What We've Been Up To

This last semester has busy with lab work and data analysis. Working in the lab for an extended period of time was a new experience for me and after spending the majority of my day in the field for an entire summer, it took some adjusting. When we returned to Minnesota, we had dried algal samples that needed to be prepared for analysis. This consists of taking a small amount of the dried algal sample, pulverizing it into a fine powder, then measuring out a microgram of powder to be put into a tiny tin capsule and finally using forceps to manipulate it into a ball shape. At first this process was daunting, taking me several minutes to complete just one sample, but toward the end, I could finish a sample in under one minute. These samples are extremely important because they will show how much N15 was incorporated into the algal biomass which will tell us how much nitrogen it fixed. Once we had this information, we were able to start our data analysis. There is nothing more exciting than to see hours of hard work in the field morph into data points which ultimately turn into a graph that represents an entire project. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to interpret my data and to better understand the story they are trying to tell. 
We are currently back in Iceland for two weeks to see what species of nitrogen fixers are present and at what rate they are fixing in a winter environment. This past week we have been packing our gear and triple checking to make sure we have everything we will need. We will not be able to drive into our field site everyday, like we did in the summer.  Instead, we will be driven in by a super jeep to a remote cabin in Hengill where we will stay for five days. This cabin will not have electricity or running water which will definitely make this trip an adventure.