Aleut OTC Adventures

[Susan Smith]

Hello everyone! My class on St. Paul Island is having a grand time with our OTC data collection. We built the chambers, set them up in three different settings and altitudes, and have been collecting data once a week since September 19th. I had to put a sign on them asking people not to move them, however apparently since I did not specifically ask for people to not cut the zip ties someone felt it necessary to do so on one of the chambers. Erik, now I really believe you about the harsh winds not disturbing them. We had 60mph plus winds last weekend and they are doing fine.

We are quite interested in the plant growth because some of our plots have really brown grasses in them, while there are splotches of new growth right next to the dead ones. Having only lived here for a year I am not sure if this is normal because I did not observe plants like this last year. Maybe because of all the rain we have had in the last week the grasses are really revitalizing.

The kids love using the thermometer. They do not quite understand why the tenths keep changing so quickly, even though I explained when there is a lot of wind the numbers will fluctuate. Most of our reading from the first month are showing warmer temperatures in the OTCs, however on several occasions the outside temperatures have been warmer than the inside.

This research project has one added benefit: The kids and I are walking about two miles round trip each time we go data collecting. Our first day it took about 2.5 hours to get the chambers set up and walk to each location. Yesterday we went to all three locations and got our data in one hour. They even noticed how much easier and quicker it is getting.

[Susan Smith]

Is there an edit button anywhere? I noticed a few typos after I submitted this and cannot fix them.

[Pernille Sporon Boving]

Hi Susan,

I will ask our webmaster to check in to find an edit button. Bear with us as we work on the site. I also think it would be great if somehow everyone in the group would get an email alert that there has been a posting on the forum page. I had no idea about your posting until now.

[Pernille Sporon Boving]

Make sure to click the Notify me button in the lower left corner to stay informed.

[Pernille Sporon Boving]

Hi Again Susan,

I just found the Edit button. It is located in the top right hand corner of the page.

[Pernille Sporon Boving]

Susan,

Would you be willing to share some photos from your set-up and location? It would be fabulous to see where you are and see the cones/cameras and students. You can either use the insert image (last one on the right in the row above) button to upload photos here in the forum or go to the “Photo Journal” page and upload there.

Make sure you click the “Notify Me” box in the lower left corner.

[Kristin Joivell]

I also had concerns about vandalism with both the time lapse camera and the warming chamber.  I actually placed the time lapse camera about 12 feet up in the tree we are taking photographs of to prevent problems.  And I also created a sign for the plant phenology study plots–hopefully mine works to prevent issues.  It is in front of the school building where security cameras are mounted, so hopefully that will help deter possible interference.

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