One New York scientist is taking a trip across the world for a better understanding of things going on in our region.Lija Treibergs, a research associate for the Adirondack Watershed Institute, is heading to Antarctica for the next 3 months.Not where the glaciers are, but to Antarctica’s largest ice-free area — the dry valleys.”Antarctica is a very interesting place, especially the dry valleys. It’s definitely not what you imagine when you first think of Antarctica,” said Treibergs. “In a way, it feels like what I imagine Mars would be like.” The purpose of her trip is to conduct climate change research and see how it connects to getting a better understanding of the Adirondacks.”The dry valleys are so sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation,” shares Treibergs. “What we learn there will help us better understand how our lakes in the Adirondacks will response to climate change.”The hope is that her time in Antarctica will translate to her work locally at AWI. “We do work in really cold, harsh conditions here in the Adirondacks,” said her AWI co-worker, Brendan Wiltse. “Having team members that are comfortable in those conditions are valuable for us.”Brendan has the utmost confidence that she will maximize the experience. “Lija is our most skilled and valuable field technician,” said Wiltse. “I have no doubt she will be perfectly fine down there.”While Lija will be doing some fieldwork, she will also spend plenty of time in the lab — her comfort spot. “I work in a lab here,” emphasized Treibergs. “We do winter fieldwork that is very similar to what we’ll be doing down there.”This is her second time doing a similar research trip to Antarctica. Her last time was in 2018.Ever since she was a little girl, exploring the polar regions has been a dream of hers. Lija said the first time she got to go to Antarctica was “probably the most exciting thing” that ever happened to her.
One New York scientist is taking a trip across the world for a better understanding of things going on in our region.
Lija Treibergs, a research associate for the Adirondack Watershed Institute, is heading to Antarctica for the next 3 months.
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Not where the glaciers are, but to Antarctica’s largest ice-free area — the dry valleys.
“Antarctica is a very interesting place, especially the dry valleys. It’s definitely not what you imagine when you first think of Antarctica,” said Treibergs. “In a way, it feels like what I imagine Mars would be like.”
The purpose of her trip is to conduct climate change research and see how it connects to getting a better understanding of the Adirondacks.
“The dry valleys are so sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation,” shares Treibergs. “What we learn there will help us better understand how our lakes in the Adirondacks will response to climate change.”
The hope is that her time in Antarctica will translate to her work locally at AWI.
“We do work in really cold, harsh conditions here in the Adirondacks,” said her AWI co-worker, Brendan Wiltse. “Having team members that are comfortable in those conditions are valuable for us.”
Brendan has the utmost confidence that she will maximize the experience.
“Lija is our most skilled and valuable field technician,” said Wiltse. “I have no doubt she will be perfectly fine down there.”
While Lija will be doing some fieldwork, she will also spend plenty of time in the lab — her comfort spot.
“I work in a lab here,” emphasized Treibergs. “We do winter fieldwork that is very similar to what we’ll be doing down there.”
This is her second time doing a similar research trip to Antarctica. Her last time was in 2018.
Ever since she was a little girl, exploring the polar regions has been a dream of hers.
Lija said the first time she got to go to Antarctica was “probably the most exciting thing” that ever happened to her.
