23 and 24 July 2004

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 23

Well our field days are coming to an end and although there is work to be done and everyone has enjoyed the trip, most seem ready to head out, back to families, back to the lab, back to civilization.

Yesterday (7/23) I did a few different things. In the morning I spent some time journaling then headed to the field. The team has moved closer to the ocean over the last few days and due to time has not set up another grid. But, it is still important to take a look at these other sites. On the 22 I had worked on soil pits at these sites and then on the 23 I helped look into a new question the team has formulated.

This question revolves around the presences of hummocks of different sizes with different types of crack formations. The teams primary focus is frost boils but this area tends to have many more hummocks. The team is trying to decipher how the two ground formations are related.

So, yesterday I worked with Howie in ten meter grid sections and counted the number of mounds present. Each mound is made of smaller hummocks. And the possible belief is that they started as frost boils.

Howie stands among the flagged hummock mounds. On average we found about 80 hummock mounds in the 10 square meter area.

A nicely developed hummock mound made of smaller hummocks and very small scale cracked hummock areas.

The development of new questions is one thing that has surprised me about this trip. The scientists that have come together (soil scientists, botanists, ecologists, modelers) have an amazing wealth of knowledge, yet each day that they are here they come up with new unanswered questions. Trying to stay focused on answering their original questions while formulating new questions is quite a challenge.

I have also been amazed at the diversity of cultures that have come together. Most of the researchers live in the Fairbanks area but some are from Virginia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Plus many of the researchers are not American, there are German, Russian, Hungarian, Netherland, Puerto Rican, Chineese, and Brazilian backgounds.

Another surprise is that we are sitting in the middle of the Arctic and using computers, microscopes, and liquid nitrogen!

This expedition has truly been eye opening for me to see how scientists come together and work with one another to try and understand more about the world in which we live. Their enthusiasm for learning and discovery is contagious and they have all been wonderful teachers. I only hope that I can someway take their enthusiasm and dedication back to my classroom.

Today, Satuday, is our last day at Mould Bay. As I journal, the team wraps up field work. The afternoon will be spent discussing what has been learned and what new questions have arisen. The group will also look at what needs to be done between now and next years expedition ( the last of four years in the field).

Sunday morning we will pack up camp and the plane should arrive at noon. We will fly to Green Cabin on Banks island and work till around 8pm. Then we will fly to Inuvik. Monday we fly out of Inuvik to Dawson City. I hope to journal again from there but doubt you will hear from me tomorrow. Please keep the team in your thoughts as our expedition begins to come to a close and we begin our journey home.