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(Top left) Sunglasses at 10pm along treeline are a must under the Arctic midnight sun! (Middle) Compass points due north into the Arctic Ocean. (Right) Tuktoyaktuk is the northernmost town in the region and home to the Inuvialuit people. (Bottom right) Sign marks the Arctic Ocean. 

Canadian Treeline Field Work 

July 2019

This July, I traveled to Arctic treeline near Inuvik, NT Canada (top left) to finish up our team's fieldwork. At this site, we've measured tree growth via dendrometers and meteorological variables like air and soil temperature, soil moisture, and wind speed/direction on 24 trees since July 2017. Using these data, we aim to study ecophysiology, or the interactions between the environment and physiological functioning, of trees responding to changes in climate. Can't wait to dig into this data soon! 

Shout out to the amazing technicians at Aurora Research Institute for their assistance the past two years! With their help, I was able to finish fieldwork half a day early and drive up to Tuktoyaktuk, NT, a hamlet nestled against the Arctic Ocean (middle, top right, and bottom right) and home to the Inuvialuit people. It was a pleasure to connect with these people and this land by learning more about Inuvialuit culture, traditional fishing practices, and how climate change was affecting them. I was astonished to hear that Pacific Salmon, whose range was traditionally limited to the waters surrounding Alaska, are showing up near Tuk. Warming sea temperatures may be facilitating expanded marine migrations of Pacific Salmon. I wonder how these fish will compete & interact with whitefish, the traditional dietary staple of the Inuvialuit. 

 

Visiting the Arctic Ocean was a dream come true! Looking forward to coming back for a longer stay in Tuk soon! 

Forest Ecology goes to the Catskills!

October 2018 

During a weekend field trip, students got to experience three forest types, or associations, along an elevational gradient through the Catskill Mountains of NY: the Southern Hardwood Forest (not pictured), Northern Hardwood Forest (above left), and Boreal Forest (above middle and right). 

The class celebrates with a picture after an epic day of forest sampling and snowball fights! 

(Photo credit: Ellery Vaughan, CC '19)

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