Field Notes
During, before, and after the field course, Polaris students and faculty share their thoughts through journal entries.
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Preparing for an Experimental Burn
Today, I had the privilege of working with Dr. Heather Alexander of the University of Texas at Brownsville and her team, setting up 16 plots for an experimental burn to determine how the severity of fire in the Siberian boreal ecosystem affects the permafrost soils and the germination of larch
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A Full First Day at the Northeast Science Station
Since we arrived a day later than expected, we needed to work especially hard to make up for lost time at our new home near Cherskiy. This morning, a combination of cold and snow could not hamper the work needing to be done. A favorite saying of my family in
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Snow and Science
Now it feels like Siberia. With our arrival in Chiersky, we see things start to unfold and project ideas becoming planned activities. The realization of where you are in the world takes a while to set in.
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Siberian Science… and Adventures!
Florida to North Carolina to New York to Moscow. Moscow to Yakutsk...stuck in Yakutsk...and finally to Cherskiy! Moscow was very interesting. The architecture there is unbelievably unique. Red square is an amazingly alive and vibrant place.
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And we’re off…
Six days, four flights, two airport meat puffs, and a multiple night layover later we have arrived in Cherskiy.
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Arrival in Cherskiy
After nearly a week of grueling travel, we finally arrived in Cherskiy!
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Fun Highlights of Our Trip to Cherskiy
I left Denver, Colorado at 12:56 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26th and arrived in Cherskiy at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Below are a few of my favorite highlights of the trip with the Polaris Project that didn’t make previous journals.
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An Unexpected PolarTREC Day in Yakutsk, Russia
Although we had hoped to be in Cherskiy already, our unexpected extra day in Yakutsk was remarkable. Because our Polaris Project group was quite numerous (over 30), we were split into two different hotels.
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What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
We should have arrived in Cherskiy by now, but due to some back ups and delays at the Yakutsk airport we were unable to complete the last leg of our journey as scheduled.
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Stuck in Yakutsk
In the airport in Yakutsk, Russia today, our Polaris Project Expedition leader, Dr. Max Holmes, gathered everyone around him and started his announcement pointing out that few scientists do research in the Siberian Arctic because it is difficult to even get to the Siberian Arctic.
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Eager for Things to Come
After speed-dating with the PIs, everyone is more ready than ever to get to Cherskiy and start working on their projects.
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Science Speed Dating
With the PIs lined up against one wall, the students rotated through the scientific gauntlet and tried to explain what our interests were and listen to the variety of projects being undertook once we arrived in Cherskiy.
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Moscow and Speed-Dating-Science
The students and researchers of the Polaris Project made our way from New York to Moscow yesterday. Today, we leave Moscow and fly six time zones overnight to reach Yakutsk. It is an exciting experience to meet enthusiastic scientists and embark on an adventure together.
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On the bus in Moscow
The plan is to meet up with the rest of the group flying in from other places in Europe and do some quick sightseeing. The students will begin meeting in earnest with the scientists and planning out their projects.
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Converging on JFK
Many of the Polaris members from the United States are converging on JFK right now. A day of waiting (the first of several such days) before the flight to Moscow. 2012 flights to JFK …
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