Privyet! Hello to everyone back home and elsewhere. I am sure that you are all happy to know that we are alive and well, thriving even. I am working with the stream team, as we have come to be called. We look at how carbon is moved from the slopes of hills and from lakes and also look for physical and biological processes that occur along the way.
Eli grins as he stands up after falling in a hole on our hike up Y4. We had to push our way through fairly dense undergrowth, which obscured the uneven ground and made tripping highly likely. © Becky Tachihara
For my project, I am comparing how different Yedoma streams are from Floodplain streams in biological activity (the microbial community). To assess this I am measuring the dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), biological oxygen demand (BOD), ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate in the water. It sounds like a bunch of measurements but I can collect a lot of them using a YSI probe which I stick in the water to get measurements. For the other tests I collect two liters of water at each site to bring back to the laboratory.
Eli pours water samples from a nearby stream into bottles in preparation for running a biological oxygen demand (BOD) test, which measures how much oxygen is dissolved in a water sample. Eli said he will use the BOD data to find and compare microbial activity in different samples. © Becky Tachihara
To collect my samples I bushwhack my way downstream from the lakes and collect water samples along the way.…and then there are the mosquitoes. I was told before I left that the mosquitoes are the worst that they have ever seen. Still, nothing could have prepared me for how many mosquitoes there are. Along the streams, the mosquitoes are loud enough that it makes it difficult to talk to someone only a few feet away. We play a game to see who kills the most mosquitoes with one swat of their hand. I believe the record so far is upwards of twenty. 0.o
Yesterday’s trek to collect samples was demoralizing, because hiked across the shrubbery, fighting mosquitoes along the way, only to be able to collect data and samples at two of the four locations because the YSI broke. Today, I left early with Anya Suslova and Becky Tachihara to recollect the data from yesterday. It was a success and we were even accompanied by the local dog, Polaris.
Eli and Polaris walk back to the barge after a day doing field work at Y4. © Becky Tachihara
Afterwards we jumped in the river for a refreshing swim, and now I am preparing for another delicious lunch.
Until next time, cheers!
Comments(8)-
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Boot-Boot says
July 15, 2011 at 1:32 amEli,
I want to say that I mainly looked at the pictures. The other stuff seemed boring, so next time keep it interesting. But I guess it’s good that you finally posted something. And I want to say that I am going to see HARRY POTTER(said in a bad fake british accent.) BEFORE YOU!! So ha! 🙂
Love,
Hannah
Lauren says
July 16, 2011 at 11:22 pmEli!!!
I miss you and am terribly jealous you are in Russia. You have to be my tour guide in the future. Do they have those Russian dolls where they all fit inside the other, bigger one? I hope you are having lots of fun and learning tons of new stuff! It seems you are, but I understood about 40% of all that science-y stuff. Come home soon!
Love,
Lauren
Yvonne Rhoades says
July 17, 2011 at 2:57 amEli, glad to see that you are “OK”. Great pictures, the area looks very interesting, but rough! Work hard, have fun, and return home safely.
Love Mom
P.S. Temps are between 102 to 105 back at home, be prepared when you step off the plane in OKC!
Uncle Chris says
July 17, 2011 at 4:55 pmVery cool Eli. I’m pretty proud of you.
Melly says
July 17, 2011 at 5:23 pmELIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIi !!!!! 🙂 So glad you finally posted some blogs!!! Love the pic of you smiling after falling in a hole….hheheheheh, thank goodness for all the years of hiking up and around in the Wichita Mts and creeks! Pretty neat info you have going on. Research and all. Keep us updated of your journey!!!! Tooo Keen! 🙂 love you Eli !!!! 😉
Lima says
July 21, 2011 at 7:52 pmYes. I was looking forward to this.
Your hair!! <3
Good luck my friend!!
Aunt Regina says
July 21, 2011 at 9:58 pmHey Eli, Looks like you are having fun! I am so glad to see that you are alive and well. Love your pics. Enjoy your time there. Be safe. Love you always, Aunt Regina