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Using social media to open doors to field science at Toolik Field Station

This week, scientists from the �鶹���� Fairbanks are presenting their work alongside thousands of colleagues from around the world at the 2023 American Geophysical Union fall meeting. Some of their discoveries are featured here. You can also find out more about UAF at AGU by searching for #UAFxAGU on social media platforms.

From fording an icy Arctic stream to changing a flat tire or taking a tundra nap, summer residents at Toolik Field Station have offered a behind-the-scenes view of life as an Arctic field scientist on the station’s social media accounts. 

“There are countless opportunities for scientists to communicate their research findings but not many to describe what it actually looks and feels like to do fieldwork,” said Haley Dunleavy, communication and diversity, equity and inclusion manager at TFS.

This is especially true for students who often conduct the bulk of fieldwork — counting hundreds of plants in one sitting or carrying pounds of dense, wet soils across squishy tundra.

Dunleavy began working with students and early career researchers at TFS to share snippets of daily activity at the remote Arctic research site in 2022. Since then, more than 20 researchers have taken turns guest-posting from TFS’ accounts, sharing sampling methods, travel logistics and candid moments from the field. Some videos also depict rare glimpses of Arctic wildlife, like a wolverine feasting on caribou carcasses.

According to Dunleavy, the posts not only give nonscientists a glimpse into the everyday workings of Arctic research but also can help newcomers to TFS feel more prepared for their first Alaska field season.

“There’s not just one path that people take to find themselves working at Toolik,” Dunleavy said. Residents at the station, operated by the �鶹���� Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology with support from the National Science Foundation, run the gamut from visual artists and EMTs to biologists and electrical contractors.

“My hope is that we can help show how varied careers in field science are and that who can be a field scientist is more diverse than is typically portrayed in more traditional media,” she said.

To view the posts, visit Toolik Field Station’s social media accounts @toolikfieldstation on , and .