Today, we completed laying out trail mat to our field sites. It was a well-defined task that required two days of intensive work by three or four people from our team. What we ended up with is a trail that now does two things. It protects the tundra from disturbance caused by foot traffic, we all feel good that the site will not suffer from our repeated trips across the tundra. In addition, we can now, within the first month of our field season, ensure that NGEE Arctic scientists and collaborators can access plots for the fundamental science we intend to conduct. Measurements can be co-located within specific areas and our team can take measurements and obtain samples from similar ice-wedge polygons that dot the landscape. This will ensure that our team will remain integrated, as will our science, as we focus our attentions on delivering a process-rich model of landscape dynamics for the Arctic coastal plain. Mission accomplished...
