My research focuses on the
impacts of climate change on Arctic plants. For example, air temperature in the
Arctic is increasing faster than anywhere else on Earth which is also expected
to cause changes in the amount of rain and snow that falls in particular regions.
If more snowfall occurs during the winter, leading to deeper snow, how will
this extra snow effect the way plants grow in the following summer? And what if
the same plants are also exposed to warmer summer temperatures than average? Does
the insulating effect of deeper snow benefit the plants beneath, more than the
plants that live beneath an average snow pack? Since deeper snow takes longer
to melt away in the spring, does this lead to a shorter growth period for
plants, or does the growing period shift so that plant development occurs later
than plants under average snow conditions? Do warmer temperatures lead to
changes in plant photosynthesis or productivity?
In order to attempt to answer
some of these questions a long term experiment was set up at Cape Bounty to
mimic some of the changes which are expected to occur to the Arctic climate.
The International Tundra Experiment (ITEX, for short) has sites located in
every Country within the Arctic which use the same methods for monitoring plant
growth and abundance, as well as for experimentally manipulating the climate.
At Cape Bounty, we manipulate air temperature by using open-top chambers (OTCs;
image below). These chambers act like small greenhouses, warming the air inside
by trapping in some heat. We also set up snow fences which trap windblown snow
and let it accumulate about three times deeper than the average snow depth. We
are able to compare between every combination of snow and warming effects by
having plots exposed to both snow and warming, snow only, warming only, and
some plots that remain in normal temperature and snow conditions.
Throughout the summer, I spend a
lot of time crawling around on the ground staring at plants. I monitor the date
that specific individual plants begin to turn green, to flower, and to turn
brown or red in the autumn. I do this in order to determine whether these
warming and snow treatments are impacting the way plants grow, and also to
determine whether specific species of plants are impacted more than others. I
also measure how productive the plants within each plot by measuring how much
carbon dioxide is being emitted to the atmosphere from the soils/plants, and
how much is being removed from the atmosphere by the plants themselves through
photosynthesis. We do this in a number of ways.
When I arrived this year on June
8, there was still very much snow throughout the landscape, and especially
behind the ITEX snow fences! Since one of my goals this year was to monitor
when each of the different treatment plots became snow free, and there was so
much snow, I had time to take care of a few other tasks. One of these included
setting up a special type of meteorological station which measures carbon dioxide
changes in the atmosphere. CO2 concentrations in the winter time are higher
than in the summer because there are no green plants growing yet. Once the snow
melts, plants begin to photosynthesize, a process which removes CO2 from the
atmosphere to use for plant growth. This removal of CO2 is so significant that
it’s noticeable when you measure the concentration over the entire spring and
summer. CO2 also gets emitted into the atmosphere from the soil. We’re
interested in this CO2 concentration because it has been increasing
significantly over the past several decades, and seem to be causing Earth’s
temperature to increase through a process called the greenhouse effect. This
station, seen below, measures the CO2 concentration continually throughout the
summer.
At Cape Bounty there are no roads, no permanent
buildings, no electricity (other than from a gas generator), no internet or
email, and no phones. We are totally isolated and we are the visitors here,
guests among the Birds, Lemmings, Caribou, Foxes, Muskox, Wolves, and even the
Polar Bear! This is there home, and getting the chance to visit this place is
something that I never take for granted.
Every day we see several of various bird species who
live here. One of the common birds, two of which seem to be possibly nesting
nearby because we see them almost daily, is the Brant, which is a type of
goose. We’ve also seen the Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, King Eider, Snow
Goose, Harris’ Sparrow, American Golden Plover, Jaeger, and the Rough Legged
Hawk (below). This year I’ve made a point to try to identify and photographs
all the different birds I’ve seen.
On
more rare occasions we sometimes get the honour of seeing herds of Muskox.
Often too far away, I’ve counted herds up to 25-30 individuals. On this rare
occasion, we saw the herd 2 or 3 km away in the distance as we approached one of
our study sites. About 50 meters away, just on the other side of a river, an
object that we all just assumed from a distance was a boulder turned out to be
a single Muskox, possibly standing guard, keeping an eye on us? I'm not sure why
he was so far from the herd, but he didn’t seem to mind posing for some
incredible photos that day!
More
often than you might think we are visited by three wolves. They never seem too
interested in us, and they have plenty of Muskox and Caribou to eat so they
have never been a problem to us. They tend to visit our research sites, mark
their territory, and move on, often never even looking at us while they do
their rounds. On some occasions they come to our camp and remind us of their
presence. These animals are incredible and its amazing to get to be able to see
them like this in their natural environment. The feeling you get when you get
to stand there and look at a wild Arctic Wolf from 30 meters away is like
nothing I’ve experienced before, and sometimes its nice to not have a camera
and just take in that moment. I have a lot of respect for any animal who can
survive here year round, but the Wolf is by far my favourite.
Lastly, the scenery and landscapes are unexplainable. No
matter how many photos I take, none can really capture what it’s like to see
this place with your own eyes. The photos below is from one of my favourite
location and scenes here at Cape Bounty. On top of this plateau, the bedrock
juts out forming these huge pillars. From here you can see both of the lakes
and the ocean as far as the horizon. Right now there is so much contrast on the
landscape between remaining snow packs, meltwater, distant greening valleys and
rivers. Hiking along this ridge really makes me appreciate the opportunity to
come here and do science. It makes the long, cold, tiring, days carrying gear
seem like nothing when these are the views we get to see every day.
