Finally Permafrost!

Our final day out in the field was largely spent coring trees and collecting data. However, I worked on a soil survey at the end of the day. We dug nine holes along a transect line in the tundra area and examined the soil. The soil was largely organic, composed from decaying leaves and other vegetation. We dug a pit at the end and found…PERMAFROST! It was found 71 centimeters from the top. I recorded the site’s location of N58 º 37.224’ and W 93º47.255’. Of course we all rallied around and jumped into the pit. When we grabbed a handful of the soil just above the permafrost we could see small crystals of ice.
We moved into the forest area and repeated the procedure of digging nine holes. Here we found the soil to have a lot of sand in addition to the organic layer. We dug another hole and found a few different soil horizons. Water began to seep in from the sides and filled the bottom of the hole. It was interested when we took the pH of the layers. As we came up from the bottom of the hole the soil became more acidic. What do you think caused the higher acidity? (Clue: Think about what you might find closer to the surface?)

Northern Lights again

Here's another picture of the northern lights from last night. I missed them! I last checked at 11:45, and the sky was clear. This picture was taken at 12:30. I will look again tonight. To get the best view I will have to climb up the ladder into the observatory. Wish me luck!

Rony and Lucas gave some information about how the colors of the northern lights are formed. It does have to do with the elements that can be found in the ionosphere. We will be studying the layers of the atmosphere later this year. Can someone tell me the names of the layers now?

Here is some more information on the the aurora borealis in Churchill.

Polar Bear on the Beach

Here is a picture of the polar bear on the beach. We could not get too close to it, nor would we want to. If you look real close, you might be able to see the dogs in the area. Read the comments section of the last post to see how the bear lives with the dogs.

Roads and Trails Tour

Today was our day off from counting seedlings and saplings. Everyone decided to take a Roads and Trails Tour. Sheldon met us at the Churchill Northern Science Center at 9:00 in a small school bus. Who knew that the bus could drive down this narrow dirt paths? We drove down many small roads that were not too far from the science center. We finally saw a polar bear! The first bear was very large, he generally stays in one area by the beach. He is surrounded by chained Eskimo dogs, they share the same food. We found the other bear up on the rocks. Both bears were a distance away so we were in no danger. Because they were so far I did not get great pictures, but I will try to upload some pictures from other teachers tomorrow.
We also saw another Arctic hare and two red foxes. Swimming in a small pond were two tundra swans.
We also stopped by the beach so we could put our hands in the Hudson Bay. I picked up some nicely weathered beach stones to bring back home. One teacher did a polar plunge into the Hudson Bay, but since the air temperature was 32 degrees F I decided my hand was the only body part that I was getting wet!

Arctic Hare

Friday: I didn't see a polar bear today, but I did get up close to a large arctic hare. We decided to walk back to the Science Center as the van was full of seedling and sapling samples. We saw the hare in front of an abandoned building. At first it jumped away as we got close, but then it found a pile of willow leaves and it began to eat it. The arctic hare is quite large, this one looked like it was close to thirty pounds!

Lichen, Cranberries, and Blueberries

Here are pictures of some of the plants we are recording. The first picture is vaccinium vitis-idaea (lowbush cranberry) and vaccinium uliginosum (blueberry). The second picture is arctostaphylos alpina (Alpine Bearberry) and cladina stellaris (a type of lichen) We enjoyed eating the cranberries and blueberries.
Can anyone tell me what a lichen is? What is in the third picture?

Back at ROK

We returned to the Rocket Lake site (ROK) to finish up the tree survey in the forest. We then moved to the forest/tundra section to measure and core the few trees there. The temperature was about 8 degrees Celsius (36 degrees F), but the wind was blowing steadily, gusting up to 74 km/hr. The wind was partially blocked when we were in the forest, and the sun was even shining briefly. However it was tough out in the tundra area, no sun and a very strong wind. We were all happy to come back in for lunch. We are going back out in 15 minutes and the sun just began to shine through the window - I hope the wind dies down!

Coring Trees

Today, Wednesday, was spent coring and measuring trees. To get a record of the trees that are in the forest we had to transect a section in the forest and choose fifty trees in that section. We recorded the type of tree, the health of the tree, and the condition of the soil and plants around the tree. We measured the diameter of the tree base (or root crown) and the diameter of the tree at chest height. We measured the height of the first live branch and the width of the lowest branches. We also measured the height of the tree using a clinometer. The final step was to take two cores, one at the root crown and one at chest height. I cored about 10 trees yesterday, but only two today because we had more help.

To core a tree you have to place the tree corer perpendicular to the tree. You then hand drilled into the tree. Once that was done you placed the thin "spoon" into the corer and slowly removed the thin core.

Polar Bear Spotting

Here's the only polar bear that I have seen so far!

Polar Bear update

As many of you know, Churchill is known for their polar bears. There are currently polar bears in the area. When we are out in the field someone is always keeping watch, with a rifle ready to scare the bear. The idea is not to shoot the bear, as no one wants to kill a polar bear. Polar bears are wild animals, and the people in Churchill have to be careful that the bears do not begin raiding garbage barrels instead of hunting for their food out on the ice. All of the teachers here would like to see a polar bear, but from a distance!
The other ten teachers with me have been keeping blogs for their students. Click on the Earthwatch Institute: Live from the Field link on the right to find other "Climate Changes at the Arctic's Edge" blogs - tell me something that you learned from their blogs!

Churchill Northern Science Center

The site that we visited yesterday was next to Rocket Lake. Churchill Northern Science center was once a rocket testing range for Canada. You can still see remnants of rockets on the grounds. Walking through the field we saw a small rocket buried in the grass.
I did a vegetation survey in the forest, forest/tundra, and tundra. We found berries in all three areas, mostly crowberry, cranberry, and blueberry. Buffalo berries can also be found. There were piles of lichen all over the ground. Even though the conditions are similar to the beginning of December in Stamford, these berries were still available. The cranberries were the best!
Try to find Churchill, Manitoba, Canada on Google Earth. You will see the Northern Churchill Science Center. It is about 25 kilometers from the center of Churchill. Using the road, it is very hard to get lost. There are no roads to Churchill, and there is just one main road that basically runs from the town of Churchill to the Churchill Northern Science Center.

Science in the Field

Look at some of the jobs that have to be done in the field. I am maintaining a notebook and looking information in a data table. ONe has to follow the directions of the protocol (procedure) and measure correctly. It is just like I am in science class, only this is real life. The data I am collecting will be used by many to give evidence of climate change.
There were three transects in the area we were working. One was a forest, one was the division between forest/tundra, and one was a tundra area. Do you remember doing the transect in sixth grade? I had to determine what types of plants were on the transect line,measure how much of the plant was in a two meter section, and measure the height of the plants.
The temperature was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. It was not bad in the forest, but out in the tundra area the wind was blowing very hard. In the afternoon, it began to pour rain. Luckily I had on my rain gear and I was working in the forest area. It was much tougher for those working out in the tundra.
When we returned to the Northern Churchill Science Centre we had to reenter our data onto an Excel spreadsheet. We will do this for each of the areas we visit. We have a lot of ground to cover in the next week!

Northern Lights

Here is a picture of the northern lights that a teacher from Brooklyn took. Mr. Nidzgorski took this last night. I will keep looking and see if I can get a great picture like this.

Arrival in Churchill

I have arrived in Churchill. I flew from New York to Chicago to Winnepeg, Manitoba to Churchill. The flight from Winnepeg to Churchill was in a prop plane, but it was a very smooth flight. The weather here is pleasant, it is comfortable with my Scofield sweatshirt. Hopefully the nice weather will stay.

We arrived at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre around 6:00. The first item on the agenda was safety - polar bears are in the area and we cannot go outside alone, we should have a staff member with us. There are bars on all the windows to prevent the bears from breaking in.

We had dinner next. We then received a briefing on the Churchill area and the project. As we were going back to our rooms, we heard that you could see the northern lights. By the time we got out, they had dimmed, but you could see some. I will definitely keep looking each night, but from the safety of the observatory on the roof.

Tomorrow I will show some pictures of the landscape. Can someone describe a tundra to me?

Polar Bear Art

Here is a cute picture that Cailin drew and sent to me.  

Permafrost and the active layer

As we discussed in class, permafrost is soil that is at or below freezing for two years or more.   What happens when the sun shines on permafrost?  Some of the soil on the top will thaw.  This thawed layer is the active layer.  To see what happens during the year in the active layer, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has a great animation.   What do you think the active layer will look like in Churchill?  How does the latitude of Churchill compare with Northern Alaska?  What happens in the active layer?

Small mammals

As part of the research, we will have to live-trap small mammals.  Why would Dr. Kershaw need to do this?   What mammals might be trapped in Canada?  

Beluga Whales

It looks like I will be arriving in Churchill during a transition phase.  The Beluga whales are leaving the area and the polar bears have yet to fully arrive.  What do you know about beluga whales?   Have you been to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut to see the whale?  Tell us some interesting facts about belugas.

Weather

Here is the link for the current weather in Churchill.   Can someone convert the Celsius temperature into Fahrenheit for me so I know how cold it will be?  

I will be working out in the field, digging trenches.  What do you suggest I wear?

New Assessment on Permafrost

Mac just posted an interesting comment about how the thawing of permafrost could help to increase global warming.  A new estimate was just posted on Science Daily that there is a more carbon stored in the permafrost than researchers had thought.  As the permafrost melts is is releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  How fast is the permafrost melting in the Hudson Bay area?   Keep reading, hopefully we will find out!

Visiting Churchill

Here is a link to the town of Churchill, Manitoba.   Although I will be spending most of my time working, I may have some time in town.   What do you think I should see?   Keep in mind that I will be there at the end of September.