The close of Climate Change at the Arctic's edge...

Climate change at the arctic’s edge
An interactive experience was Earthwatch’s major pledge.

Bringing the boreal forest and tundra to our students in an instant snap shot
They were able to see us working in a vegetative plot.

Coring trees, destructive sampling, searching for seedlings, and PCQ
Are some of the research methods that we used to name a few.

Larch, Spruce, and Crowberry are some species that we found
While we crawled on our bellies and searched along the ground.

Steve our fearless chief investigator, in pursuit of his PhD
Led us through his investigation to look at each and every tree.

Our team was full of characters, jokes and giggles were galore
We laughed until our sides hurt as we continued to explore.

Carly our bear patroller with gun strapped to her chest
Made us always feel protected even when we took a rest.

An intense educational experience that made science more real than not
And helped us to understand that this research will never be forgot.

The connection among climate, trees, and global warming is now visible & true
For this IPY investigation will be conducted by very few.

Research in action...

This morning we completed another data site for mature tree coring and vegetation surveys. Our team pulled together to take core samples from over 50 trees. The work was intense because we worked quickly and efficiently. This was our last day in the field recording data and taking specimen samples.

In the afternoon we returned to the study center to input data and clean the field instruments.

Responding to your questions...

1. (Jack) Are the black tips on the rabbits ears for any special purpose or is it just coloration?
To my knowledge the black tipped ears of the arctic hare are not serving any other purpose then mere coloration.

2. (Jackie) Are you helping with the analysis process or just the collecting and sorting process?
We are not helping with the analysis process; we are just collecting and sorting specimens.

3. (Kelsey) Is this a job worthy of Discovery Channels Dirty Jobs?
Well I wish I could say that it may be considered for Dirty Jobs, but it isn’t that caliber. Although we get dirty, it does not even come close to comparing to some of the jobs showcased on the show.

4. (Mrs. Gibson) How far off was the polar bear from your group? Did it respond to you, make sounds, look, what did it do?
The polar bear was about 200 yards above us on a rocky outcrop. The bear was concentrated on the food it was eating and not bothered by us or the helicopters that flew overhead. He just hung out and ate.







5. (Mike) Are any of the animals you saw endangered or a protected species?
Well some of the animals that we are seeing; the polar bear in particular is listed on the threatened list, however, according to locals the bear population is not declining at all. The locals have a completely different perspective on endangered and threatened animals of the arctic.

6. (Steph) Did you collect any blood samples from the animals?
No, although our work was supposed to be inclusive of animal evaluation, the area of the study in which we focused on the most was the vegetation of the arctic.

7. (Austin) Has this kind of laborious field research changed the way you look at research science? Does it change the way you view the class?
The research has showed me how hard the life of a field scientist can be. The trials and tribulations that these scientists have gone through to get data to help the world better understand climate change and global warming is rather amazing. The research has made me realize how important scientists are for our global community.
In addition, the Earthwatch Climate change study has taught me that pre-collegiate research is important. It is an important process that will help prepare students for science in the real world. I am happy to report that the work that students are doing at the high school level is an adequate means by which one can be introduced to research science and then continue to build upon these practices as their research and education becomes more in-depth.





8. (Isamar) What are your plans for your return? What are your plans for after you return?
I plan on speaking at four different venues to share the knowledge that I have gained about climate change and global warming to help members of our community better understand what exactly is going on. One of these speaking engagements will be at Morristown High School in October and will give students a chance to discuss the issues surrounding climate change and global warming and learn how they can make a difference on a local level.

The beauty of the arctic...

The arctic is a beautiful place this time of year. So I thought I would share some photos of the beautiful Larch trees and views of the Hudson Bay.

A dedication to scientists...

Well the life of a field biologist definitely has rewards; an opportunity to have a positive impact on the earth, a chance to be in the midst of scientific breakthroughs, hopes of proposing new theories, and the long sought after PhD. However, these payoffs don't come easy. The work that a scientist must do is extremely taxing and laborious. I can attest to the intense work that one must go through in order to gather enough data and propose new scientific theories.

Today our team worked in the field surveying vegetation plots at two different sites for seedlings and saplings for another 5+ hours. After receiving snow yesterday and experiencing a heavy frost this morning, laying on the ground searching for seedlings and saplings was not an easy task. It was cold and difficult to stay focused. This Earthwatch expedition and research opportunity has made me respect the work of field scientists that much more. These scientists don't only work long hours in the field, but they also put in a tremendous amount of hours in the lab. The hours of field research is followed up more time in the lab sorting through collected specimens before the analysis process can even begin.

So tonight's post is dedicated to all of those scientists who sacrifice for the rest of us. Scientists who despite the long hours, persist to conduct research to make our world a better place.

The ULTIMATE arctic experience...

Well today was a terrific arctic day... blue skies, very few clouds, and temperatures hovered at 32 degrees. We spent the morning searching for animals and had a chance to see polar bears, red fox, arctic hares, snow geese, and tundra swans. The animals were awesome! We took a break from the research and finally had a chance to experience off-roading in the arctic backcountry. After seeing the animals in land we headed off to a few miles out to the ocean and soaked in the sun along the shores of the Hudson Bay. As we hiked back to our vehicle it began to snow. My smile right now is so big because I have experienced all that I wanted to see here in the arctic... The Northern Lights, Polar Bears, and Snow!

Up close and personal with plants...

Well today proved to be a long day of fieldwork out in the tundra and in the boreal forest - tundra zones. We spent hours crawling on our stomachs in search of 50 white spruce seedlings and 50 white spruce saplings in each ecosystem. The job sounds easy, but basically it is like searching for a 1/2 tall Waldo in a giant 30 square foot Where's Waldo book. Your body becomes exhausted from kneeling on your knees looking for such small plants. The seedlings we harvested were very small. Most were under a 1/2 inch in height. The saplings ranged from 8 inches to 6 feet tall.

Responding to your questions...

1. (Jackie) Why would you pull out the seedlings and saplings... Don't you want them to grow?

The reason scientists pull seedlings out is because they are able to do further testing the lab by evaluating their roots, stems, and “leaves.” We will be completing a “whirl count” in order to age the saplings and seedlings because you can not age a tree that is as small as these because there is not a trunk large enough to do a tree coring on. Therefore scientists have to pull the plants out to different testing procedures.

2. (Mike) How do you identify the seedlings/saplings?
We use dichotomous keys to key out the plants. The process is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

3. (Isamar) What kind of information have you found in the tree boring?
We have not yet determined any conclusions based on the tree boring. These conclusions will not be able to be made until there are multiple years worth of cores to compare against one another. We will however, be starting the tree boring evaluation process later next week which could tell some information specific to individual tree growth rather then mean conclusions.
4. (Austin) Is Chandler removing the branch from the tree in the most effective and scientifically proven way... Or just posing?
As crazy as the picture looks, this was not a posed picture. Chandler was trying to kick off a dead limb so that we had ample work room to take a chest height core. We were struggling trying to remove the dead limb with other means until another group member asked Chandler to try and kick the limb off since he was the tallest in the group. He was actually successful in his attempts.

5. (Kelsey) Do you get sore getting up and down between each and every tree all day?

I do get sore. My legs are exhausted and I have several bruises on my body from moving underneath the trees.

6. (Jack) Has anyone gotten hurt yet or is everyone uninjured?

No one in my group has gotten hurt. Several people are just as exhausted as I am, but all of us are healthy and enjoying the fieldwork.

7. (Steph) Is anyone getting sick from being in the cold rain all day?

Well everyone has been relatively healthy despite some body soreness, but the Scientist, Steve is not feeling too well this evening. The cold, wet rainy weather has gotten the best of him tonight.

8. (Mrs. Gibson) What do you do with the tree boring samples after they are taken from the tree? Can you bring
one back for us to see?

The tree boring samples (also referred to as tree cores) get placed into wooden drying racks and labeled to dry. After the cores are dry, they will be sanded and then evaluated buy the scientist. He is attempting to fill in gaps in the climatology record for the past two centuries in the Churchill region. Filling in the climate record would help scientists draw further conclusions about climate change in this area and then they could infer about changes in other similar regions of the world.

Unfortunately I will not be able to bring a sample back through customs, however, I do have intentions of purchasing a tree boring apparatus to use with students in biology this year. If students take a few cores from trees on the school yard property it will certainly help students better understand ring structures and tree piths. Better yet it would be a great field skill for them to acquire!

(These questions are from the Science Academy Research Science class at Morristown high school 2008)

Pictures from the field...

An image of me using the clinometer to measure tree heights.








A photograph of my team and I working at the base of a white spruce tree recording data.

Work in the field can be tough...

Today we spent the day in boreal forest and the forest - tundra zones completing our work on mature trees. The work was a continuation of the tree boring process that we started yesterday. In addition to making two bores in each of the trees (one at chest height and the other a few inches above the place where the tree breaks through the ground) we collected additional information. This information included... identifying the species, measuring the trunk at the base of the tree (diameter at root crown), measuring the trunk at chest height (diameter at breast height), measuring the crown (from the outermost edges of the branches), the height of the tree, evaluating the tree for herbivory (damage caused by animals), evaluating the apical meristem for damage (the apical meristem is the top of the tree in this case), determining the vitality of the tree, checking for the number of stems, completing a cone count, evaluating the seedbed: for dominant ground layer and moisture content, keying out the ground cover, and taking a look at the ground topography. This process was lengthy and took about 10 minutes to complete per tree. (This picture is a snapshot of one of my group members, Chandler trying to remove some branches from a spruce tree to clear some space for us to complete our task.)

My group completed this process for 46 trees today in 45 degree temperatures with 22 mile wind gusts with intermittent rain storms. So the work was tough. It was a constant getting up and down. First laying down under the trees taking measurements at the base of the tree and then getting up to take measurements and make evaluate at chest height.

In the later afternoon once this process was complete we began to follow another protocol to gather data on tree seedlings and saplings. The true seedling and sapling detection process is intense. Over a ten meter stretch pairs of researchers were laid on their stomachs stretched out along the ground to search for seedlings and saplings of various species. For the purpose of this study, seedlings are deemed plants that grow no higher than 15 cm tall and saplings are plants that grow over 15 cm tall but are under 200 cm in height. Once a seedling or sapling was detected, its species was then identified and various measurements and evaluations were undertaken; method of reproduction, diameter at root crown, height of the specimen, herbivory, assessment of apical meristem damage, vitality of the specimen, number of cones, seedbed composition, microsite composition and topography. After an assessment was made each specimen was removed from the ground, labeled, and deposited into a collection container.

Each pair of researchers evaluates 3 meters of the 10 meter plot in increments of one centimeter. The process is laborious but extremely interesting. Luckily this process took place on the floor of the forest - tundra region and the winds seemed to blow right over the top of us!

Answers to your questions...

1. (Missy) I think the whole process is so cool and that you are doing really well... Stay warm!
Thanks Missy – I am trying to stay warm. It was 40 degrees today with 22 mph wind gusts. I have posted a picture of the anemometer that I use each morning to check the weather.

2. (Austin) What is the duration of the Aurora Borealis and what colors do you actually see?
The Aurora Borealis duration in the evening varies depending on the weather. The other night we saw the lights for about 2 hours. The colors were a beautiful green in the sky.

3. (Jackie) What were the other groups that you met up with doing?
The other groups were gathering different sets of data: Soil profiles, Relative abundance of vegetative species, and a vegetative composition survey of the tundra, boreal forest, and ecotone.

All of the data that we are collecting fall into a tree study and are restricted to the arctic summer months (June - October) because of seasonal affects; i.e. snow. This data is establishing a series of baselines for future annual variability monitoring of vegetation for the next four years.

4. (Mrs. Gibson) Are you still going to skype at 2:30 tomorrow after school?
I will be skyping to Morristown High School 12:30 pm in order to converse with the research science class.

5. (Steph) When is the growing season for the trees and how much do they grow?
The growing season for trees is June - October. Trees are very old up here. We surveyed a 3 meter tree that was over forty years old. Trees talk longer to grow here but live longer then the trees back home.

6. (Kelsey) Can you post pictures of the animals that you have seen up there? What have you learned about other than what we saw this morning?
Kelsey, I wish I could show you pictures of animals… but we have not seen any. We saw our first signs of wildlife yesterday. A few snow geese and a squirrel. Hopefully over the next few days I should be able to send you a few. We are hiking on Saturday in hopes to see a few animals.

Tree Boring...

Well today proved to be a great day of here in the arctic. I started off with a skype call to Morristown High School and had a chance to talk to several students in the freshman, sophomore, and juniors classes.

Then after a quick breakfast I headed off to the research briefing to discuss the tasks of the day...

My group spent the morning hours completing our Tree structure responsibilities using the point center quarter method out on the tundra. It was a beautiful morning in the mid-forties with blue skies and sunshine. We completed our work within a few hours and met up with the other groups to return to the research center to have lunch and pick up additional supplies.

After lunch I had a skype call with Holy Family School to discuss the research we are participating in here in the arctic. Then the research team headed out to the boreal forest and did some tree boring.

The process of tree boring is used to put a 1/2 cm hole into the trunk of the tree to extract long cylinders of the pith. These pith cylinders are then used to determine the age of the tree and evaluate climatic conditions during the years in which the tree has grown. We have found that trees here in the arctic are relatively short in comparison to the age of the tree. Trees take longer to grow here because the "growing season" is much shorter then in other areas of the world. Therefore, short trees are not necessarily young trees.

A little bit about the terrain...

The terrain in which I am in here in the arctic is much different then I would have expected. The research center is positioned in a transition zone between the arctic tundra and the boreal forest. This region is rather flat because we are near the water. There are no mountains in the distance, just flat terrain for as far as the eye can see. However, the forest and transitional zone's terrain has conifer trees randomly growing about. The ground cover in the forest and transitional zone is beautiful... it is a spongy matt that covers the forest floor. When you walk on the spongy forest floor you sink about 8 - 10 inches down. This is because the forest floor is covered with several mosses, lichen, and short plants. The diversity in species creates a beautiful color scheme. Deep reds, grey, greens, and yellows. There are several berries that grow low to the ground also and they enhance the beauty of the forest floor even more. The floor of the tundra is not as spongy but still has some beautiful colors. However, there are few trees in the tundra because of the intense winds that blow over the ground.

The life of a field biologist is not easy...

Well today proved to be a great introduction to field biology. After breakfast our research team met for a morning briefing to go over the objectives and goals for the day. Each team member chose a team to be a part of based on the techniques that they practiced and felt most comfortable with after our training session yesterday.

I chose to be a part of the Tree Structure team where we would use the “Point Center Quartered Method.” Basically prior to our fieldwork this week, the scientists set up a grid in the boreal forest, in the tundra, and the zone in between the boreal forest and the tundra. This giant grid is set up using GPS, aerial photographs, and measuring tapes. The grid is like a giant “Tic-Tac-Toe Board.” The points at which the lines intersect are marked by metal stakes sticking up 3 feet into the air with numbers on them and colored flags. The distance in between the intersection points are 50 meters. So each grid box is 50 m2 .

Once we got to the site, we found the center point in the middle of each grid box and marked this spot. We then broke the grid box up into quarters called quadrants. In each quadrant we had to identify buffalo berry plants, willow shrubs, black and white spruce; trees, saplings, and seedlings, larch; trees, saplings, seedlings, Bog Birch, and Shephardia. Each species that was identified was measured from the distance it was growing relative to the center point, the quadrant it was found in, If the specimen was a tree then in addition we had to record the diameter of the stem / trunk at the point in which it breaks through the ground (also known as Diameter at Root Crown), the diameter of the stem / trunk at chest height (also known as Diameter at Breast Height), the number of upright stems, and the number of cones and catkins (the reproductive structures).
This process then had to be repeated in all nine grid boxes. This process was extremely tedious because searching for seedlings and saplings took a very long time. Specimens were classified and stratified by height. Specimens that were between 0-15 cm were deemed seedlings, 15+ - 199 cm were deemed saplings, and over 199 cm were deemed trees. Those that grow only as shrubs had to be at least 30 cm tall.

Basically my team crawled along the ground on our hands and knees to look for the specimens for hours. Our morning field work was not very difficult once we got into the “groove,” however in the afternoon the weather changed and we worked through the pouring rain. It was a cold, bone chilling Arctic rain that lasted for hours. So were not able to complete our task and meet our goal for the day. But we certainly tried hard, learned a lot, and have come to appreciate the hard work and efforts of field research scientists.

After drying out our evening was spent inputting data and attending a lecture on permafrost. It was certainly a great end to the day. Tomorrow we will be back in the field at the same site trying to gather data.

Responding to your questions...

1. (Austin) What is a frost probe and what is its purpose?
A frost probe is basically an instrument that is shaped like a “T” and is placed into the ground through the top organic layers down to the layer of ground that is frozen. The probe is about 5 feet tall.

2, (Isamar) Have any of your results shown that humans are effecting climate change? What have you found in relation to the climate change?
Yes, there are some human effects. Scientists would call human effects “Anthropogenic Effects.” Just to name a few… fossil fuel usage, over population, & land change usage.

3. (Jackie) Is there a difference between mature tree bore techniques and young tree bore techniques?
No, A tree boring technique involves using an instrument that looks like a “T” that is screwed into the trunk of the tree. At the end entering the tree first there is a corkscrew like bit that is attached to a long cylinder. The cylinder allows you to extract the “pith” of the tree to analyze the rings for aging.

4. (Mike) What are whirl count techniques and destructive sampling techniques?
Destructive sampling is when you actually pull the vegetation out of the ground and harvest it to bring back to the lab for analysis.
Whirl count techniques are when you count the branches going up the piece of vegetation from where it first pokes through the ground (aka DRC Diameter Root Crown) up to the top of the plant. You would use this technique to help you determine age of the plant based on branches.

5. (Steph) What are some of the instruments that you are using?
Clinometer (as pictured below) to determine tree height.



















6. (Kelsey) What is the polar bear skin you showed us used for?
The polar bear skin that I displayed over the skype call was a polar bear that was shot a few years back. This particular bear was a problem bear that needed to be put down because of destructive and dangerous behavior towards humans here at the research site. Several techniques were used to attempt to get the bear to move from the area but nothing worked.

7. (Jack) Who is your roommate and how is it going?
My roommate is a woman from EArthwatch who is here to participate in the research to experience the research program offered here at the site. There are 11 teachers in total and 2 scientists that work with us every day. However we are not the only people at the research center. There are other researchers here who are renting rooms and laboratory space to conduct their research her in the arctic.

8. (Mrs. Gibson) How are you feeling? And do you miss your class????
I am feeling good. I am able to comprehend the science and feel like I can contribute at an appropriate level. I understand the research objectives so that seems to help a lot. In many ways I wish that my research class could be here because they would learn so much about the research process. The complexity of the research comes from establishing the objectives, determining the methods that are to be used to gather data to attempt to prove the objectives, and then properly selecting the analytical techniques to make sense of the data. The actual data gathering process is not too hard. However, it is extremely time consuming.

The Northern Lights by Jocelyn B.

Carpet of green
sky flecked with pinpricks of light
explodes with energy and joy,
unrelenting,
a million atoms crash in the upper reaches of nowhere -
infinitely small,
carried by solar wind,
deflected by the magnetosphere -
now a curtain, a cascade,
striations of blue, red, green;
once called the Dance of Spirits,
reduced to the scientific explanation of a thousand coincidences that still can't explain the shiver they send up your spine...

Responding to your questions...

1. (Jackie) How many miles are in each latitude/longitude coordinate degree? Jackie, I will have to look up the answer to your question regarding latitude and longitude.

And will the hours of sunlight increase or decrease and will your hours eventually be less than we have in Morristown?
The amount of sunlight will decrease just as in Morristown as we get closer to the inter solstice.

2. (Isamar) Does six more minutes to your day affect you in anyway? No not at all.

Also, what sorts of food are you eating? Typical American foods... salad, pasta, bread, meat...

3. (Jack) What does the 54'24" mean? degrees, minutes, seconds in terms of latitude & longitude.

4. (Kelsey) Have you met the native people? Met no, seen yes. If you have, how are they treating you?

5.(Mike) Any polar bears yet?????????? none yet... bummer

Research Initiatives...

The objective of the research study that we will now be conducting is to determine if the tree line is moving out into the tundra and to determine the causes for these actions if in fact they are occurring.

To do so the research team with whom I am working will be out in the field observing and quantifying the relative abundance and vegetative composition in the boreal forest and tundra arctic regions. We will be working up to as many as seven sites to evaluate tree structure using a point center quartered method, participating in seedling and sapling plot counts using destructive sampling techniques and whirl count techniques based on ascending growth, analyzing mature tree bores, conducting soil profiles, and detecting true seedlings.

We will be using a few instruments that are relatively new to me... tree borers, DBH tape, frost probes, and clinometers. The research though sounding a bit overwhelming is actually using techniques that are quite simple and practical. I fee that my background has given me enough knowledge to understand the methods and be an active participant out in the field.

Today we practiced using the instruments and methods in the yard around the research center before heading out into the field tomorrow.

Life in the arctic...

Well arriving in the arctic was an easy process. I took a series of planes to go from Newark, New Jersey to Minnesota to Winnipeg, to Churchill. The flight to Churchill was on a prop plane that help 24 people in total. The flight was comfortable but noisy.

Upon arrival we received a tour of the facility, were assigned a bunk room and roommate, and then attended a research briefing. The research briefing was very insightful. It clarified the projects with which we will be involved. The initial briefing that I received from Earthwatch was a bit different then the research that I will be conducting while I am here. The focus during the time I am here will be on vegetative growth, soil profiling, and tree boring.

Today we are learning the methods of the study, instruments, and practicing using the instruments. Tomorrow will be the first full day in the field.

The facility has a lecture classroom, two large labs, a cafeteria, dorms, and a small library. The facility is maintained by a crew and the research is overseen by a research scientist who coordinates all of the on-site and off-site studies that are using the grounds. Visiting scientists arrange with the research scientist the logistics of their research.

I do have the ability to stream via skype in the mornings starting at 7:30 am Eastern time.

The first leg of the journey...

Hello All -
Well the first leg of my journey has been completed. I am currently in Winnipeg Canada waiting for my next flight up into the arctic, Churchill Canada that is later this afternoon.

A few things to share:
+In the Churchill region there is current 12 hours and 16 minutes of light per day vs. the Morristown, NJ region having 12 hours and 10 minutes of light per day.
+ The coordinates of Churchill are N: 58 degrees, 44' 24" W: 94 degrees, 03' 36" vs. the coordinates of Morristown, NJ being N: 40 degrees, 58" W: 74 degrees, 24' 54"

After doing a little research I thought I would suggest a few things to check out... First, googlemaps has some incredible information that would provide everyone with a little background about the Churchill area. I really enjoyed viewing the video streams that were a part of the picture tab. So I would suggest clicking on the photo tab which would allow you to view some still photos and video streams that have been posted through "youtube." One videostream in particular was awesome, "Lords of the Arctic Polar Bears of Northern Canada." The videostreams with native music in the background which enhances the video experience.

Please feel free to send me questions or comments through the blog. I will be checking comments and posting on a daily basis. I have read and reviewed test blogs but figured I would not publish test posts. So just for clarification I have received test posts from... Jack, the research science class of Morristown High School, Jocelyn, and Jill.

Thank you everyone for your support! I am looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you.

Morristown High School goes to the Arctic...

Research Progress on the home front is underway...

This week students in the research science class at Morristown High School have been exploring and researching information related to the Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge study. Students performed database searches to identify journal articles that related to climate change that they found the most interesting. After performing a search students read full text articles to gain insights that would allow them to participate in a climate change discussion at the end of the week. Students also reviewed the landing page for the Climate Change study off of the Earthwatch site. Upon review students selected four suggested resources to review and explore.

Research Live from the arctic

Hello All -

From September 21 to October 1, I will be transmitting my research live from the field through the internet, satellite, and video streaming back to my students, friends, and family back here in the states. The research team that I will be joining will be led by principle investigator, Dr. Peter Kershaw from the University of Alberta. The primary goal of the research is to quantify the impacts of climate change on northern ecosystems. This project will entail gaining an understanding of the current processes and relationships driving these ecosystems by conducting systemic vegetation and soil surveys, recording microclimate measurements by using ground penetrating radar, and analyzing small mammalian communities.

Arctic Preparations

This week the students of Morristown High School's Research Science Honors course will be learning about the research study that is taking place at the Arctic's edge and practice using the technological components that will be utilized for distant learning. This process will introduce students to the fundamental components of the research study and allow them to discuss the practices that will be conducted in the field.

The technological components that will be reviewed are: how to blog, appropriate e-mail communication strategies, satellite phone communication, and video streaming via skype.

Sponsors

This expedition will be sponsored by HSBC, the Jarka Family, the Losier Family, Haircuts by Beth, and the New Jersey Center for Science and Technology Education.