We learned about how they hunt and other cultural traditions of the Iñupiat tribe.
Luckily, we did not have any serious issues with things like scientific equipment breaking down or even a bad run in with a polar bear when we were out on the tundra. The only problems we had were pretty minor, mostly involving getting our ATVs stuck in the tundra. But that was an easy fix--our polar bear guards were able to pull us out. Towards the end, it started to get cold, windy, and sometimes snowy, so that was a little challenging to work in. But we still had fun while doing it. When we left, Utqiagvik was starting to transition into winter as the daylight became much shorter and snow stuck to the ground.
Even though the expedition is over, there is still a lot of work to do back in our laboratory at Colorado State University. We collected almost 200 samples that we are currently testing for their DNA to look at what types of microorganisms are in the samples. We are also running special tests to see if the materials in the samples would be important to helping form clouds. We are aiming to see if there are specks of dirt, microbes, and decayed plants in the water and air samples and if they came from the thawing permafrost. This will help us test our hypothesis that thawing permafrost is making its way into the lakes and ocean, and ultimately, into the air where they can help clouds form and influence weather and climate in the Arctic.
Going into the field, doing the lab work, seeing what the data tells us, and sharing our findings with other scientists and the public makes my job incredibly fun and exciting. This is why I love being a scientist. I get to travel the world and try to tackle problems that involve climate change.
