Exciting news! This week a 4 minute video on my summer research in the Siberian Arctic was released on the Polaris Project website (www.thepolarisproject.org). The video was composed by Chris Linder, who captured pictures and conducted interviews of each student on the trip. The video discusses my research, on the collection of water samples from many different locations across the Kolyma Watershed. Check out the video at http://thepolarisproject.org/stories/index.shtml under the River Survey Tab. Another Clark Student, Claire Griffin, is featured in the Lakes video.
Before attending college I never imagined I would be doing such extensive research as an undergraduate, let alone in such a unique place as Siberia. Once at Clark I soon realized the vast opportunities available to conduct research with Professor’s. I first found out about the opportunity to conduct research in Siberia during spring of Sophomore year. I was enrolled in Professor Frey’s Arctic System Science class in which she told us that by completing the class we had the opportunity to apply to the Polaris Project and conduct research with her in Siberia during the summer. After taking her class, I became interested in understanding the current dramatic effects of warming in the polar region and realized how important research in the arctic is. The Polaris Project is a National Science Foundation funded project that brings together professors and students from around the United States and Russia to collaborate and conduct research in the arctic. The main focus of the project is on enhancing undergraduate research and education.
This summer I was one of eleven students and eight Principle Investigators (Professors) to take part in the Polaris Project field course and research experience. In order to reach to our final destination I took 5 different flights covering a total distance of around 10,240 miles. While traveling we got to visit red square, attend an art opening for Paintings by Children from the Sakha Republic, Siberia (http://www.studentpartnersproject.org/index.html) and see a real frozen baby mammoth at the Permafrost Institute in Yakutsk. Once we reached our final destination, the Northeast Science Station in Cherskiy, we explored the Barge, our new home for the month.
The first few days at the science station were spent getting acquainted to the area. The professors gave lectures and demonstrated field techniques to allow us to explore the possible research opportunities available. Each student developed a research questions based on their interest and the overall theme of the Polaris Project. Being from an Earth System Science background, I decided to focus my research on collecting data from a diverse set of larger streams and rivers. A typical day for me on the barge consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, mapping out the sample location, packing up the necessary gear, traveling to the sample location by foot or boat, recording data in the field, bringing water samples back, eating lunch, filtering the collected water into individual bottles for lab analysis, running SUVA test on the water in the lab, eating dinner, finishing up loose ends from the day and finally enjoying some hot tea and live guitar playing before bed! During the summer in Siberia there is 22 hours of sunlight, so it was very easy to lose track of time. We also got to take a few trips during the month. Our home, the barge, was pushed south to Duvannyi Yar, an exposed river bed where we walked along the shore collecting bones from the Pleistocene era. We also made a day trip to the tundra, an ecosystem where trees do not exist. It was amazing to be out in the field, witnessing the effects of climate warming first hand.
The trip was so surreal it is hard to sum up in words. Conducting research this summer has helped give insight into my future, as I have found something I am truly passionate about. This year I am continuing my research in my honors thesis and hope to present my findings at conferences this spring. If pursuing research is something that interest you I would check out the opportunities Clark has to offer (research is not just limited to the environmental science field). Research is something I thought little of before coming to college but now I could not be more grateful that I stumbled upon it once I was here.
