Yesterday the Clarkie students traveled in to Boston from Worcester to attend fellow Polaris Member Chris Linder’s art exhibition. The exhibit, Exploring the Arctic Seafloor, displayed photos from an expedition to map what lies under the sea ice. Chris went with a team from WHOI to document the science and the landscape aboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden. Along the way, he took amazing photos of the sea ice, the unsetting sun, polar bears and birds, and life aboard the ship. From landing the helicopter that barely fits on a slab of ice, to orange mats of microbial life on the ocean floor, the science and life style of these scientists in the field chronicles the challenges and beauty of working in such an extreme place. Even though we were working in a far different environment, seeing this exhibit brought back memories of our time in Siberia.
We had a great time seeing Chris again and catching up a little. We also had fun talking to a few people about the science we did and doing a little outreach of our own. Deciding that there was a dearth of pictures featuring Chris, we took one of him posing in front of his work. We’re both continuing to work on our respective projects, developing ideas and getting ready to present to our communities. As well as presentations at Clark, Claire is going home to Austin in November to speak to her old AP Environmental Science class. Blaize will also be giving a presentation this fall to her high school in South Windsor, CT.

Blaize and Claire