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Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory researcher Kevin Anchukaitis and I arrived in Fairbanks around midnight on July 3rd. By the time we had collected our bags and found the rental car, it was July 4th. There were even a few fireworks going off as we drove to our dormitory accommodations at the

Our snow lab is collapsing. Over the last month, the wind has blown snow on top of the old snow lab and the roof is starting to cave in. The snow lab is the underground storage area that Brandon and others created in May to store the snow layer samples that we take each morning. It needs to be super

Happy 4th of July! The tundra games are made even more special by being held over the 4th of July weekend. Today we took the day off to celebrate the 4th of July and to go to the tundra games and the parade. Elliot, Kim, Eric and I were joined by another graduate student, Cove and his assistant

Collecting snow layer samples is another job that we do each day. It is a pretty simple process to collect it, but how will we get it home without it melting? The first step is to dig a hole in the shape of a rectangle that is about 2 feet deep. We then place a small plastic container in one side of

The view is beautiful as we sample snow each morning. We travel about ½ mile from our satellite camp to get to our sampling location. We gather up our collection jars and load it in a sled. We take turns dragging the sled. As you read in my last journal entry, we are looking at aerosols (or tiny

Blood & Guts This morning I was invited into the necropsy lab to witness 3 arctic fox and 2 seal necropsies. Necropsies are basically animal autopsies. Greta and Katie were collecting samples that will be tested at later dates. Greta is looking for abnormalities in the cells of the seals and

Now that we are settled into camp, it is time to do some science! The purpose of this journal entry is to introduce you to our team and to explain what we are hoping to learn. Our Team First, our Summit team consists of myself, Brandon Strellis from Georgia Tech and Hannah James, a recent

Nalukataq Part 2 Yesterday was the second day of the Nalukataq. This second day of the whaling festival was for different whaling teams celebrating their successful whaling season. During the day they passed out the whale meat to the crew and their families. Eric and I went during the evening to

Well, sleeping in below zero temperatures at high altitude and 24-hours of sunshine was a little harder than I expected. I used my neck gaiter to block out the sun from my eyes and it did a wonderful job. But, I kept getting up every hour or so. Hopefully, I will get used to this new environment

Every once in a while, you meet a person who has a truly unique mission in life. Some people try to climb every peak or raft every river, while others might focus on reading all the works of a particular author or seeing every species of bird in the world. My friend Shan has what might be termed the