Wrapping up the 2022 Alakanuk-based Yukon River Delta field sampling

By Alyssa Burns

Photo credit: Alexis Slentz, Alyssa Burns, and Anne Kellerman

​When doing fieldwork in remote Alaska, complications always arise that require adaptation and adjustment. However, Anne Kellerman and I were ready for ANYTHING after the complications we encountered during the early August trip to the Yukon River delta. As Anne, Alexis Slentz, Harrison Smith, and I congregated in Anchorage leading up to the trip, we made sure that we were all on the same flights so we wouldn’t get separated, had GCI SIM cards for communication, and were traveling with all our necessary essentials. Thanks to all the phone calls, pre-planning, and constant vigilance, we made it to Alakanuk together, safely, and with all our bags. You can never be too sure…

​When we made it to the village, we were welcomed by Teddy Hamilton, Maria Tzortziou and her collaborator Emily Raboteau – kind faces to see after a full and slightly stressful day of travel! While we settled in, we learned that one of our usual boat drivers was unavailable due to his fishing schedule and we’d need to find a replacement if we had any chance of sampling in the Bering Sea. Our fantastic local collaborators, Augusta Edmund and Teddy, quickly identified and contacted a potential boat driver in the village (Sony Isadore). Sony came in the next morning to meet with us and talk about the plan for a salinity transect, which we needed to do on Day 1 due to weather conditions. In short, he mentioned that the weather wasn’t optimal and that he “can't promise anything.”

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