Last night the weather came in with a vengeance and the snow piled up rapidly. We were happy to finish our day in the field before it got too nasty. After a couple of hours, there was enough snow to make a snowman-or better yet- a snow squirrel !
Team Squirrel on the move
Our snow squirrel melted a little, but still greeted everyone for breakfast.
The next day was a spectacular blue-bird day and an awesome one to be in the arctic. Team Squirrel has now gained a new member. We have welcomed Victor Zhang to our fold. Victor is a junior at University of Illinois, working as a Research Experience Undergraduate (REU) this is an excellent program for college students to get research experience. The REU's also are paid a stipend, and will conduct their own research project under the guidance of Cory Williams.
Cory and Victor in the lab
Our other Team Squirrel member, Kate Wilsterman was an REU student last year, and is now a research assistant this year. The REU program is a great way to open some doors to future experience and a career in science. Any college students should look into it. For high school students, it will only be a few years and you too could be a part of an amazing opportunity like this. The research experiences take pace all over the nation and internationally, and are funded by the National Science Foundation.
Undergrad researchers Kate and Victor. Their future's so bright they gotta wear shades!
One of the great things about working here at Toolik is the sense of collegiality, and purpose of the people here. There are around 70 people in camp, of wide range of ages, at least 6 nationalities, from numerous colleges and universities. There is no one under 18 here right now, but in a couple of days a group of 8th graders is visiting. More on that group later, it should be fun. They will get a chance to see some of the many science projects taking place here. There are experiments on water chemistry, voles, nesting birds, river flows, food webs, plant growth with global warming, atmospheric chemistry, carbon emissions from the tundra, and of course, circadian rhythms in arctic ground squirrels. Another cool thing is that each of these projects has a range of different people involved. For example our team has our PI Cory, who is a post-doctoral research position at University Alaska , Anchorage. He works for his supervisor Loren Buck. Kate, is an assistant, victor an REU, myself a Polartrec teacher. Soon, we will be joined by Jeanette Moore, who is a research professional at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Our team is not unlike any of the other science groups here. We are all supported by an outstanding group of Toolik staff including cooks, mechanics, EMT's, construction and maintenance people. This is the way modern science works- a true team effort!
Snow textures on the tundra
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