Touchdown

We’ve finally made it to the Northeast Science Station in Cherskiy. It’s 12:30 in the morning and the sun is still up. The landscape here is more amazing than I could have imagined. During the plane ride, I was able to look out my window onto a landscape unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Rivers and streams meander aimlessly amongst seemingly randomly placed lakes. All the hydrological features, both above and below ground, are marked by grass contrasting against the forest.

Lakes upon lakes

I’ve found that the Polaris Project provides the opportunity to observe phenomena that is difficult to accurately conceptualize without seeing it in person. Over the past two days, I have been able to see things in person that I had previously only read about.

Unloading at the station

Yesterday in Yakutsk, we had the opportunity to visit the Permafrost Institute and enter its permafrost tunnel. When I had read about permafrost, I mentally pictured it as a frozen muddy concoction speckled with rocky clasts and organic matter. Much to my surprise, the permafrost appeared like sandstone rock which, when melted under my fingertips, crumbled into sand. Within the layers of frozen sand were stripes of 10,000 year old grass roots and frozen vegetation. It’s immensely exciting to be able to touch these sediments which were deposited thousands of years ago.

Until later –Joanne