Posts filed under Friday Theme

Friday Theme, One picture is worth more than one thousand words

I have written about thermokarsts before here and I will do it again when this Friday theme seems very appropriate for this natural creation.

Thermokarsts are huge, and are the result of permafrost (soil that remains continuously frozen for at least two consecutive years) degradation. Permafrost degradation is connected to climate, since the term permafrost is connected to frozen ground. With increase in temperature these features may increase in numbers over large areas in the permafrost zone. But temperature itself is not the only driver and there are other factors that may trigger the degradation of permafrost.

One of the key parts in research about thermokarsts and permafrost right now is to figure out what effect this degradation has on the global carbon budget. The permafrost zone contains more than 50% of the estimated GLOBAL belowground carbon storage, even though it only accounts for about 16% of the global soil area.

Up on the north slope (and also in the boreal forest) there are not only thermokarst, there are also mosquitoes, many many mosquitoes.

This winter break me and W went to canyon lands in Utah, specifically island in the sky. An amazing place and if you haven't been there yet, I suggest you go. These canyons that have been shaped through time have so much history stored in them, and it's amazing that we can hike, and see such an undeveloped place that has been fairly untouched by humans, but completely modified by mother nature.

What will it look like in 100 years? or a thousand? Will those stone towers still be there?

I love hiking, and sometimes you just are and the right place at the right moment

He didn't even see us,

Anyway, hope you all will have a great weekend

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Ann Rumbleinthearctic and filed under Friday Theme, Photography, The great wide open, Alaska, Science and tagged Friday Theme global carbon budget Happiness Outdoors permafrost degradation science Science Elsewhere 2013_2 Nature Environment.

Friday Theme, Water

The first thing that comes into my mind when I hear this theme is a Swedish song by a Swedish singer. His name is Robert Broberg and he has a song called "water - the city is full of water" or "Vatten - stan är full av vatten" as the name is in Swedish. This theme makes me miss Stockholm and my summerhouse up in the north so much. Living in the interior of Alaska far away from the water is hard, but I must admit that it feels better now compared to when I just moved here.

Stockholm by night is so beautiful, and this is where I spent so many times running.

Being surrounded by water is something that I haven't really thought about before moving from Stockholm. I was so used to being by the water that I didn't even react to the fact that I always have been close to the water. Even at our summer house.

Our summer house is called "the summerhouse no rest" kind of bluntly translated. Which means, there is not really any rest, since there is always something that needs to be done. A lot of people in Sweden have summerhouses, and our summerhouse is in the north of Sweden where my dad grew up. I miss the pine, and the forest mixed with the water.

I love the water because it can make such beautiful reflections in the water, like this one below.

Hey guys, guess what, that picture above is upside down :) thought I would make something fun for you.

Before we leave Sweden I want to share one last picture with you, which is an old bathing house in a town called Varberg at the westcoast, where my dads brother live with his family.

But Alaska and the US have really nice water bodies too. Here is W in yellowstone trying to warm up:

San Fran makes beautiful reflections in the water:

Yellowstone is really beautiful, but I have only been there in the wintertime, which might be just good, since there are less people there at that point. The hot springs create really cool things:

Moving back into the west and Alaska, we do have an ocean touching Alaska. Down towards Anchorage,Homer and Juneau you have the mountains touching the water.

In Anchorage there is a brewery called Sleeping lady, just like the mountain that you can see from the porch of their brewery:

Juneau and the ocean:

Sunset in Homer is always beautiful, it is amazing what a difference water can make in a picture.

Is it so surprisingly that my research is about water too? Guess not. I had to keep myself connected to the water.

Water is such an essential part of life, we need water to survive. This picture on the right is showing my old cat Moje, who lived to be twenty something.

It is also a great way to transport yourself. Two years ago me and W went on a canoe/kayak trip in September, and it was so great, The colours were so nice.

Also, water has the great capability of forming stone through time:

By the end of September everything starts to freeze, even the berries, and you know, ice is just another form of water.

As weather gets colder you water falls are starting to turn into icefalls and before you know it you can climb them. This picture above is a picture I took of a friend of mine, the one I always go climbing with. She is contemplating the climb we have in front of us. The Ice is really thin and you can actually see the water flowing. It is more of a mixed climbing.Ice can form these beautiful natural patterns:

But us humans can also alter the ice and turn it into jus about anything. Like we see at the Ice Alaska Championship every year.

To finish up I will show you what happens when boiling water meets -40 degree air. [wpvideo L9dVTDzD]

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Ann Rumbleinthearctic and filed under Friday Theme, Photography, The great wide open, Alaska, Stockholm and tagged Alaska camping Colours Fall Friday Theme Happiness Homer Outdoors reflections water Winter 2013_2 Snow Nature Mountains.

Friday Theme, In my Environment right now

Ok, so this weeks Friday theme just had to be one day late. I feel like this is something that occurs quite often. It is not cause I don't want to do them, it is because I haven't had time (read taken time). This Friday theme fits right into my life right now, since that is what is causing me to be late....again. This, my friends, is what I was doing yesterday evening til 8.30 in the evening. Lab work. Once I spent 46 hrs in the lab, straight, cause I just had to finish the experiment and you can't pause it. Research is hard work to say the least.

Or when W helped me out in the field and we left around 6 in the morning and didn't finish until 7 in the evening, and then the 3 km hike, 30 minute ATV ride, and 1 hr car ride to get back into the lab (ate dinner somewhere around there), put everything in the freezer/fridge, Shower and then BED. And it just had to be around 86F that day (30 degrees C), and SUN and we ran out of our drinking water, so exhausted. Hauling soil back from the field, after coring for soil. On top of that, parts of the ground was still frozen that made it so much harder and exhausting.

This picture below (left) is from another day in the field. But I love my job, even though it takes up a great amount of my hrs, especially in the summertime. And it is so pretty out in the field!

W has been gone this week, and since I don't have a drivers license (yet) I have been using other modes of transportation. Like my bike. Problem is, parts of the way is completely un plowed. Anther part of the way gets plowed every now and then. I biked Monday, tires didn't have enough air in them....cause the bike had been standing for a while, and that made it so much worse. Going home, a little better. But still...with the amount of snow on the ground it was like biking in sand. Biked to work again the next day, but then decided to change that mode of transportation.

I decided to give the skis a try, cause the worse thing that could happen is that you run into a moose :) I love skiing, and it is so beautiful in the morning and in the evening. It is not that far at all. Around 2.5 miles, depending on what trail you pick.