UAF geoscience students take to the Bering Sea
Lea Gardine
907-474-7541
Aug. 2, 2023
UAF geoscience students bound for the Bering Sea on the research vessel Sikuliaq include, at front from left, Jim Costigan, Sarah Andreanoff, Ryan Oeste and Josh Barna, and, at back from left, Xochitl Mu帽oz, Wil Kleiner and Sara Datson.
Seven University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks students will set sail on the research vessel Sikuliaq in August to study the plants, animals and humans that inhabited the Bering Land Bridge during the last ice age.
This is the first time that undergraduate geology students have participated in a research cruise aboard the Sikuliaq, which is owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by UAF. The student team consists of graduate students Josh Barna, Sara Datson and Ryan Oeste, and undergraduates Sarah Andreanoff, Jim Costigan, Wil Kleiner and Xochitl Mu帽oz.
The NSF-funded project will collect marine sediments and microfossils deposited in lakes, ponds or bogs that were above sea level on the Bering Land Bridge during the last ice age. The researchers will employ a gravity corer, a weighted tube that falls through the water and uses gravity to push it into the sediment. In a few places, they will also employ a vibracorer, which uses a high-frequency vibration to drive the sampling device into the sediment about 10 meters below the seafloor.
By examining these cores, they hope to reconstruct the vegetation and climate of the Bering Land Bridge. Results will also shed light on the resources available to human inhabitants and the challenges they faced during and after the last ice age as sea level rose and the land bridge was submerged.
色视频下载淚 was still in high school, researching colleges, when I saw Sikuliaq on UAF's website. I immediately felt drawn to it,色视频下载 said Kleiner. 色视频下载淚 was determined to get on Sikuliaq no matter what 色视频下载 for the experience of the ship, the science, the Bering Sea.色视频下载
Kleiner is a junior majoring in geophysics and minoring in ethnobotany and math, but
he色视频下载檚 unsure how he wants to apply his degree. He hopes this trip will help determine
his future career.
色视频下载淚'm looking forward to this hands-on experience with science, and also to meet researchers from a variety of fields and learn about their work 色视频下载 maybe it's something I'm interested in,色视频下载 he said.
The students will join UAF professor Sarah Fowell色视频下载檚 team of researchers from UAF and the U.S. Geological Survey in collecting the sediment cores. The team includes Beth Caissie, from the UAF Department of Geology and Geophysics色视频下载 class of 2003, who now works for the USGS.
Field data collection is often the most exciting phase of a research project, since it is the time when new discoveries are made.
色视频下载淎s one of the first expeditions designed to obtain sediment deposited on the Bering Land Bridge when it was above sea level, we will be operating on a scientific frontier,色视频下载 Fowell said. 色视频下载淚 am thrilled that students will be able to experience life aboard a research ship and the anticipation of opening a newly retrieved core. I hope it will encourage them to remain engaged and involved during subsequent laboratory analyses at UAF.色视频下载
色视频下载淲e are going to find things we don色视频下载檛 expect, and we are going to greatly advance our understanding of the flora and fauna of the lowlands that connected Asia and North America during the last ice age. Students will have a front row seat,色视频下载 said Fowell.
Members of the public can follow along with the expedition on social media and via email.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Sarah Fowell, 907-474-7810, sjfowell@alaska.edu; Wil Kleiner, 520-275-1205, wnkleiner@alaska.edu; Beth Caissie, 413-824-2388, bcaissie@usgs.gov
NOTE TO EDITORS: NSF will host a ship-to-shore livestream event, 色视频下载淟ive from the Arctic: Unearthing the Bering Land Bridge,色视频下载 on Aug. 24 at noon AKDT. Details and registration are now closed for this event.
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