Erin is a 2009 participant of the Polaris Project. She attends St. Olaf College where she majors in Biology and Environmental Science. Erin is from Wausau Wisconsin. She works on a project studying how streams change the form of carbon and other nutrients as they move with water. Erin has set up experiments where she manipulates the chemistry of small streams and tracks the changes over time.
Erin Seybold, a senior at St. Olaf College and a participant in the 2009 and 2010 Polaris Project field courses, has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Tromso, Norway over the coming year.
Today is the Fab Four’s final day in Cherskiy – only one more of Valentina’s delicious lunches and we’re on our way to the airport. Leaving is very bittersweet; while we are excited by the thought of seeing friends and family in a few short days, we are very sad to be leaving this place [...]
We successfully made the tundra trip in one day and arrived home safe and sound late last night. Now on to a full day of lab work to process our samples!
Today is another chilly, blustery day in Cherskiy and as I look wistfully out windows of the lab (the NUT prison) the clouds are scuttling madly across the sky. Luckily though, it is finally sunny after days of cloudy weather which is a significant improvement. Between the previous bout of chilly weather and the wild [...]
When you’re a kid, that question is an exciting and fun question to answer; the possibilities are endless. As we age, this inquiry seems to get more difficult to answer; until you’re a college student and the question, “What are you doing after college?” prompts some serious anxiety. In addition to being an incredible research [...]
Even though we’ve only been here for a few days, our projects are already underway. The Stream Team (Erin, Kate, and Travis) is continuing work from last summer’s progress towards understanding nutrient and carbon processing in small streams in the area. Last year, we focused on trying to understand what nutrients (nitrogen or phosphorous) were [...]
10 reasons you know you are living in an Arctic science station 1) Instead of band posters decorating the walls, there is satellite imagery of the area. 2) The fish tank is filled with species caught from the river we’re living on. 3) Our windows overlook our various study sites. 4) The roof is ornamented [...]
At last, we have returned to the land of mullets, track suits, and buttery food. It is good to be back. Currently, we four returning students are lounging in a room on the third floor of a hotel-like structure on the outskirts of Moscow. It has been fabulous to meet and converse with the new [...]
Hello from…snowy Minnesota? Leaving Miami only to get delayed by snowstorms in Chicago was a bit of a depressing feeling. Clearly I am going to school in the half of the country. The past week was GREAT. Attending the State of the Arctic conference was a perfect way to start off this field season. Presenting [...]
Today the group finally got to adventure into the past – the Pleistocene to be specific! After a hearty lunch of moose stew, we embarked in an armada of boats and traveled by river to Pleistocene Park. After hearing and reading so much about this incredible experiment, this was a much anticipated trip for everyone. [...]
I woke up this morning to Erin standing shivering in our room, “It’s so freaking cold.” Five minutes later we stared out the window as snow swirled by (in sizeable chunks). We immediately thought of our other two roommates who had woken up this morning to go out in the field to do field work. [...]
The plague of the Hebrews has struck the barge. Ok, I may be exaggerating a little bit. Not quite a biblical plague, but a mere cold/flu outbreak has reached the team here. Several PI’s and students have come down with some unpleasant symptoms but luckily for the rest of the group (and unluckily for us) [...]
Yesterday, we attended the Siberian Children’s Art Exhibit in Yakutsk. We were lucky enough to see cultural dances performed be Yakutian children. They were adorable and eager to interact and pose for pictures. The artwork was amazing coming from art students as young as 8. The bus rides around town are adventurous, always packed with [...]
After a gripping round of icebreakers, the students–and professors– from St Olaf, Carleton, UNR, and Western Washington are anxiously awaiting their departure. Bitting our nails, missing our parental figures, and frantically trying to complete required readings, we are ready to get on the plane! We hope to see the Clarkies soon and can’t wait to get started!