary School

Svea Anderson is a 6th grade Science and Math teacher at Agua Caliente Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to teaching sixth grade, Svea is also the Tanque Verde Unified School District’s STEM Coordinator, a Mentor Teacher for Pima County’s STEMAZing Project, and a Lead Ambassador for a collaboration between the Arizona Science Teachers Association and the Arizona Department of Education. Svea has a BS from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her Masters in Education from Antioch New England University in Keene, New Hampshire.

Svea enjoys spending time with her family outside in the desert environment, hiking, bike riding, traveling, and playing disc golf.

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Syndonia Bret-Harte - Researcher

Researcher

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Donie Bret-Harte is a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Dr. Bret-Harte is a plant community and ecosystem ecologist who examines how global climate change affects arctic vegetation composition and nutrient cycling.

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Shrubs Snow and Nitrogen in the Arctic Resources

STEM Report-Svea Anderson

The PolarTREC Field Experience

PolarTREC has been an incredible experience for me, both professionally and personally. The expedition and experience have shifted the way I teach about science in the field and how I approach this with the students. It has also reiterated the fact that I am educating my students to think critically and ask testable questions. This experience

Resource Details

Report

Arctic

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Arizona Sonora Desert Museum Teacher Appreciation Night: PolarTREC presentation

On 25 August, teacher Svea Anderson gave a presentation on the highlights from her PolarTREC expedition at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum at their annual Teacher Appreciation Night.

ASDM PolarTREC Presentation — Svea Anderson presenting at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ

Resource Details

Presentation

Arctic

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All Aged

n/a

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PolarConnect Event: Svea Anderson with the Shrubs, Snow and Nitrogen in the Arctic Research Team

Teacher Svea Anderson and researcher Dr. Donie Bret-Harte discuss research from Toolik Field Station on Shrubs, Snow and Nitrogen in the Arctic. This event was broadcast live on August 13, 2018.

Resource Details

Event

Arctic

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