Going with the Flow: An Allegheny College Team’s Arctic Quest Shows Why Every Drop of Water Counts

Those who believe that water is one of our planet's most precious resources won't get an argument from Allegheny College assistant professor Claire Griffin or environmental science major Owen Werkeiser '26. For two weeks last summer, they joined a National Science Foundation-funded research team in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to study how ice, vegetation, and frozen soil are changing water flow and plant life in this remote corner of Alaskan wilderness.

"The Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate as the rest of the globe," Griffin pointed out. "When ice starts to thaw, it changes how water moves across the landscape and interacts with soil and plants. Our team found that moss growing in some of the ponds acts as protective insulation and helps the ground refreeze, rebuild, and recover," she explained.

Griffin began doing Arctic research in Siberia when she was an undergraduate and this was the first time she included an Allegheny College student in her field work. "I was looking for someone who was curious, asked good questions, was excited to do the research, and had experience with wilderness camping," she said. "There are so many qualified students at Allegheny and it was a very tough decision. Owen met all of those criteria."

To prepare for the trip, Werkeiser researched Alaska's ecosystems, practiced with the equipment he'd be using, and organized gear. "I had never done anything like this," he recalled. "I really fell in love with what I was doing before I even got up there."

In the field Werkeiser assisted with water chemistry sampling, moss surveys, and measurements of hydrological "capillaries" that feed larger water flows. On the last day, he collected water samples to take back to Allegheny for his senior thesis, where he analyzed organic matter to see whether it was a good food source for microbes. He has been selected to present his project at the prestigious Society for Freshwater Science annual meeting in Spokane, Washington in May.

Werkeiser majored in environmental science and minored in history - a unique combination he says is a natural fit. "In environmental work, it's important to look back and see what scientists have done before - what's worked and not worked. The history minor helps me appreciate what they were trying to achieve with the tools they had at the time. Looking to the past definitely helps us prepare for the future," he noted.

Griffin will head back to Alaska this summer to conduct research in the Prudhoe Bay region. She's selected two more Allegheny students, both environmental science majors, to be part of the field team.

"One of the great things about Allegheny College is that it gives students opportunities to experience project-based, hands-on learning with community partners. They get a sense of what it would be like to do this work in the real world," Griffin said. "Students see what careers are available in related fields, which will help them chart a path for their own future."

"Students who want to do infield research should absolutely jump on an opportunity like this," Werkeiser recommended. "There's a big difference between notetaking in class and notetaking in the field. The work I did will help the scientists I assisted last summer and those in the future, and I am so grateful to Allegheny College and Professor Griffin for the experience."