Posts by Britta Voss
Mixing fieldwork with artwork
I’m back here in B.C. for a quick, but action-packed, visit to the Fraser. Last weekend was the opening of the “My River, My Home” science-art exhibit at the Fraser River Discovery Centre (FRDC) in New Westminster. This exhibit was the culmination of an outreach program facilitated by the Global Rivers Observatory which solicited artwork…
Read MoreCrossing the Rubicon
In the wee hours of the morning today, the Fraser passed a symbolic threshold: discharge at Hope is now above 10,000 cubic meters per second.
Read MoreNowhere to go but up
As I unpack the information held in these samples over the coming months, I hope to learn about how this river transmits the products of photosynthesis and respiration on land to the coastal ocean.
Read MoreOn the pulse
The Fraser is doing its best to transition to freshet mode. The cooler weather has slowed its initial surge, but the water level, along with turbidity and dissolved organic matter, are still on the rise.
Read MoreThe molecules floating in darkness have seen a great light
As I struggled to fill the first of five small bottles with filtered water this afternoon, I decided I was finally ready to accept that the freshet has started. It’s a miracle I can type at all right now, given the strain my hands have endured today. Don’t believe me? I invite you to come…
Read MoreIt’s always sunny in Cascadia
Last week saw just about the nicest weather you could hope for in the Fraser Valley. In addition to making the water sampling ridiculously pleasant, the solid week of warm sunshine jump-started the snowmelt and the river level is on the rise!
Read MoreDon’t blink!
I’m back in British Columbia to sample the Fraser River during the most dynamic time of year: the spring freshet.
Read MoreNothing gold can stay
After three fast-paced days of sampling and filtering, our expedition has finally come to an end. On Monday we finally got into the Fraser River, thanks to Metro Port Vancouver, who once again offered the services of theirPort Fraser patrol boat in the delta.
Read MoreUp in the air
Yesterday was perhaps our most exciting day. We had the opportunity to take a small plane flight over the lower portion of the Fraser valley.
Read MoreThe end of the road
In between our sampling stops over the past few days, we have had the opportunity to take in some of the natural beauty of the zone through which the Fraser climbs up from its flat northern peneplain, through the Rocky Mountain trench, and almost to its source high in the Rockies.
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