After a short but sweet training session on the snowmobiles (and a few spills along the way), Claire, Nate, and I (Alicia) all headed out with a bear guard to start gathering samples for next year’s class of Chem 125- Authentic Research Experience in Snow Chemistry students. To understand the spatial variability in snow chemistry, we decided to sample in 100 ft transects, collecting surface snow every 20 ft. At the end of each transect (100 ft) we took a depth profile so students can see how chemical composition varies with distance above the sea ice.
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| Depth profile for transect #2. There was some pretty shallow snow! |
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| Claire and I collecting a surface sample in the first transect. |
We stopped at four sites to take
transects, each about a mile apart, and then stopped quickly a fifth time to
take another depth profile. This is what our path looks like when our sampling
coordinates are plugged into Google Earth (which doesn't show that everything is frozen and snow-covered!).
Not only did we get a total of 38
(!) snow samples to analyze, but we also got the privilege to see a real, live
polar bear in its natural habitat! We couldn’t get any decent pictures due to
the fact that it was very far away (thank goodness!), but it’s appearance made
this trip even more of a once in a lifetime experience than it already was.
Props to our bear guard, Orion, for spotting the bear from such a long
distance! Not only this, but our talented bear guard also spotted two caribou in
their trek across the tundra- giving us the chance to see not one, but two of the Arctic’s more fabled
creatures.
It was a beautiful day to say the
least, and something that I know I will never forgot. Thanks so much Prof. Pratt and our funding sources at the University of Michigan for making this trip a reality! Last but definitely not least, Go Blue!
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