Sorry!!!
Sorry for the delay in the journals...the internet system crashed last night as I was just about to enter my journal. Seriously!
Data collection site at the Barrow Environmental Observatory. Notice the black, plastic matting to keep us scientists from destroying the tundra plants
Yesterday, Elliot and I went out to the fourth and final site we will be testing this summer, a basin in the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO). The BEO is a research preserve that encompasses almost 7,500 acres of arctic tundra here in Barrow. The research preserve was and is the site of many different year-round research projects. One of the nice things about this site is that there is a boardwalk and a wheelbarrow we can use to lug the 40-50 pounds of equipment out to the site. Part of the boardwalk is wood, while the other part is plastic matting laid down so the tundra does not get destroyed by all of the researchers going back and forth to their sites. The other great thing about this site is the methane shed! The methane shed is only about 20 feet from our data collection site and is a heated shed where other groups store their methane collecting equipment. I am so excited I can sit inside during the 4.5-5 hours that I have to collect data at that site.
The boardwalk and methane shed at the Barrow Environmental Observatory. The shed is a great place to warm up in between data collections!
Cove's Research
Cove using his purple jackhammer, haha No, it's actually an instrument that measures the amount of moisture in the soil
One of the other grad students doing research here in Barrow is Cove Sturtevant from San Diego State University and University of California - Davis. Cove is erecting towers that collect a myriad of data at many different aged basins on the tundra. He is looking at gas levels, wind direction, productivity of the plants, radiation from the sun, moisture in the soil, and temperature. The towers are pretty elaborate and remind me of the Number 5, the robot from Short Circuit (classic 80's movie). So of course I had to quote Number 5, "Hey laserlips! Your momma was a snow blower!" I remember when I was younger and my sister and I just repeating that over and over again, especially if we saw a snow blower. If you have never seen Short Circuit, make sure you do!
Is that Number 5, the robot from the movie Short Circuit?!?!? No, it's Cove's data collection tower! (in robot voice, quoting the movie) Hey Laserlips...your momma was a snow blower! hahahaha
Back to the important stuff… Cove was showing me some of the data he has collected (see graph below) and his findings were VERY shocking to me. Right now there is 24 hours of sunlight. Remember photosynthesis is the process plants use to turn sunlight into chemical energy, which is ultimately how we as humans get our energy to survive. Raise your hand if you believe that since there is 24 hours of sunlight there would be 24 hours of photosynthesis going on in plants. Common sense says that plants would photosynthesize whenever there is sunlight. However, according to Cove's data and the graph below, the incoming photosynthetically active radiation shows that at certain points of the day there is barely enough radiation for the plants to do photosynthesis.
Cove's graph that shows that there are times during the day, even though there is 24 hours of sun here in Barrow, when there is barely enough radiation for photosynthesis to take place! Shocking!!!
The graph shows the level of photosynthetic radiation fluctuating throughout that the day and as it gets closer to zero there is hardly any photosynthesis going on at all. SHOCKING! Makes you go hmmmmm… Are there other examples in science where the results go against common sense?
Sticker Shock!
Last night Elliot left Barrow to fly back to Cornell; I am on my own from now on collecting the data for his study. We had a going away dinner at Osaka and then went to the library and the grocery store. At the library I got a library card and it had a polar bear, snowy owl, and 2 Inupiat children on the front! At the grocery store, the sticker shock still astounds me! $3.45 for a box of Mike-n-Ikes candy (yes that is the small box)! $3.55 for 1 can of Spaghettios! $7.16 for a loaf of bread - and since there are no bakeries in town and has to be flown here, it's not the freshest loaf on the planet! $9.54 for a box of Life Cereal! Craziness!
Fact of the Day
Yesterday's Fact of the Day Answer: What is the warmest temperature ever recorded in Alaska? Hint: People in the continental states might be feeling this temperature this week! 93 Degrees Fahrenheit
Today's Trivia: What is the coldest temperature ever recorded in Alaska? Hint: There was a blizzard over much of the US during this year…the last two digits of the year will help you with the coldest temperature ever recorded.
One of the many sightseeing helicopters that fly in and around Barrow
Inuit Word of the Day
Yesterday's Word: Aput = Snow! We had a lot of this so far this year in Ohio - not so much during the summer though because it's too warm,
Today's Word: Quisuktunga - Hint: This phrase is good to know in any language!!! What is the word of the day?
Please take 2 seconds and reply with your guesses to the fact of the day or Inuit word of the day in the "Ask the Team" section link below:
http://www.polartrec.com/forum/microbial-activity-in-thawing-arctic-permafrost/fact-of-the-day-or-inuit-word-of-the-day-guess