As a field ecologist, I feel at home in the field. Whether trudging through tussock tundra, slowly sinking into a pool of thawed, saturated permafrost clays, or (sometimes preferably) zooming across the Mackenzie Delta in a helicopter, I can't imagine a more rewarding way to study Arctic systems than being immersed in them. Returning from the field and adjusting to life back in 'civilization' can feel strange. However, it won't long before we once again start planning for the next field season. In the interim, I'll be spending much of my fall running samples in the laboratory and analyzing data. It's a thrill to see patterns emerge in data (or sometimes not!), much like a story that emerges from a puzzle as it's pieced together. Like the lid of a puzzle box, our research and pre-field season planning helps us envision what stories might emerge from our fieldwork, but there are always surprises. I immensely enjoy this and the time out of the field spent analyzing data and piecing together a small part of the puzzle that will reveal how arctic systems are changing. One finding leads to 10 more questions, which drives our return to the field. In this sense, the puzzle of Arctic systems is never complete. New pieces emerge constantly and it's a thrill to study them so that we better understand the Arctic's fascinating, inspiring, and ever-changing story.
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Author(s)Scott Zolkos Archives
August 2016
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