You Belong Among the Wildflowers

The North Slope is approaching the peak of its growing season, so I've taken extra time during my last few days out in the field to take some photos of the wildflowers. There are tons of them, and most I can't identify, but I'll tell you what I do know.

Hedysarum alpinum. One of the most abundant species I've seen.

A member of the legume family.

Polygonum bistorta.

A member of the Pedicularis family.

Dasiphora floribunda.

Looks like a dandelion to me, but I'm not sure what it is.

An Aster of some sort.

Papaver mauconii. I believe it is a member of the poppy family.

Ledum palustre. Labrador tea is made from this plant.

Another Pedicularis.

Andromeda polifolia.

Aconitum delphinlifolium.

Chamerion latifolium, also known as Fireweed.

Dryas octopetala.

And last but certainly not least, the one that reminds me of Texas:

Lupinus arcticus, related to and resembling the Bluebonnet.

The Birds & the Bees

The days have been flying by up here at the station. Between taking over my friend Matt's insect collection responsibilities and continuing to help with the bird project, I have barely had time to catch my breath! I apologize for the long pause in updates, and to make up for it I will include some extra photos (and a video) in this post. Enjoy!

Remember my friend the ptarmigan? This is one that made a home near the boardwalk at one of our sites. I took this video because I wanted y'all to hear the ridiculous noise they make!

This is a female ptarmigan. She used to be white, but like many arctic animals changed her colors, or 'molted' to blend in with the summer scenery. The male (in video) will eventually change his plumage too.

This is a fox that hangs out around camp. One night, I was leaving the dining hall and he was moseying along just a few yards in front of me without a care in the world. We named him Gordon. His coat also changes with the tundra.

This is a ground squirrel that likes to sunbathe behind our lab. They are called 'sik-siks' by the natives because of the intense sound they make when approached. They keep a close eye on Gordon when he arrives at camp.

An owl we saw on the way to work one morning. (thats alot of w's)

This is a male Lapland Longspur. It is one of the species being studied for our project. They nest on the ground in the open tundra.

This is a Yellow Warbler that flew into one of our mist nets. He is not part of our study, but definitely one of my favorite species. We use these very fine nets along with audio playback of their songs to catch the birds. We need to catch them because we are measuring their hormone levels in response to 'stressful' situations.

This is a White Crowned Sparrow who is about to donate a blood sample. The procedure is very similar to human blood donation, and quite harmless to the birds. When a bird flies into the mist net, a sample must be taken within three minutes to read the 'base level' of the stress-response hormone. The bird is then placed in a cloth bag (very humanely) and allowed to sit for 30 additional minutes, until a second blood sample is taken to read the response hormone level. This helps us learn about what the birds do to survive in the case of a storm event or other stress-inducing stimuli.

Here's another kind of bird we see quite often, especially this time of the summer. Lots of busy scientists needing to access remote locations! Still waiting my turn...

So that storm event I was talking about? Yeah, this was taken on June 13! Who says it doesn't snow in the summer time? Fortunately for us, this white-out only lasted for about 12 hours, but these are the kinds of things that wildlife have to deal with at any given moment up here.

I wonder how many people have built a snowman in June...

This is probably why my Dad doesn't want to ride his motorcycle to Alaska.

But this is why he should! Nothing like the open road.

Talk about variable weather- it can be thunder storming one place and a beautiful day right next to it!

Sometimes there's just a little sprinkle here or there.

And sometimes, it all comes together in just the right way.

Scientific AND Social Experimentation

Now that I have completed one full week at a remote arctic research facility, I understand a great deal more about the mindset of its inhabitants and some details of the culture.

First of all, I would like to give a HUGE thanks to the staff here at the station. They are constantly finding ways to improve the quality of life and are definitely the oil that keep this engine running smoothly.

Secondly, I must express the escalating excitement I hold from spending only a short period of time working alongside scientists of all levels of experience and education. It is extremely encouraging to witness and be included in a collaborative effort and collective mind. I have enjoyed working hard every day to further my knowledge and ultimately contribute to mankind.

That being said, the intent of this post is to provide a greater insight into the social constructs of being in camp, as well as some finer details of our scientific goals.

It never occurred to me how large this state really is, especially since they always shove it in the corner with Hawaii.

This is one of the places I get to work at twice a week. The project I am working on has four different field sites, and while the weather is not always this nice, I do enjoy being outdoors.

When we arrive at a field site, we tend to several experiments. The goal of the project I work on is to understand how early or late snowmelts effect the plants, insects, and birds of the tundra. Different people are responsible for experiments that correspond to these different levels in the food chain, but we are ultimately a team and help each other often.

In addition to assisting with any given experiment, my assignment is to catch insects on the tundra. To do this, I dig a hole deep enough to make a plastic cup flush with the ground and pour a bit of ethanol in it. (the ethanol sends them to bug heaven but preserves their worldly bodies)

Once a week I set up 30 of these "pitfall" traps, and 48 hours later I collect them and bring them to the lab for identification. I was surprised to see how much the lab resembles an actual university science facility!

It's easy to get carried away working at Toolik, especially after observing the dilligence of my fellow researchers. However, it's nice to have a view like this to take a break to. That guy on the roof is called a ptarmigan, or more commonly an "arctic chicken".

These guys also hang out around camp. Known as arctic ground squirrels, they are slower (and plumper) than their tree-dwelling brethren.

Lemon butter chicken with fresh mashed potatoes and my own creation from the salad bar. The food here is impeccable. As if having every meal prepared for you isn't good enough...

How we keep our beer cold. (On the rare occasion we have time to enjoy one)

So it's not ALL work and no play- the wood-fired sauna is a great weeknight reprieve, and on Saturdays we have a bonfire until the wee hours of the morning. (this photo was taken well after midnight!)

While hard work is a staple at the station, so is eating well and enjoying the company. I have already met so many insightful people and have been amazed at their willingness to lend a helping hand to any task. I have learned so much in my first week, and I'm looking forward to what the next "sunrise" brings!

Down to Business

Here at Toolik, we are serious about our work. Scientists come here to conduct research on every kind of life that exists in the arctic. The one that I have the privilege of working for is Dr. Laura Gough, a plant ecologist who also teaches at UTA. She has not arrived yet, but a collection of her collaborators and students are here and we are busy as ever. In addition to maintaining the experiments already in place, it seems like there is a new one to work on every day!

Lab 2, shared between 10-15 people working on "LTER" (long term ecological research)

Our field truck. All of the vehicles here have at least one extra gas tank.

Jake, Shannon, & Matt heading out to one of the field sites. We had to park the truck and hike because of large snow drifts.

If you wore your rubber boots, no problem! I had hiking boots and gaiters, so I jumped across.

When the going gets tough...  (Matt had wet feet after this). If you click the image to zoom in you can see one of the tripods in the background. This unit collects temperature data, records bird songs, and takes pictures of snowmelt.

This is Shannon using a very expensive (over $30,000) machine to detect the "greening" of the tundra. We have specific plots set up at our field sites that we will be taking weekly measurements from.

More hi-tech gear! The solar-powered contraption is called a "mantis," and it takes measurements similar to Shannon's backpack. The hexagonal structures help accelerate the thawing of the tundra. This may help us get an idea of the effects of global climate change.

Jake and Jesse doing a "sweep-net" procedure to collect insects off of the tundra. We are especially interested in how the insects, birds, and plants interact.

This pvc pipe has "i-buttons" attached to it. These water-resistant sensors record the temperature every hour. At the end of the summer, we will take them down and use the data in our reports.

We never go anywhere in the field without bear spray!

This is a very brief view of the kinds of things we are doing. I will be posting more details about the experiments as soon as I get a chance!