Project description
I aim at measuring the ecosystem respiration during winter and especially during snow melt. For this I buried some flux chambers under the snow. The idea now is to connect a gas analyzer to the chambers to measure the CO2 concentration in the chambers. This is a pilot experiment to complete my work on carbon fluxes in alpine ecosystems.
Tasks
The student will assist me in handling the equipment and be a team mate in a place where you should not go alone. I need someone with basic avalanche training, who can ski (fjellski will do the job), and handle scientific equipment in winter conditions.
We will sleep one night in a cabin (plan B is a tent or the car).
Avalanche gears and other stuffs can be borrowed. It is not crazy risky, but risk zero does not exist which is why I like to have a second person with me.
The project involves: fieldwork
Starting date/period: May 10-14th, 2021.
Experience
The student will get an insight of what it is like to organize and do fieldwork in exposed environments. I always do a risk assessment before going and I am definitely willing to involve the student in that process.
Scientifically we will talk about the “hidden season”: what is happening underground and under the snow when the landscape is covered with snow. How are plants dealing with the winter, and how a change in snow cover and average temperature could affect them.
The broad subject is ecosystem carbon fluxes (respiration and photosynthesis).
Involvement
2 long days at once
Interested by this project? Need more info? Contact Joseph Gaudard (joseph.gaudard@uib.no)
Project number: 034