Polaris students bonded by science, tundra experiences

When we got here, we barely knew each other. We had spent just a few days together, a training weekend in April, a…

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Two unforgettable weeks on a stunning landscape

As our time at the Polaris Project field camp in the YK Delta comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on the past two…

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Unsettling heat, storms & smoke on the tundra

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog in transit about…

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Feeling the heat: Alaska Natives and the salmon they depend on

I was initially drawn to the Polaris project because of its focus on conducting field-based research about climate change in Alaska. The location, the…

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The joy of changing plans

For most of my peers and I, leaving for Alaska is a large change from our everyday norm. In fact, for many of…

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Studying the connection between grasses, fires, and methane

When we arrived at our field camp in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta last week, the term “fen” had been…

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Field-testing science in the YKD

My arrival in the tundra was three days ago when we float-planed to the remote Polaris field camp in the Yukon Kuskokwim…

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Coming back to camp

The 2019 Polaris team arrived at the field site today, after piling into two planes and flying across the tundra. I remembered the…

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As climate warms, tundra fire cycles are changing

While traveling in the slow-moving morning commute from the suburbs of Massachusetts to Boston, I have time to reflect on my experiences that…

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Going to the tundra? There’s a map for that

“The number one rule of cartographia was that if you could not observe a phenomena, you were not allowed to depict it on your…

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