Homogenizing and Weighing Soils
Today's task was to homogenize the soil samples from yesterday and weigh samples for use in bacterial/fungal analysis as well as a dry weight of the soils. The soil samples from yesterday were in gallon plastic bags that were massaged to homogenize. A sample of 5-10 g was placed in an aluminum weigh boat to be dried in an over at 60 degrees C. A second sample with mass between 5.00g and 5.07g was weighed for the bacterial/fungal analysis. The second sample was wrapped in aluminum and returned to the refrigerator for further analysis tomorrow. |
A Walk About Toolik
We had a little break after lunch to wonder about the Toolik Research Station's Boardwalk. I took the walk with Amanda who works for Colorado State University and Mary, a teacher from Fort Collins. Amanda has been here on multiple occasions and is well versed in the landscape and flora of the area so it was like having your own naturalist to guide the hike. Board walks are in place to provide a path and minimize the impact on the tundra. We saw two different types of tundra: dry heath and wet sedge. It is interesting that these areas are literally just feet apart.
There is an abundance of research projects going on here at Toolik. Taking a walk around the board walk we were able to see many of the experiments and surmise the experimenters intentions.
More Cleaning for Slide Prep
After dinner we finished cleaning the lab for tomorrow's epifluorescence slide prep. This involved wiping counters and surfaces with alcohol and mopping the floor with bleach to minimize the contamination of the slides. The slides themselves were then double washed with water and then ethanol. We laid them out on the counter to dry overnight and covered them with plastic to prevent additional dust from falling on the slides.
Toolik Talk: John Hobbie
Tonight we were also treated to a talk by John Hobbie from the Wood's Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. He shared stories of his graduate research in the late 50s on Lake Peters and Lake Schrader. Toolkit by the way means Yellow Throated Loon. His stories included one about the C-46 Aircraft with supplies that landed on the ice and promptly sunk. In the spring, the pilot had it towed across the lake and launched into the tundra. He also told of a time when the caribou herd (approx. 123000) circled the entirety of Lake Peters. His findings help discover that 50% of primary activity occurs below ice. I look forward to picking up and reading his book: Land of Extremes: A Natural History of North Slope Alaska that he cowrote with Alex Huryn.