It was really great going to the State of the Arctic conference this past week, re-connecting with all the Polaris folks, presenting our research, and meeting some of the leaders in arctic climate change research.  We each had posters discussing our projects and got some great feedback from the other attendees.  My research project stemming from our field work last summer has been going really well.  I’ve been able to estimate the amount of dissolved organic matter in the Kolyma River and some of its major tributaries using satellite imagery.  This will allow us to begin looking at broader spatial variability throughout the lower Kolyma River and begin to assess the interannual variability in years where satellite imagery is available, but field data isn’t.   Our group were the only undergraduates at the conference, but every one we talked to seemed pretty impressed by the level of work we were doing and our trip to Siberia!  The poster session gave me ideas for what to do next in my project to improve the presentation and actual research.  It was also great being able to see everyone else’s results!  We all had fun finding out what the others have been up to for the past few months.  There’s so much going on in arctic science, it felt like we were really contributing something to the scientific community and part of a critical effort to understand the arctic system.

I really enjoyed getting to meet with others in the Arctic community, and start making connections that may be useful in the future.  Next year, I’ll be starting my PhD at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, and this was a great opportunity to meet with my future advisor to discuss what happens next.  I’ll be on the North Slope of Alaska, at the Toolik Field Station for a couple weeks this summer, helping out on a project assessing the seasonality of small rivers in the region – its so exciting to be going back to the Arctic!  Polaris has been great in so many ways, but two things really stick out as being most important to me.  For one, I now know that the Arctic is where I want to be – not necessarily living there (I’m from Texas, the cold scares me!), but researching and learning about this remote, beautiful place.  The group of people that I’ve met through Polaris Project, though, is probably one of the best aspects of the experience.  We may not all end up doing Arctic research, but I think our shared experience will always help us keep in touch, and possibly work together in the future!