Hi folks! It’s Ally here, checking in from Bozeman, MT with the Greater Yellowstone Inventory and Monitoring Network (GRYN). I’m over halfway done with my internship, which is crazy! In the past few weeks, I’ve spent most of my time working on my computer to analyze water quality data from the Yellowstone River. Some days I work in the GRYN office on the Montana State University campus, and some days I choose to explore the city of Bozeman a bit more by working in a new coffee shop or in the public library. I’m grateful for the flexibility and the ability to change up my work setting often.
To analyze the long-term trends of water quality in the Yellowstone River, I’ve been using a weighted regression on time, discharge, and season (WRTDS) model. The GRYN team collects data from the Yellowstone about once per month during the spring and summer, and basically, the WRTDS model helps us to fill in the gaps for the days when we did not collect water samples. It gives us estimates of what the concentration of certain analytes (like sodium, chloride, or calcium) may have been on days when we did not collect water samples. These estimates allow us to visualize the trends of these concentrations over time. This is important because increasing concentrations of these analytes are a sign of declining water quality and are potentially dangerous for fish and other aquatic organisms. Luckily, we’ve been seeing pretty stable conditions in the Yellowstone River so far!
This has been my first attempt at modeling long-term data, and it has come with many challenges. There have been times throughout the summer that I have felt like I had no idea what I was doing, like if I couldn’t calculate a certain statistic or use a new R package. Sometimes I would stare at my screen for hours and not be able to figure it out. This was frustrating, but it always helped to take a break and work on something else for a bit. Some days I would even take a break from work completely by going for a walk or run to clear my head. I would feel guilty for not working and felt that I wasn’t being productive enough, but these “brain breaks” have been super helpful for me.
Paradoxically, taking breaks like this has helped me to be more productive overall. When I would gain the courage to open my computer again, I was able to solve the problem I was stuck on in no time. I think that it’s important to remember that taking breaks is okay. Especially when I’m doing a lot of computer work, I try to take a break from staring at the screen a few times a day. This has helped me be more productive and avoid burnout during this internship and throughout my Master’s program. Even though it’s counterintuitive, taking breaks to run, cook lunch, or just step outside for a minute has actually helped me accomplish more during the workday than I would have otherwise.
Along with my data analysis work, I have also been able to do some field work in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons which I have really enjoyed. In my free time, I have been reading, running, and searching for the best Bozeman brewery. I ran my first trail race at Bridger Bowl ski resort and am trying to fit in as many local hikes I can before I move back to Utah. I’m grateful that I’ve had this chance to live in a new city and connect with so many NPS employees throughout the summer. And I am looking forward to presenting my project findings at the ESA annual meeting in Montreal in a few weeks!