The Research

When scientists carry out their research outdoors, they often have a huge surface area out of which to select their field sites (where they will set up their experiments, take measurements or make observations). For example, it could be an entire desert, the Amazon Rainforest, Antarctica, or the Arctic tundra! How do they chose their site/s?

To protect these ecosystems, there are usually rules in place that require scientists to get special permits. These will tell them where they can set up and the types of instruments they can set up or samples they can take. 

Once they have the permits, the researchers must then narrow down their sites based on the properties they are looking for (eg. they might be studying specific features like the base of a glacier or a flowing river) and also how easy it is to access them. 

Once the field site is selected, and the instruments are set up, it's time to start making observations and collecting data. How often researchers collect data depends on their project. Some instruments will collect data automatically and others require a person being there physically to collect it. 

At our field sites we measure...

• • Soil moisture 

  • Soil temperature 

  • Air temperature

  • Active layer depth

  • Streamflow rate

  • Water level depth

  • Precipitation 

  • Vegetation properties

  • Soil properties

We also use:

• Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to gather information about water flowing underground

• Drones for aerial photographs of the field sites and surroundings

• Satellites for images of the terrain, information about soil humidity, and weather-related measurements.