Feeling the love...

Thank you all so much for responding to my blog posts! Instead of doing the usual post I have decided to respond to all of your comments and questions. I have also posted a group picture of all the teachers that I am working with up here.


RAYHAN: You are right on track with the Electromagnetic correlation. The Northern Lights are concentrated at the North and South poles because of the magnetic fields.

TIFFANY: The picture of the Northern Lights was actually taken by one of the other teachers that is staying here at the research center. I wouldn’t say that I believe the myths about the Northern Lights but I can say that it was very surreal to stand under the lights and it did feel like there was something special going on.

KHEEGAN: The Northern Lights were pretty cool. They didn’t move as quickly as clouds do. The scientific name for the Southern Lights is “Aurora Australis”. The corers were kind of hard to get out of the trees, especially when we were coring the dead trees.

TAAMITI: We had to core about 100 trees at this site. We will have to core another 100 at the next site. If you do core some trees you should head up to the redwood forest. Have a safe trip back to Philly and I’ll see you soon.

MOM: Glad to hear that you are checking up on the blog. I’m being careful and I’ll let you know if we see any major wildlife. I love you. Tell Dad, Chelsie Mani and Brody that I say hello.

SUE-ANN: Coring the trees allows us to study how fast the trees grow. Each tree ring represents a year of tree growth. If we see that some rings are smaller than others we can try to figure out what happened that year that may have affected tree growth.

RICHARD: I am having a really great time up here. I will be sure to tell you all about it when I get back.

SHATASIA: I love that you have so many questions. The nature up here has really made me even more passionate about trying conserve and preserve our planet. I think that the growing population trends mean that we need to find better and more efficient ways to share, conserve and renew resources. I think that we can all do our part to help combat global warming and I would be more than happy to help you find out the best ways for you to do your part.

MELANIE: The soil testing is pretty interesting. The Soil pH probably gets lower as you get closer to the surface because there is more organic material. All of the calcium in the rocks in the deeper soil levels has a higher pH.

TYTEANNA: I miss you guys too. Even though I am really having a great time up here I am still looking forward to coming back to ACE and seeing all of you guys. We haven’t done any swimming yet and I don’t plan to. It is way too cold up here for all of that!

DESTINY: We have found many cool things up here. So far I haven’t seen too many animals. I have seen squirrels and other small animals in the forest and some birds out on the tundra. I am going on a hike on Saturday so hopefully I will get to see some more of the wildlife up here.

HESDRAS: We do get to sleep up here but not for too long. After we come in from the field we have to process all of the samples and input all of the data we collected into the computers. After dinner I sit down to write my blog and then shower before heading to bed. We wake up bright and early to head back out for more soil testing, tree coring and plant surveying. It has been in the 30’s and 40’s for most of the week. It is supposed to get colder this weekend. The trees are important because they give us oxygen and they are an important part our ecosystem. Don’t forget that all living things are connected.

ZAKIYA: The weather is pretty cold. The temperature is about the same as winters in NYC but the wind is what makes it rough. Today when we were out on the tundra there were a couple times when the wind almost knocked us over (especially the tall ones like me).

SOPHINA: Things are going well up here. We have actually found some animal skeletons while we were out in the field. We found some Caribou bones, a few goose eggs and some small animal skeletons. Most of them probably died of natural causes or were maybe eaten by polar bears or arctic wolves.

BRIANA: I’m happy to hear that you care so much about the animals up here. A lot of the polar bears up here are suffering because they have less ice to hunt on and can’t get as much food to eat. You can help me make a difference by trying to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we release into the atmosphere.

LAURASIA: It’s good to know that you are guys are learning how to test for pH. We mixed the soil with distilled water and then tested the new mixture for pH. Now you see how the things you learn in class can be applied to the real world. Keep up the good work!

MR.CHIPAK: I’ll see what I can do about the baby polar bear – but no promises. I am learning a lot though and I am really lucky to be working with you and all the other great teachers at ACE that have made it possible for me to come on an expedition like this.