Four Arctic IGERT Conference in Juneau, AK
In March 2011, the C-CHANGE fellows joined forces with fellows from three other IGERT programs to discuss issues surrounding climate change and the Arctic in a workshop titled “Understanding Rapid Environmental and Social Change in the Arctic: Bridging Traditional Knowledge and Interdisciplinary Science Across IGERTs.” This three-day, student-organized workshop included attendees from the Polar Environmental Change Program (Dartmouth College), Resilience and Adaptation Program (RAP, University of Alaska Fairbanks), Marine Ecosystem Sustainability in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic (MESAS, University of Alaska Fairbanks) partnered with undergraduate students from the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Program (HERS, Haskell Indian Nations University).
The workshop included keynote addresses from Dr. Daniel Wildcat from Haskell Indian Nations University, and Dr. George Charles from University of Alaska Anchorage, as well as a panel discussion with local legislative leaders. Trainees from each IGERT program organized and led sessions addressing 1) the relationships between TEK and interdisciplinary research, frontiers in Arctic research, partnering with rural communities in the North, and managing an open Arctic. In addition, many of the IGERT fellows took an afternoon hike to Mendenhall Glacier, which was absolutely beautiful!
C-CHANGE trip to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
In July 2010, the C-CHANGE fellows visited Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. This trip was the culmination of the course Climate Change in Greenland and the Arctic. We flew on a military C-130 plane from Schenectady, NY to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (with a pit stop in Goose Bay, Canada). While there, we hiked onto Russell Glacier, camped on the edge of a meltwater river (complete with two waterfalls!), and met with various scientists and politicians in the area. We met with hydrologists working on glacial meltwater dynamics, a group drilling cores in the ice in which they place sensors for remote data collection,and a group of grad students analyzing phenology (developmental timing) of Arctic plants and animals as well as an outbreak of caterpillars. In addition, we met the US Ambassador to Denmark who was in Greenland while we were visiting. While there, we kept a blog of our activities and created a photo album of all the phenomenal photos! This trip was exciting for me as a scientist since we were able to see all the cutting-edge research currently going on the area. It was also exciting just because of the beautiful scenery and unique opportunities - like hiking on a glacier and eating musk ox and whale meat!
Top Photo: Anna, Hannah, Adam Rebecca and I setting up our tents for the night.
Bottom Photo: Jodi, Dr. Sharon Billings, and Dr. David Braaten inspecting a moulin on Russell Glacier. Moulins occur where water flows into the glacier. The resulting internal river may flow all the way to the bottom of the glacier.
Juniperus collecting trip in California
In the spring of 2010, Taylor Leibbrandt (KU undergraduate in the Ward Lab) and I traveled to Los Angeles, CA to collect seeds from Juniperus californica and Juniperus occidentalis trees in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests, which surround Los Angeles to the north and northeast. While there, we visited the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits - they've made significant progress on Zed the Mammoth since I was there in 2009! The seeds collected from this trip will be used in a comparison of the size of glacial Juniperus seeds preserved in the tar pits and size of modern seeds. Some may also be used in a growth chamber experiment where Juniperus seeds are germinated and grown under limiting CO2 conditions representative of the Last Glacial Maximum.
C-CHANGE trip to Michoacan, Mexico
In January 2010, the C-CHANGE group traveled to Michoacan, Mexico to observe the annual monarch butterfly migration. This trip was the culmination of the IGERT C-CHANGE class Climates and Borders: Monarch Colonies and Local Economies in Mexico. The research done for this class involved modeling potential climatic changes in current monarch overwintering areas and the surrounding mountain ranges to determine whether suitable overwintering habitat will increase, decrease and/or migrate. In addition, research was conducted on the potential social and economic ramifications of such changes on the surrounding ejidos (communal land-holdings). The results of this research have been submitted to the journal Nature Climate Change for publication.
During the trip, we spent a few days in Mexico City where we toured the world-famous Museo Nacional de Antropologia, spoke with researchers at CONABIO (Mexico's leading biological research agency),the director of CONANP (Mexico's government office for managing protected areas) and members of World Wildlife Fund - Mexico. We then spent several days in Angangeo, Michoacan where we hiked to see the monarch colonies at El Rosario and Sierra Chincu, which are part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage site). There we visisted with ejidatarios in both communities. This trip was a fascinating opportunity to see a unique biological phenomenon and to discuss the impact of climate-induced changes on such a system with scientists, government officials, and the communities most directly affected.
Photo: The C-CHANGE group at El Rosario with WWF-Mexico representatives and ejidatarios
