Date Approved

7-14-2025

Graduate Degree Type

Project

Degree Name

Biology (M.S.)

Degree Program

Biology

First Advisor

Robert Hollister

Second Advisor

Jennifer Winther

Third Advisor

Anthony Thompson

Academic Year

2024/2025

Abstract

Science has an accessibility problem. Though results are published and the component data is archived and made publicly available, distrust in and misunderstanding of science by the lay populace remains common. This work focuses on bolstering the outreach component of the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)—Arctic Observing Network (AON) to increase public awareness, interactivity, and ultimately, the understanding of how the science of ITEX-AON takes place. This project uses several component methods to further outreach goals of ITEX-AON. These include: documentary photography of researchers, study sites, subjects and the surrounding environments, 360-degree imaging and interactive virtual tour building, building interactive data platforms, ITEX-AON website expansion including a new “explore data” page, a photo essay entitled "A Day in the Arctic”, and other outreach activity updates. In addition to expanding outreach of the program, this project documents the processes of data collection, processing, and archive of ITEX-AON data gathered by the Arctic Ecology Program (AEP). Since 2022, I have led the management of all data collected by the lab. This includes educating new crew members on proper measurement and protocol techniques, scheduling of all field season measurements, data entry, management, quality checking, export, and archive. During the 2023 and 2024 summer field seasons in Alaska, I led the field crew and acted as liaison between UIC Science (Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation) logistics providers and AEP members in Utqiaġvik, and Atqasuk, Alaska. This project serves a record for that work.

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