Blog Post for Polar Field Services

During my time in Greenland this summer, I was able to meet and talk with several people from Polar Field Services (who do a lot of the logistics work for supporting scientists working in Greenland). They were very excited about the groups I am involved in (IGERT and iisPACS) and wanted me to write a blog about my journeys to Greenland and share some pictures, as a way to get more people interested in science by seeing the type of work that is out there. The link to the blog is below:

http://www.polarfield.com/blog/guest-post-hydrologic-cycle-west-greenland/

Thanks for your interest!

Russel Glacier to the east of Kangerlussuaq

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New Summit Melt Layer

I arrived at Summit Station on July 13th, while traveling with the
Joint Science and Education Program (JSEP) for a short visit to the
camp. When we arrived, Summit Station had been experiencing above
freezing temperatures for multiple days prior to our arrival and a
melt layer formed on the near surface snow. I have been studying the
physical properties of the top layers of the ice, the firn, at Summit
and NEEM for my Ph.D. research. Recently, I have been focused on the
melt layers present in both firn cores because they occur very
infrequently. At Summit, there is only one other melt layer besides
the melt layer from this past week and this previous melt layer dates
to 1889.

The most interesting part of being at Summit Station just after a melt
event had occurred, is that the melt layer formation process could be
observed. When studying a firn core, there is only a small cross
section of the firn column that can be examined, which makes it hard
to understand how the melt layer formed and how evenly distributed it
is. Studying snow pits at Summit, including the recent melt layer,
presents a unique opportunity for us to understand how previous melt
events occurred. While at Summit density, stratigraphy, and
permeability measurements have been taken and samples will also be
brought back to the laboratory at Dartmouth, which will give us a clue
about melt layers in the past.

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The Carbon Cycle Dance

This past Monday morning, Julia and I had the pleasure to work with a group of high school students on the Greenland Education Tour (read their blog here).  The group is currently stationed in Kangerlussuaq, where they are meeting with scientists, recording their own measurements, and getting to know the area.

Prior to meeting the 21 students, hailing from all over Denmark, the United States, and Greenland, we knew we wanted to do something physically active and engaging.  It was hard to plan ahead, however, not knowing anything about the group.  Finally, we settled on something that would either work really well or totally flop: a carbon cycle dance!  Fortunately, the students were eager to dance as carbon dioxide molecules, willing to let me capture them through photosynthesis, and ready to have Julia decompose and respire them back to the atmosphere!  Our dance included carbon storage in the atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, as well as the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition.  While dancing, we discussed the complexities added with permafrost, a warming climate, and human consumption of fossil fuels. 

Although Julia and I do enjoy dancing around the tundra, we also wanted to give the students a feeling for the work that we do each day in the field (see Julia’s earlier blog post on gas analyzing for more details).  One student initially thought the gas analyzer was a lawn chair (we wish!), but Julia soon set her straight and explained the different components of the system and how they work.  Before measuring the soil respiration, we decided to measure our own respiration, which quickly turned into a breathing contest.  Students were eager to show off how much carbon dioxide they could breathe into the chamber until they realized that perhaps they shouldn’t feel so good about contributing to climate change!

After our demonstration, we were happy to join the students on a walk out to Russell Glacier, where we saw (and heard) a few incredible calving events.  Everyone was impressed by the enormity of the ice wall and the brilliant blue color of the ice. 

On the way back from Russell Glacier, as we crested the hill and looked out over Long Lake, I pointed out the moraines striping the hillside to the students walking near me.  There is nothing like seeing the history of an ice sheet so clearly recorded along the side of a valley, each gravelly ridge marking a moment in time when the ice paused in its retreat.  The students shared my enthusiasm for the view, exclaiming with awe in their eyes, “science is so cool!”  Even if they remember nothing else from the day, I feel satisfied and proud to have left them with that sentiment.  It is one I agree with completely.

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