Today in camp
The fog rolled in sometime in the early morning hours. It was very thick and stuck around most of the day.
Today we spent the day continuing our set-up of the lab and ensuring that everything was ready to go for field sampling. We cleaned out an air filter, changed a cracked lens in a microscope and figured out the labeling and data collection system for samples.
Byron Crump and Sarah Nalven working in the lab to get the sampling bottles prepared and ready for the next day.
It is extremely important to plan out data collection and have a system for keeping track of everything because they will have hundreds of samples per field season. If you mis-label or forget to label one, you may have lost valuable data. Planning ahead and organization, two key components of the scientific method and data collection.
Candle Ice
You can see the shore of Toolik and the candle ice against the docs.
Before dinner Byron, Sarah and I took a walk down to the shore of Toolik to check out the candle ice. It only lasts for a few days as the lake is melting. It is quite a unique sight and sounds like broken glass as it moves around. I don't completely understand why it forms, but I will ask some questions and see what I can find out.
Byron Crump showing off the candle ice that is in Toolik Lake. It only lasts for a few days, and sits in the water vertically like daggers until it is tipped over by your hand or a paddle and then it lays on the surface.
Species Journal
Today, being another in camp day, and particularly foggy wet weather it wasn't a great day to be out spotting species. In spite of the fog, I did still spy some ravens flying around camp.
You can always find a few ravens pretty much wherever you go in the world, even Toolik. This is my demonstration species journal I drew for my students.
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