A Day in the Life

Meet the Team I am so grateful that during my time in the field, I was part of such an incredible team. When it comes to remote field work, the dynamic of a team can make a tremendous difference in the way that problems are solved, challenges are addressed, and morale is maintained. It has

The “Tut” “I am definitely not in Louisiana anymore.” This was the thought that crossed my mind as I watched the vastness of the Alaskan tundra pass beneath from the small window of a bush plane. As I pondered the thousands of ponds and lakes, an innumerable mosaic of glacial melt atop a layer of

It’s early July, but in Qaanaaq, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) Dr. Eric Klein and his research team are preparing for winter. They are retrieving pressure transducers (data loggers) that measure water level and temperature from the West Qaanaaq River and uploading the data onto a field computer. It’s exciting to see the data come to life

The glacier is mad at us today. That’s the general assessment making its way through the ship, as calving event after calving event sends ice crashing into the water. The team was hoping to send Polly, the remote-controlled RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) that the team uses to deploy moorings and other instruments along the

We started Sunday with a team ritual: reading poems aloud. Some were fun, some serious, all genuine. Afterward came “call-outs,” where team members recognized each other’s efforts, followed by a weather update—crucial for planning fieldwork in the Arctic. These routines, carried out without fuss, reflected how much intention goes into maintaining a strong team culture.

I’ve spent the past six days in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska, embedded with a group of young scientists working for NEON -the National Ecological Observatory Network. NEON is a large-scale project funded by the NSF that collects long-term, open-access ecological data across the U.S. to track changes in ecosystems over time. And here, at the northernmost

All the Plans Coming Together In late January, I found out I had been selected as a Polar STEAM fellow and would be traveling to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, with Dr. Julia Guimond and her research team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. I was joining her team to study saltwater intrusion on the North Slope of

I’m here as an Educator Fellow with Polar STEAM. My goal is to bring the important work that’s happening down here to my students and make it accessible and relevant to us in Kansas.  In order to accomplish that goal, though, I have to actually be a part of the scientific research that’s taking place. 

Preparing for an expedition to the Southern Ocean is an adventure in itself. You gather your base layers, boots, goggles, socks, and pack your camera and lenses, envisioning the polar environment—one of the most extreme on Earth. Imagine the biting wind on your cheeks and the sight of albatrosses, prions, penguins, humpback whales, and orcas, thriving in such harsh conditions. The excitement is palpable as you prepare to study the microscopic world that sustains this vast ecosystem. Beneath the icy waters lies an invisible world of phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that are the unsung heroes of the marine ecosystem. Despite their size, phytoplankton play a colossal role in maintaining life on Earth.

Polar STEAM brought me to Utqiaġvik in collaboration with Dr. Julia York from the University of Illinois. Dr. York’s post-doctoral work is investigating how Arctic fishes, specifically Iqalugaq (Boreogadus saida, Arctic Cod) and Uugaq (Eleginus gracilis, Saffron Cod), physiologically sense and adapt to the freeze thaw cycles that dominate the Arctic throughout the year. Unlike

My whirlwind polar adventure is coming to an end. After a very short 10 days (ALL DAY as the sun has not set in Alaska since mid-May), I find myself spending my last few hours in town reflecting on my experience both with the people as well as the research I helped with, all while admiring the tundra. Polar STEAM brought me to Utqiaġvik in collaboration with Dr. Julia York from the University of Illinois. Dr. York’s post-doctoral work is investigating how Arctic fishes, specifically Iqalugaq (Boreogadus saida, Arctic Cod) and Uugaq (Eleginus gracilis, Saffron Cod), physiologically sense and adapt to the freeze thaw cycles that dominate the Arctic throughout the year. Unlike some of the Antarctic fishes that Dr. York focused on during her PhD, Arctic cod experience a wider range of temperatures throughout the year, from freezing ocean water (28.4°F; -2°C) in the winter to up to mid-40s°F during the summer. Fishes are the same temperature as their environment and environmental temperature fluctuation means that during times of the year fishes must either swim away from the freezing water or adapt mechanisms to keep from freezing.

The US academic research vessel RV Neil Armstrong departed from Nuuk, Greenland in early October. On the first leg of our journey, the science team’s initial purpose was to collect water samples and previously deployed instruments along a line of moorings at the southern entrance to Baffin Bay, a gateway between the Arctic and the north Atlantic. This line stretches from Sisimiut, on the west side of Greenland, to just off Cape Dyer, near the Canadian coast. 

The Juneau Icefield is a group of interconnected glaciers just north of Juneau, Alaska that extends into British Columbia, Canada and covers an area the size of Rhode Island. Maybe you’ve heard of the Mendenhall Glacier? It is part of the Juneau Icefield! The Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP) has been collecting data on the icefield since 1948. 

An Unforgettable Adventure Begins As a high school science teacher, the invitation to join Macall Hock on an expedition to study the effects of a warming Arctic ecosystem on stream carbon cycling in Utqiagvik, Alaska, felt like stepping into a thrilling adventure. The beauty of the Arctic wilderness was a sight to behold, but the

Today we got set up and met the local 8th graders out on the ice! For some of them it was the first time they had been on the land-fast sea ice (which is ice that is “fastened” to the coastline). For some, it was old news. It was quite cold (-30F with the windchill), so many students hid in the tents we had set up. The previous days had been relatively warm, hovering around 0-10F degrees. The students were split into groups and rotated between the stations.