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Katie Abbott
Katie is a 2008 alumna of the Polaris Project. Katie came to the project from St Olaf College and worked on a research project surveying watershed chemistry and biology. |
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Anya Falina
Anya is a 2008 alumna of the Polaris Project. Anya came to the project from Yakutsk State University and worked on a research project surveying permafrost. |
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Tyler Llewellyn
Tyler is a 2008 alumnus of the Polaris Project. Tyler came to the project from Western Washington University and worked on a research project studying lake drainage and biogeochemistry.
Tyler's journal: July 23, 2008
While I learned a lot about science on this project, discussions such as the ones I had earlier today seem to be just as important and influential to me and my future. Prior to this experience, I knew nothing about the research funding process, had only a vague idea about how graduate school functions, and understood very little about how scientists work and thus how science is done. However, numerous discussions with PIs at different points along the trip, with today being a day full of interaction, have really opened my eyes to the world of science. I believe that this communication will likely have more of an impact on my career as a scientist than the science learned from this project itself; which is hard to believe since I have had more hands-on scientific experience in the last three weeks on this project than my last three years in college.
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Matt Ruppel
Matt is a 2008 alumnus of the Polaris Project. Matt came to the project from Holy Cross College and worked on a research project surveying watershed chemistry and biology.
Matt's journal: July 21, 2008
Hot dog stew for dinner, on the boat. Tasted great. Warm and fatty, perfect food for the cold. I don’t know if I will ever be impressed by a landscape again. Completely mind-numbing, it left me speechless. I am glad I chose to make the trip North and not stay on the barge. Even with the cold and dirt, I think this will prove to be one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. Photos don’t do this place justice.
July 29, 2009
I don’t know how this trip is going to affect my life, but I’m excited that it will. Great people, great science and many new friends. This is probably one of those things I will not forget, and thank goodness we were asked to keep a journal, as it will aid in making that possible. |
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Anya Suslova
Anya is a 2008 alumna of the Polaris Project. Anya came to the project from Yakutsk State University and worked on a research project surveying watershed chemistry and biology.
Anya's journal: 15 July 2008
Sergey gave us a lecture, and it was most incredible think that I ever heard! He said: "You think that real nature is trees and birds, and you must save them, but it is not true. Trees grow here illegally! This is real nature (and he pointed to the grass) this grass was here thousand years ago when here were big animals, but people killed them and all this disappeared. Now permafrost is melting, so grass that was in fridge for thousand years is penetrating"
Anya's journal: 21 July 2008
Today we slept in Tundra! In the morning I was with stream group. The stream that we measured was very different from streams we saw before. It looked like small connected lakes. These small “lakes” were very deep, I had a 2m stick, I didn’t reach the bottom with it. |
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Kate Willis
Kate is a 2008 alumna of the Polaris Project. Kate came to the project from Clark University and worked on a research project surveying watershed chemistry and biology.
Kate's journal: July 11, 2008
Today was our first full day in Cherskiy. It is amazing here. Such a beautiful and remote landscape. I have never seen anything like it. The field station is so cool! It looks like we jumped into one of the pictures Karen showed us in class in January! I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE HERE! |
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Boyd Zapatka
Boyd is a 2008 alumnus of the Polaris Project. Boyd came to the project from Clark University and worked on a research project studying lake drainage and biogeochemistry.
Boyd's journal: July 12, 2008
Another full day! After waking up early and having some good laughs with Max, John, and Kate it was back to work. Kate and I had woken up early to sift though some chlorophyll data...I kept noticing patterns between turbidity, chlorophyll, and depth and started to understand some of the chemistry and particulates found in these lakes.
Boyd's journal: July 13, 2008
Trudging through tussocks and alder forests, I helped Laura trap methane and hydrogen in the stream and then from two small ponds and the larger lake. I learned a lot about why she was measuring hydrogen release into the atmosphere from these lakes – it seems the main focus is methane but scientists often overlook the role of hydrogen in the atmosphere and how large releases affect cycling.
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