Cohort 2 (2022-2024)
Arctic Ocean, Land, Ice Interactions (AOLII)
Mentors: Hannah Glover, MacKenzie Jewell
Gillian Blaschke
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? I applied for ARC-Learn because I thought it would be a good introduction to research at a pace where I could still manage my other academic and personal responsibilities.
Areas of Science Interest: Chemical oceanography, biogeochemical cycling of heavy metals and nutrients
Research Project: I am conducting a case study for the synchronicity between sea ice retreat and phytoplankton bloom onset in Cape Evans, Antarctica, using data from satellite imagery and pH sensors. I expect the results to reflect previous investigations of the relationship on a continental scale.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Maeve Delgado (she/her)
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? I wanted to get involved in research and thought this program would fit into my school and work schedule.
Areas of Science Interest: Climate change, GIS, ice and sea interactions
Research Project: I am looking at the relationship between ice keel scours and sea floor morphology in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. Some work has already been done looking at the relationship between ice keel scours and sediment type/grain size, but not as much has been done looking at sea floor hardness. I am hoping to find a relationship between where ice keel scours are located and how hard the sea floor is.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Owen Peterson (he/him)
Major: Oceanography
Why ARC-Learn? I applied to ARC-Learn to discover and develop my own research project in a supportive and resource-rich environment, learn what interests I have that I may not have known before, and to help dive deeper into my field of study.
Areas of Science Interest: In science, I am most interested in learning about how climate change is directly affecting the ocean and its environments as well as how we can use the ocean to develop ways of sustainable energy.
Research Project: My project looks at the effects of heat flux from North Pacific waters through the Bering Strait and how the flux affects total sea ice area of ice in the Chukchi Sea spanning 2016-2021. I am hoping that my work can be seen as a continuation to numerous studies conducting similar research between 1990-2015.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Sabine Rincker (they/them)
Major: Environmental Sciences (Chemistry and the Environment)
Why ARC-Learn? I am interested in the Arctic and it seemed like a good opportunity to participate in research.
Areas of Science Interest: My option is chemistry and the environment. I'm interested in soil and soil chemistry.
Research Project: I am looking at mercury movement in the permafrost. I want to see if mercury movement is correlated with groundwater or soil type.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Tabitha Winn (she/they)
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? Arc learn was the perfect way to gain experience in research without having the time constrains of a normal summer internship. Polar research is particularly interesting because we can see first hand the effects that climate change is having on the polar regions the most.
Areas of Science Interest: Conservation, ecology, oceanography, and geology.
Research Project: My research project focuses on the impact that the rising number of fires in Alaska might have on river discharge days after to years after a fire. I want to evaluate the post-fire effects of river discharge and runoff and answser if there is an increase in river discharge with increase in fire activity due to global warming.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Arctic Ocean, Land, Ice Interactions (AOLII) Online
Mentors: Kristen Rahilly, Anna Simpson
Rowan Dane (they/them)
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? With the goal of getting as much career-relevant experience possible prior to graduation in mind, I spent the first several months of college hunting down as many volunteer and work opportunities as I could. ARC-Learn appealed to me due to the long design of the project, meaning that my research could grow and evolve with me as I learned.
Areas of Science Interest: Environmental Science is such a broad area of focus, but glacial patterns and plate tectonics have always stood out to me the most.
Research Project: My research project is largely centered around the rate of decline and recorded mass balance of glaciers in Alaska. Due to a steady decline in glacier mass over the last two decades, I am comparing the rates of decline of Lowell Glacier and Ogive Glacier from Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Factors analyzed include precipitation, air temperature, wind speed, and overall glacial area.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Bekka Sawyer
Major: Environmental Sciences and Geography & Geospatial Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? I applied to ARC-Learn so I could learn more about the polar regions and how they have been changing throughout the decades. I also wanted to learn and get experience into what it means to conduct a research project from start to finish and if conducting research is where my future career will take me. I also love learning about sea ice and glaciers and understanding how they are changing is very intriguing to me!
Areas of Science Interest: I love learning about the climate, such as glaciers, the atmosphere, and the ocean, and how these areas all interact with each other. I am also interested in furthering my knowledge in remote sensing, GIS, map making, and much more!
Research Project: My research project focuses on studying the Greenland Ice Sheet and how the loss of continental ice is affecting the surrounding water and sea ice. I am mainly focused on understanding if there is a relationship between years with high ice mass loss and if there are changes noticed in physical water properties (salinity, density, temperature) from the freshwater input. I am also focusing on how sea ice extent is affected during the years of high ice mass loss and what it could mean for the future of sea ice in regions where glaciers are disappearing if there is a relationship found. I have also been reading on historical records of the Greenland Ice Sheet and sea ice in the Arctic in order to understand how processes have changed in the past to better understand how they will possibly change in the future.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Tammy Wright
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? To learn about academic research and the arctic
Areas of Science Interest: Environmental systems, especially geologically focused systems, and geospatial information systems.
Research Project: I've been focusing on geologic processes in Alaska, mostly permafrost complications. Right now I'm researching the disappearing lakes in northern Alaska.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Primary Productivity
Mentors: Rachel Kaplan, Andrea Nodal
Rylin Duster (she/her/hers)
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn? I applied to ARC-Learn to gain experience in research and learn more about polar science.
Areas of Science Interest: Environmental Science, marine bio, bio, global change
Research Project: My project is researching the effects of global change (i.e warming waters, ocean acidification, sea-ice concentration, migrational shifts) on beluga whales.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Briana Rodriguez Acebedo (she/her)
Major: Geology
Why ARC-Learn? I had just transferred to OSU and wanted to feel a part of a community with other people of similar interest. I also wanted to be surrounded by a diverse group of people in the same field as me.
Areas of Science Interest: Geology/Hydrology
Research Project: I’ve mostly read research projects on the topic of seabirds, algae, and sea ice extent. I’ve also found some data that support my project.
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Marine Heat Waves
Mentors: Lorenzo Ciannelli, Deepa Dwyer
Zoe Boyd (she/her, they/them)
Major: Environmental Sciences
Why ARC-Learn?
Areas of Science Interest:
Research Project:
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
Shannon Olson (she/her)
Major: Climate Science and Oceanography
Why ARC-Learn?
Areas of Science Interest: Climate science, oceanography, biology, molecular biology
Research Project:
OSU Undergraduate Spring Poster Symposium 2024 Poster
See Cohort 1 (2021-2023) Students
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