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2021 Alaska Native REU


Students and scientists

Spring 2021 to Fall 2021

Students and scientists
Students and scientists in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Hana Busse.

The Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research (NGA LTER) project invites Alaska Native undergraduate students to participate in our interdisciplinary project during 2021. 

Timing options for student involvement:

  1. Spring and Summer 2021
  2. Summer 2021 only
  3. Summer and Fall 2021
  4. Spring and Fall 2021

Any of the first three options include an opportunity to participate in a research expedition (dates to be determined as sea activities may be subject to quarantines, personnel reductions, and other restrictions due to COVID-19).

NGA LTER is one site within the national LTER network. Our research team investigates the features, mechanisms, and processes that drive NGA ecosystem production and foster its resilience. Scientists conduct ship-based observations and experiments, do research in land-based laboratories, run computer models of the ocean, and communicate findings to  students and the public through education and outreach partners.

We seek a Alaska Native undergraduate student with interest in the Northern Gulf of Alaska to work with our University of Alaska Fairbanks team. Student research will integrate with work currently being done on the NGA LTER ecosystem. The time period of this REU position could includes our summer expedition aboard R/V Sikuliaq, so participation in ship-board research activities is possible, as is work that fosters partnerships with other disciplines. Research themes include biogeochemical cycling, microplankton ecology, physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, zooplankton ecology and molecular studies. 

This REU opportunity is not limited strictly to oceanographic research, but can be a project that promotes partnership between marine science  and other disciplines. Projects can be related to fields including but not limited to visual arts, music, education, engineering, communication. Participation could include joining a research  expedition to the Northern Gulf of Alaska onboard  R/V Sikuliaq, or it could be carried out fully at the UAF campus. The student will present their work to the UAF LTER community when the project is completed.

Details

Salary

  • Stipend of $5760 for a position that requires 480 total working hours.
  • Additional  funds may be available to offset housing and transportation costs.

Qualifications

Required:

  • Alaska Native heritage

Preference will be given to applicants whose resume indicate:

  • Desire to work in a team setting.
  • Communication skills.
  • Organizational skills.
  • An interest in science.
  • Self-motivation.
  • Enrolled in the UA system.
  • Upper division status in a bachelor’s program.

How to Apply

Annie filtering nutrients
Filtering nutrient samples aboard the R/V Sikuliaq.

Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and its possessions and must be enrolled in a 2- or 4-year institution of higher education. Students who have received a bachelor’s degree before the start date of the program are ineligible. 

To apply, email each of the following:

  1. Cover letter
  2. Resume

Make sure your resume includes:

  • Contact information: email address and telephone number
  • Previous work and academic experience
  • Anticipated graduation date
  1. Transcripts

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

  1. One letter of reference

Questions? Please contact projectmanager.ngalter@gmail.com

2021 Ocean Sciences REU


REU Student Incubators

JOIN OUR TEAM THIS SUMMER!

REU Student Incubators
Students setting up deckboard incubators aboard the R/V Sikuliaq during our 2019 REU program.

The Northern Gulf of Alaska Long Term Ecological Research (NGA LTER) project invites undergraduate students to participate in our interdisciplinary oceanographic research this summer. This cohort of REU students will join our team from June 15 to August 20, 2021. The application period closes February 15, 2021; applicants will be notified in mid-March.

The NGA LTER is one site within the national LTER network. Our research team investigates the features, mechanisms, and processes that support NGA ecosystem production and foster its resilience. Scientists conduct field work, including ship-based experiments, run computer models of the ocean, and communicate findings to students and the public through education and outreach partners.

We seek highly motivated undergraduates with interest in marine science, biology, chemistry, and/or physics to work with scientists through the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Student research will integrate with work currently being done on the NGA LTER ecosystem. The time period of this REU position may include our summer cruise aboard R/V Sikuliaq, so participation in ship-board research activities is possible, as is historical time series or retroactive data analysis. Oceanographic research themes include biogeochemical cycling, microplankton ecology, physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, zooplankton ecology and molecular studies.

Details

Salary

  • Stipend of $5760 for a full-time position (40 hours per week) over 10 weeks.
  • Additional funds may be available to offset housing and transportation costs.

Qualifications

Required:

  • College level background in biology, chemistry, physics, or marine science.
  • The ability to carefully follow instructions.
  • Desire to work in a team setting.
  • Communication skills.

Desired:

  • Upper division status in a Bachelor of Science program.
  • An interest in continuing scientific research upon graduation. 

How to Apply

Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and its possessions and must be enrolled in a 2- or 4-year institution of higher education. Students who have received a bachelor’s degree before the start date of the program are ineligible. Members of groups under-represented in earth and environmental science are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply, submit each of the following:

  1. Cover letter
  2. Resume

Make sure your resume includes:

  • Contact information: email address and telephone numbers
  • Previous laboratory/field experience
  • Anticipated graduation date
  1. Transcripts

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

  1. One letter of reference

Questions? Please contact projectmanager.ngalter@gmail.com

Graduate Students Successfully Defend


Congratulations Kira Monell and Annie Kandel!

Kira net sampling
Kira taking zooplankton samples aboard the R/V Tiglax. Photo credit: Mette Kaufmann

Kira is a master’s student in the Marine Biology Graduate Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her thesis is titled “Characterization of Cell Division in the Tissues of the Calanoid Copepod, Neocalanus flemingeri from Diapause through Early Oogenesis.”

During the summer and fall 2019 NGA LTER cruises, Kira collected diapausing female copepods. She examined lipid content and cell division within the reproductive structures. Through Kira’s work, she discovered that Neocalanus flemingeri can stop diapause and begin creating egg cells within just twenty-four hours after being collected.

 

Initiation of oogenesis
From Kira’s thesis: cell division in the ovaries of a sub-Arctic copepod, Neocalanus flemingeri.  Fluorescent microscopy photo showing the start of egg cell creation. Blue cells are non-dividing cells of the ovary and red cells are dividing egg cells. The ov and white outline indicates where the ovary is, and the od shows the oviducts. (A) Females have not started egg cell creation three hours after collection. (B) Females have started creating egg cells twenty-four hours after being collected, as shown by the red cells in the ovary.

 

Annie filtering nutrients
Sampling the CTD: Annie filtering nutrient samples aboard the R/V Sikuliaq.

Annie Kandel is a master’s student through the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. For Annie’s thesis, titled “Spatial and temporal variability of dissolved aluminum and manganese in surface waters of the northern Gulf of Alaska,” Annie investigated the seasonal variability of dissolved aluminum and dissolved manganese in our study area. Annie derived data from the spring, summer, and fall NGA LTER cruises in 2018 and 2019.

Annie’s work showed that dissolved aluminum and manganese are trace metals that can be used as tracers of freshwater input in the NGA. This is because in this region, their main source is from rivers. Values for both metals are highest inshore, closer to the mouth of the Copper River, and decrease moving offshore.

 

Al and Mn concentrations in the Gulf of Alaska
Annie’s thesis data: surface concentrations of dissolved aluminum [Al] and dissolved manganese [Mn] during the summer 2019 Copper River plume study. Shown are 50 m, 100 m, and 250 m bathymetry contours.

Expanded Teacher at Sea Program


NOAA Teacher at Sea logo

It is with great excitement that we announce our new partnership with NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program!

In 2018, educators participated in each of our three Gulf of Alaska research cruises. Michele Hoffman Trotter, Per Fosstveit, and Mark Van Arsdale filmed creatures, helped with sampling, and developed lesson plans that will introduce students to our Alaskan ecosystem. Altogether, their contributions enabled our LTER program succeed. In general, however, it’s been challenging to connect with teachers and educators who want to get involved in our future cruises.

Mark Van Arsdale
Alaska high school science teacher Mark Van Arsdale on the fall, 2018, NGA LTER cruise

Over the summer, our marine education specialist, Marilyn Sigman, researched existing teacher research experience programs to find the best partner for the NGA LTER. Luckily for us, Mr. Van Arsdale joined us via NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program (TAS), which watered the seed of this new opportunity. As a result, NOAA and CFOS-UAF have made an agreement that will allow more K-12 teachers and marine educators who work in informal settings to take part in our research. In 2019, TAS’s established procedure will recruit teachers to come on our cruises. The educators will also take advantage of TAS infrastructure to post blogs and will participate in the network of TAS alumni. More information about NOAA’s program can be found at the TAS FAQ.

For the 2019 field season, educators will apply through NOAA’s TAS Online Application. We are spreading the word to teachers, informal educators, and administrators, particularly emphasizing educators in Southcentral Alaska.

Interested teachers should apply online before November 30, 2018, for the 2019 Teacher at Sea field season (sample application). Both K-12 teachers and informal educators (such as museum docents) are eligible to apply.

Expedition Gulf of Alaska


Michele Hoffman Trotter

Our upcoming Seward Line cruise aboard the R/V Sikuliaq will include some special guests: educator and film-maker Michele Hoffman Trotter, media and education specialist Carlee Belt, and cinematographer Katherine Brennan. They have traveled all the way to Alaska to create a series of educational modules called “Expedition Gulf of Alaska: an Online STEAM Experience”. Additionally, they will be filming for “Microcosm”, a documentary project that features the diversity and roles of microscopic life in the ocean.

Michele is a Chicago based educator with 20+ years of experience in higher education and public outreach to general audiences. She met Dr. Russ Hopcroft, lead PI of the NGA LTER, aboard the USCGC Healy in the Chukchi Sea. They bonded over microscopic creatures and their shared interest in how the ocean functions as a system. At the time, Michele made a video introduction of her work on the cruise.

Educational Modules

plankton sample
Photo credit: Michele Hoffman Trotter

During the April/May 2018 Seward Line cruise, planned educational modules focus on three topics:

  • Changing Climate, Changing World
  • Biodiversity: Our Lives Depend On It
  • Plankton to Whales: How Energy Flows in the Environment

All of these modules will incorporate YouTube videos and other online material, posted daily from the ship. For example, video clips of scientific tools in use performing fieldwork will be posted. Then in the comments, students will directly question scientists about their work during the cruise.

The content targets students from grade five through twelve. As an introduction, younger students will develop a base understanding of key concepts involving the scientific method of inquiry, taxonomy, and fundamentals of ecology, chemistry, atmospheric science, and biology. Supplementary activities will give older or more advanced students chances to engage in analytical thinking. Furthermore, they will also be encouraged to apply newly acquired knowledge to contemporary scientific questions.

We are excited about the intersection between Michele’s program and the goals of the LTER Schoolyard Series. In addition to participants in Alaskan classrooms, we have participating homeschooling families in California and Illinois, and two public schools in Chicago. Additionally, approximately a dozen adults are participating in an adult education version.

View the Microcosm Teaser.