Frozen In Time
Nestled in the heart of Adirondack Park there are vast swaths of sphagnum moss stretching across the horizon. Ancient black spruce trees and fields of sedges pepper a dense blanket of green, red, and gold moss. This spongy riot of color and texture conceals another world beneath the surface. What looks like a wide and flat valley is actually a floating raft of vegetation submerged in water.
This is not a meadow or tundra stretching across solid ground. This is a water-logged burial ground frozen in time.
The plants thriving on the surface are rooted upon an ancient, water-logged bed of their dead and decaying ancestors. In some areas, this mat is deep enough to bury a three-story building. The oldest vegetation at the bottom of the peatland can be tens of thousands of years old. Saturated in water and deprived of oxygen, dead plant material decays at a sluggish pace, compressed under the pressure of the next generation of living plants.
These expansive, floating mats are called peatlands, and their future is in our hands.
Our changing climate threatens to upset the delicate balance of water in these habitats. Researchers are studying what these changes might mean for peatlands, and whether they will continue to persist throughout their current range.
The Northern Peatlands Project
Embark with me on a journey to document northern peatlands in Adirondack Park, through the seasons and across the years. A combined aerial and ground-based imaging approach will provide an immersive experience into one of the most remote and inaccessible ecosystems on the planet, while ensuring minimal impact to this fragile habitat.
Climate change is threatening the persistence of these delicate ecosystems, as well as the plants and animals endemic to this habitat.
In the face of climate change, documentation is more important than ever.
I will be exploring the southernmost point where northern peatlands exist––the high peaks wilderness of Adirondack Park. What we learn here will help predict the future of similar habitats further north. By studying changes on the southern range of this ecosystem, perhaps we can help ensure these places––as well as the unique plants and animals who rely on them––continue to thrive.
I invite you to walk with me on a bed of spongey moss, and to float above tannin-stained bogs. Stand with me among ancient black spruce trees, wade among acidic waters, and listen to the squelch of boots treading lightly across saturated sphagnum moss.
This is where our journey begins…
About the Photographer
Charlie Reinertsen, photographer and founder of Twolined Studio, has worked in the field of science communications for more than a decade. He is a videographer, photographer, writer, exhibit developer, naturalist guide, and Part 107 commercially-licensed drone pilot with a dual Master’s Degree in Natural Science Education and Environment & Natural Resources from University of Wyoming.
His work studying the conservation genetics and population dynamics of softshell turtles in the Mississippi River watershed identified an at-risk species of concern, Apalone mutica, and helped prioritize conservation efforts in Minnesota to ensure the future viability of this riverine turtle.
Charlie led the development, writing, and installation of Climate Solutions, an interactive 3,000-square-foot permanent exhibit on display at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York. His clients include World Wildlife Fund, Mass Audubon, New England Forestry Foundation, Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Natural Habitat Adventures, Adventure Scientists, Teton Science Schools, Northern Woodlands magazine, and Western Confluence Magazine, among others.
Charlie is an expedition leader for World Wildlife Fund and Natural Habitat Adventures, guiding week-long wildlife photography and ecology trips. He currently guides expeditions in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks. In the winter, he guides trips to visit the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, Mexico, where more than 250 million monarch butterflies overwinter in the high-elevation oyamel fir forest.
Charlie is driven by a desire to ignite curious minds, and brings a sense of wonder for the natural world to each assignment.
Remote-triggered self-portrait: fishing a tidal estuary on the mouth of the Ipswich River.
