Sarah, Pinch away!- you really ARE in Antarctica! Isn't it beautiful?? Beautiful pictures of Cotton glacier. Can you explain how the team collects the DOM? We saw some cylindrical containers being lowered into the streams. Is it just scooped up from the surface water? More soon! Take care, have fun :) Lollie

Sarah Diers

Hello Lollie!So wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for checking out my journals.Great question about how we collect DOM. The collection of the DOM and bacteria is fairly simply- we just collect bottles of water from the streams. It is what occurs with the water back in the lab that helps the team identify the types of DOM and bacteria in the streams. We are running tests on the chlorophyl in the water, carbon sources in the water and a whole bunch of other tests that I am excited to learn about. The equipment that you saw in my journals primarily helps determine the composition and structure of the stream. Stay tuned for a few journals in the next week that explain more about how we sample the collected water for DOM and bacteria. Keep cool! Sarah