Learning the ropes of field research: An ACRC intern experience
Hi, my name is Jasmine! I am in my third year of studying environmental science at the University of Alaska Southeast. During the summer of 2026, I had the wonderful opportunity to work at the Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center as an intern. Before this summer, I had no experience with outdoor research in the field and in a lab. Throughout the summer, I was able to learn methods for ongoing research that ACRC performs, assist graduate students with their data collection, and even take on a small individual project where I was able to put the skills and knowledge I had gained into action.
My individual project revolved around the turbidity (a measurement of water clarity) of Mendenhall Lake, looking to answer three questions: how do turbidity values change across Mendenhall Lake, how does turbidity change throughout the summer (June to July), and can the turbidity of an entire lake be estimated based on remote sensing using satellites (which will only take one to two points throughout the lake). I would kayak on the lake every one to two weeks and gather fifteen to twenty water samples to bring back to the lab to test for turbidity and total suspended solids. In the end, I found that the turbidity is relatively similar throughout the lake on any given day, with the exception of the inflow points at Nugget Falls and Steep Creek, and that the turbidity does change throughout the summer but doesn't follow a predictable trend. From these results, I claimed that it would be possible to estimate the lake turbidity using remote sensing. However, my project was done over a very short period of time, so it would be beneficial to continue sampling before reaching a conclusion.
To represent some of the things I learned this summer, I put together a collage with photos from the past few months! These photos show filtering water, measuring stream flow, kayaking to collect water samples, collecting soil samples, a bucket of fish that were measured and given trackers, a huge mussel that was scraped out and homogenized, and filters full of sediment from Mendenhall Lake.
My favorite part of this internship was the opportunity to learn and experience so many different things. Everyone at ACRC was working on interesting projects, and I would get to tag along and help out. I enjoyed seeing all the research that was occurring and all the work that goes into it to make everything possible. This internship gave me so much insight into what my future could look like, and I am so grateful for all the amazing people at ACRC for teaching me so much!
