We arrived in Yakutsk around 10 am yesterday due to a plane delay in Moscow.  While the flight was technically a “red-eye”, it never was dark during its 6 hour duration.  In order to retrieve our baggage, a ticket had to be shown for each bag (a system drastically different from the United States).  We then took a bus from the airport to our hotel near the city center.  Along the way we experienced a city similar in structure to Moscow, but with distinctive Asian influences.  Aside from the populace, one could tell we were in Asia due to the numerous signs advertising the Children of Asia Games that are currently underway.

The major attraction of the day was a tour of the Permafrost Institute.  Even before visiting the institute, we saw the effects of thawing permafrost from older buildings sinking and newer buildings having elaborate pillars to anchor their foundations to the permafrost.  This problem is prevalent due to Yakutsk being the largest city in the world built on continuous permafrost.  The tour took us down into two tunnels in the permafrost, one 4 meters and another 12 meters below the surface.  The temperature difference was striking!  We started at 30 C at the surface and experienced -6 C in the deeper tunnel.  Along the sides of the tunnels there were exposed plant roots that are at least 55,000 years old that could be mistaken for being alive!  After the permafrost tour, we went to a very nice Pleistocene museum at Yakutsk State University.  They had a collection of various megafauna skeletons characteristic of the period.  Due to everyone being exhausted after several days of traveling, we went back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep after getting something to eat.

 Tyler Llewellyn, Student, Western Washington University

Katie Abbott, Student, St. Olaf