Alyssa Roudebush

Title of Work: 

Dendrochronology of Nothofagus pumilio in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina and Linguistic and Cultural Aspects of Concepción, Chile and Ushuaia, Argentina

Abstract:

In this study, I looked at the tree ring growth of Nothofagus pumilio (Lenga) in Ushuaia, Argentina. One of the main objectives of this study was to add to the basis of dendrochronology studies in Tierra del Fuego. This report details the methods I used during my fieldwork studies including taking 17 tree cores, dating, and analyzing them. The results showed the growth change in ring widths throughout the last 100 years with an interesting cyclical pattern as well as individual tree growth. I will discuss factors that could be responsible for these changes in growth. Additionally, this report will examine my host language acquisition process and will compare the linguistic aspects of the Chilean and Argentine dialects such as the aspiration of the <s>, the use of the voseo and the yeismo. Finally, I will analyze my cultural adaptation process including adjusting to the eating hours and greeting culture by using including the Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence from Deardorff 2006.

Title of Work (Global Language):  

La Dendrocronología de los Bosques de Nothofagus pumilio en Tierra del Fuego, Argentina y aspectos lingüísticos y culturales de Concepción, Chile y Ushuaia, Argentina

Abstract (Global Language):

En este estudio observé el crecimiento del árbol Nothofagus pumilio (Lenga) en Ushuaia, Argentina. Uno de mis objetivos de este estudio fue añadir a la base de datos de dendrocronología en Tierra del Fuego. En este estudio se extrajeron 17 tarugos de árboles, los daté y analicé. Los resultados mostraron el cambio del crecimiento en el ancho de los anillos a lo largo de los últimos 100 años, lo cual revela un crecimiento cíclico y un crecimiento individual de los árboles. En este trabajo discuto los factores que influyen estos cambios en el crecimiento. Además, este informe examina el proceso de adquisición del idioma en el país anfitrión y también compara los aspectos lingüísticos del dialecto chileno y argentino, como la aspiración de la <s>, el uso del voseo y el yeísmo. Últimamente, voy a analizar mi proceso de aculturación, como la hora de comer y los saludos, usando la Identificación y Evaluación de la Competencia Intercultural de Deardorff, 2006.

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript: 

Hello! My name is Alyssa Roudebush and I am a fifth-year IGP student here at Northern Arizona University studying forestry and Spanish. Today I am going to be talking a bit about my year abroad and specifically about my internship, which is what I am going to be focusing on during my presentation at the Summit. I got to go to Tierra del Fuego and learn about the ecosystem and trees down there. I am going to be talking about the dendrochronology of a certain tree, Nothofagus pumilio and I'll explain more about what dendrochronology is in a few minutes. I'll start off by talking about my host University, which I attended in Fall 2023, the University of Concepción, in Concepción Chile. I had an opportunity to take forestry classes down there and learn about a new type of ecosystem which was really neat. During the second half of my year abroad I went down to Argentina. If you're curious on why, come and find me at the Summit and we can chat! I worked with a group called CADIC, which is the Southern Scientific Research Center and as I mentioned, I worked in dendrochronology. Dendrochronology comes from the Greek word, dendron -tree, chrono -time and logo- knowledge and is defined as the scientific discipline of dating annual growth rings in woody plants and the information they provide. Basically, every year a tree grows it puts on a ring and you can use these rings to count how old a tree is. From there you can learn about the fire history of an area, how climate has affected the growth rings, the ecology, you can even use it for archeology and entomology studies. I will be specifically presenting on the growth change in ring widths throughout the last hundred years and how these are related to climate. My goal was to add to the basis of dendrochronological studies down in Tierra del Fuego because compared to the northern half of the world, there are relatively few studies. In addition, I will also be talking about my language and cultural acquisition specifically the use of the voseo and different words that were used in Argentina and Chile. In comparison to what I grew up with some of these words took a little bit of adjustment and getting used to using. Thank you so much for watching and if you have any questions or want to know more about my research, come and find me at the Summit. Thank you so much again and I will see you there! 

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