SCHOLARSHIP DAY 36: Music at One, and Boreal Permafrost Walk

I woke up to the news that earlier this morning, a moose was wandering around outside Billie's hostel, around the tent areas. I don't think it was trying to make a reservation. Moose are common around these parts, as I'm sure I have said before, but they usually stick to the vegetated areas, rather than around buildings.

I wasn't up though to get a good peep at it; the day, furthermore, didn't start as well as it could have done. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough pancake mix in the box to make a good stack; in fact, I just managed one and had to result to 'Apple Jacks' and 'Fruit Loops'. These two cereals I don't recall the UK having, and although I am open to try new things, I would have preferred the extra couple of pancakes.

As a result of this breakfast tragedy, I felt more peckish at lunchtime, so just before going to the 'Music at One' concert, I decided to buy a small cinammon raisen bagel from a small coffee hut very close to the university. I keep walking by it, and have up to now, never committed myself to purchasing, but the warm bagel I had today was very much enjoyed. The lady on the counter, it seems to me, is looking forward to the arrival of winter, and more specifically, the snow.

I realise this post, so far, has only involved food and so I will make a conscious effort to move on. My first engagement of the day was to go back to the Davis Concert Hall, where the 'Music at One' concert was to take place. I went to one of these last week, and was very impressed by the young talent. Once again, there was a myriad of performances, from the marimba to the flute. Perhaps one of the best performances was the Bassoon and Piano number, although equally enjoyable was the tuba performance that I managed to grab a photo of. Apologies in advance for the blurred image.

Following the performance, my next important job was to buy another packet of pancake mixture, and as often is the case, I came out with more than I expected. There was a bunch of bananas on the reduced shelf which will do nicely for my banana splits at night times, and at 64 cents, I thought them very good value. And yet, here we are again, talking about food!

Outside the supermarket, this caught my eye. It's amazing to still see some colour, especially vibrant red. I returned to the hostel, deposited my shopping, and decided to make use of the lovely afternoon it was turning out to be.

There's a Boreal Forest I haven't explored yet, North East of the hostel, that borders Creamers Field (the place I visited yesterday.) What makes this particular forest so special is that there are so many features related to permafrost. I have tried to select only a few of the main ones.

First of all, the striking thing about this forest is the sense that a natural disaster has happened. Great  Birch pines lay paralyzed on the ground, and all the result of ice wedges. Ice wedges are found within the permafrost, and basically are cracks in the ground which have filled with ice, over the winter time. When the ice wedges melt, the overlying soil begin to slump, filling the ice free trough, and consequently the forest vegetation collapses.

Later on the walk, I came across an ecotone. This isn't necessarily a permafrost related feature, but it hardly comes up in A Levels anymore, so I thought I would give it some publicity. Ecotones are the transition zones between two ecological enviroments, where plant and animal communities intereact. Here, is clearly an ecotonel; this time between a Boreal forest (Spruce and Birch) to a grassland habitat, with only a dense shrub layer.

I made my way along the trail, back into the Boreal forest, where I came across a Thermokarst lake. So what happens here? Well, an area of the forest suffers wildfire, and soon the shade that trees were providing the ground with, disappears. The lack of shade on this bare land now increases the temperature of the soil, and eventually warms the permafrost. This leads to a thawing of the permafrost, giving rise to what is known as a Thermokarst lake. In the summer, this area would become a rich hydrosere, supporting an array of all sorts of wildlife.

For weeks, I have been remarking on the autumn fall colours. Leaves turned golden coloured a couple of weeks ago, and nearly all have fallen to the floor, to create a humus. But there's always one isn't there, as I noticed, as I was making my way through the forest.

Last but not least was the sand dune. In the middle of a Boreal Forest? Yes. It's not necessarily noticeable without a close study and it's not the typical sand dune you would find on a soft rock coastline or in a desert. After the last ice age, loess (wind blown) deposits of sand and silt built up in many areas across Alaska. The university sits on one, for example. The dune I walked on today was less elevated, but Spruce tree trunks were larger, and roots were more developed suggesting more ground stability.

I very soon made my way out of the forest and hiked home. As this post started on the theme of food, I might aswell end it along the same line. As I arrived back, another meal was waiting for me; this time, a Chinese meal composed of Chicken and Rice. I even got a fortune cookie! Gastronomical effects tomorrow, I'm sure, will make me regret this! Tomorrow looks to be a pretty busy day aswell!