Tundra scientist

May 1, 2014 by Jennifer Huber

This article appeared in Berkeley Engineer magazine, Spring 2014

Berkeley Lab geophysicist Susan Hubbard (Ph.D.’98 CEE) studies Arctic permafrost dynamics in Barrow, Alaska. (Photos courtesy the researchers)

Hubbard measures soil temperature and active layer depth with NGEE-Arctic lead investigator Stan Wullschleger from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Researchers hit the ground with sledgehammers to produce and measure seismic waves, while a bear guard keeps watch.

Hubbard also uses snowmobiles to pull geophysical sensors across the Arctic tundra.

Berkeley Lab scientist Baptiste Dafflon collects electromagnetic data.

Current is inserted into the ground by electrodes to provide information about the electrical resistivity of the subsurface.

A camera suspended from a kite collects high-resolution aerial photographs of the landscape.

Researchers use a variety of above- and below-ground data to study the complex relationships between land surface, active layer and permafrost.

“It’s all white – the polar bears blend with the snow and the horizon,” says Hubbard.

Geophysicist Susan Hubbard (Ph.D.’98 CEE) leads a research team from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska—the northernmost city in North America—as part of the 10-year Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiment (NGEE). The NGEE is a collaboration between scientists and engineers who are trying to better understand changes in the Arctic tundra, so that they can improve climate predictions. Hubbard studies the structure beneath the subsurface to detect thawing that could lead to the release of greenhouse gasses from organic matter trapped below ground. Despite below-freezing temperatures and the threat of polar bears, Hubbard sends this report back from the field: “The data have been gorgeous. There is so much good energy. So it’s very, very fun.”

Read more: The underground: Studying the Arctic tundra