Halfway Point Check-in

Since we have just crossed into the second half of our field campaign here in Barrow, I thought it was a good time to summarize what has occurred so far:

- Polar bear encounters: 4

Our newest polar bear friend

- Arctic fox seen: 1
- Caribou herds seen: 1
- Lowest wind chill: -55
- Snowmobile flips: 1 (ask Ellyn)
- Fingers lost: 0- Days spent out on the sea ice: 12
- Total ice cores collected: 23
- Ice cores collected and kept with their temperature gradient in tact: 8
- Ice cores collected that have now become "test" ice cores: 9
- Ice cores collected with temperature purposely not kept (control experiment): 6
- ICE-MITTs sitting outside and working as desired (each one can hold 2 cores): 5
- ICE-MITTs sitting inside and ready to go out: 4
- ICE-MITTs sitting in the hospital and awaiting new power supply: 1
- Power supplies broken: 3

"Graveyard" for ICE-MITT parts

- ICE-MITTs repaired at some point: 4/10
- Repairs to/rewiring of ICE-MITT #4 (my least favorite box): 6
- Total ICE-MITT parts now in the graveyard:7
- Middle school classrooms visited: 2
- Community potlucks attended (complete with lots of whale to eat): 2
- Hummus containers consumed: 7
- Authentic Mexican lunches eaten (new take-out restaurant in town): 12
- Dinners at Northern Lights restaurant (our favorite of the 6 restaurants in town): 9
- Nights with beautiful aurora viewings: 5
- Aurora viewing nights that ended with polar bear encounters: 2
- Bottles of alcohol consumed: classified
- Valentines Day chocolate boxes eaten: 5 (containing roughly 96 chocolates)
- Large holes cut into the sea ice: 1
- Dogs visited at the Barrow animal shelter: 5

Ellyn playing with an ICE-MUTT

And some mid-term report card grades:
Science: A-
The ICE-MITTs work! As most of my readers know, I don't really consider myself an engineer, but am faking my way through this project as a mechanical/electrical/software engineer.  Having built the ICE-MITTs personally and having essentially no time for testing prior to shipping, I put the probability of success around 20%.  Although we have had some breaks/repairs, the ICE-MITTs more or less work as intended.  I'm still afraid to say this out loud in case I jinx them.

Wildlife: B+
Polar bear encounters have been incredible, although one was a little too close for comfort (see earlier blog post on this subject).  This grade stays in the B range though until we have more fox, caribou, or seal encounters.  Obviously, whale spottings would boost this eternally to the A range, but are unlikely since we try to avoid the open water.

Outreach: A
Our first trip to the middle school was fantastic and the kids were thoroughly engaged.  Coming up, we have 2 radio shows planned, potentially a couple more events with the Barrow schools, 6 stops along our road trip home, and lots of great blogging.

Weather: C
When we arrived, sea ice conditions were pretty poor.  There were very few regions with ice thicker than 3 ft (required for our ICE-MITTs) and even open water just 1/2 mile from shore.  However, our first week or so was quite cold and the ice started to grow.  Recently though, we have had a heat wave with temperatures getting above 0 ºF.  At first glance, this seems nice for doing work outside.  Unfortunately though, here in Barrow warm temperatures usually mean strong wind with lots of blowing snow and white-out conditions.  Thus, we aren't able to even go outside this morning.  For reference, ideal weather would be temperatures around -10 ºF, no wind, and ice about 5-6 feet thick.

Ice Core Wars

Kivgiq

Drums, dancing, and banging on loud box

Honor the elders. Prior to my visit, I had a general understanding that the Inuit cared for their elders in a stronger sense than most people do in the rest of the United States. However, I didn't gain a full appreciation for this until being here in person. Honoring ones elders isn't simply an expression up here; it's a constant part of the daily life. Whether it be at large gatherings, on the radio, walking around town, in a restaurant, on billboards, etc. there is constant conversation regarding the subject. For example, a radio host doesn't simply make a comment in passing. If he is discussing a controversial subject, part of the conversation is that you should seek advice from the elders. They have lived, survived, and thrived in this community for a long time and know what works well and what doesn't. Respect their ability to make decisions as they have more experiences to draw upon and seek their counseling on new topics. This doesn't mean do whatever the elders tell you, but rather ensure that they are an integral part of the conversation and allow them to lead.

Traditional dancing

We had the good fortune of being here in Barrow during the Kivgiq festival last week.  This festival (the Messenger Feast) is held in late Jan or Feb every 2-3 years, attracts people from all across the North Slope of Alaska, Canada, and even Russia for 6 days of solid dancing and feasting.  The name historically comes from the feast for the two messengers sent to travel to neighboring communities and invite them to the festival.  The main celebration was in the high school gym and featured dance troupe after dance troupe dressed in festive clothing, beating whale-skin drums, and performing traditional dances.  Performances would run all day and well into the wee hours of the night, with seemingly no concern for young kids awake until midnight.  Every community in attendance had at least one dance troupe, with seemingly everyone participating in the dances, from the young kids all the way through to the elders.  All elders were given reserved seats up front and each group would usually begin by honoring the elders up front as well as the elders in their troupe.  It was truly remarkable the reverence elders from all regions are shown.

2 caribou stews, frozen fish, whale meat

Wednesday featured the community potluck, a feast attended by several thousand people, quite impressive for a community of less than 5,000.  I had the opportunity to try several different caribou stews, frozen fish, and whale meat of many varieties (boiled, raw, frozen).  Muktuk is the most well-known way to eat whale, where you are given raw pieces of the skin and blubber.  The hardest to eat was a frozen hunk of the flipper that I personally thought needed a chainsaw to get through.  Other than the flipper, I do quite enjoy whale but think I prefer the caribou stew.  As part of the festivities, there was a large craft fair with exquisite hand-made goods including carvings, slippers, earrings, mittens, miniature boats, etc.  The grand finale of Kivgiq came to an end with a procession of all the groups amassing into an epic final series of songs.  The mayor of Barrow gave a few words and the "final" song continued on for many, many iterations.  Eventually I left close to 1:00 am when it seemed the chant for "one more song" would never end.          

Young drummer

Closing ceremony

At least I didn't get eaten

Mom (and maybe any other moms out there), please don't read this next story.

My new friend coming to visit

We had just had a pretty lovely evening watching the aurora at the northernmost tip of land to truly ensure total darkness (not that Barrow really has lots of light pollution). It was a perfectly clear night giving us spectacular stargazing. Having a two jet aurora flickering across the sky really made it magical. Recognizing my inability to take good photographs, I had perched myself up on top of a large snowbank while Rachel fiddled with trying to set appropriate camera settings. Before she was able to capture a good shot, someone came by and asked us to tow them out of a snow bank. Since it was quite chilly, we decided to just head back to our hut afterwards, sadly without a good aurora photo. As I lay trying to fall asleep though, the sudden urge to get at least one good aurora photo kicked me out of bed.

Perpetual sunset here in the Arctic

I haphazardly threw on my Carhartt biberalls, my big “aurora green” expedition Canada Goose park, and my -100 degree boots, all half buckled/zipped, but enough to keep me warm. I laid down on the snow right outside the hut, setup the tripod, slowed the shutter speed down to the max of 8 seconds, increased the ISO, and finally thought I was starting to pick something up in the image. Although the aurora was starting to fade, especially right next to the hut, I was starting to get a feel for what was needed. On the other side of the truck, I heard some footsteps. Strange, I thought for so late at night as I continued to adjust the camera and prepare the next photo. With my fingers freezing during the following 8 seconds, a trigger goes off in my mind, alerting me that something isn't right.

Ice sculptures (filling the spot for the bear photo)

It's 1:30 am. Our hut is the last building, with nothing but open tundra on one side and on the other, just the road followed by the expanse of sea ice. More footsteps. Rachel is definitely asleep. There's a chance that Ellyn is still awake, but she wouldn't be walking around quietly outside. There really is no reason for anyone else to be here. I grab the camera, and stumble over my excessively large clothes to get on my feet. Just on the other side of the truck, perhaps 30 feet from me, are two 8-foot tall polar bears. Suppressing my fear and trying to remain calm, I quickly scan for safe spots: the hut and the truck. Before I even have the chance to observe what type of mood the bear was in (This is not as weird as it sounds. The first thing they teach in bear safety classes is to determine if the bear looks aggressive, surprised, curious, protecting its cubs, etc. as your response will be different in each case), or consider if the bears had been stalking me for dinner as I lay quietly on the ground snapping photos, I'm already inside the truck. I had quickly determined that the hut was too dangerous as it would require me getting closer to the bears in order to reach the front door, while the truck was only a few feet from me. I start up the truck and the engine quickly scare the bears off. Although I tried following in the truck, they are quickly on the sea ice and out of sight before I can get a photo or wakeup Rachel and Ellyn. I'm quickly learning there is a very practical reason that every building in this town has an unlocked mud room.

Worth it for this photo?

Follow the Red Light

Ellyn learning how to core

Follow the red light. Don't let it get too far away. Ignore any feelings your other senses might be telling you. I keep repeating this mantra in my head as we speed along on the snowmobiles. All around me is an open expanse of flat white; it is a white-out ski day without the falling snow somehow. I have zero idea of where the horizon is and can barely even see the ground in front of me. My goggles are icing up so it is hard to know if the pure whiteness is from my surroundings or simply ice on the goggles. Probably both. My fingers are frozen and my right thumb on the throttle aches. However, I can't stop to adjust as the red light might disappear. The nice warm hood on my coat flips back and I debate the merits of using my left hand to grab the hood and hold it in place versus keeping my hand tucked away to avoid losing all feeling to the fingers. Every few seconds I'm thrown off the seat as the snowmobile jumps over another ridge of ice. In case you were wondering, sea ice is not flat at all. Without being able to see the oncoming bumps, I imagine riding a bronco must feel quite similar. Behind me, I'm pulling a huge white wooden sleigh that carries our beloved ICE-MITTs. Having built them myself, I'm pretty sure any one of these bumps will totally break all of the tiny electronics or snap one of the frozen wires. Inside of the ICE-MITT is a perfectly preserved ice core that I'm trying my hardest not to break. Having accidentally broken a few with only our hands due to weak layers in the ice, I have no idea how these bumps aren't destroying the integrity of the core. Each time, I quickly glance back to make sure the sled is still attached and the generator is still running.

Cutting the core to exact ICE-MITT length

And placing into ICE-MITT (very gently)

We take a slight turn and now the oncoming wind has found a way to the one square inch below my balaclava. Again, I know I can't stop and readjust because the red light of the snowmobile in front of me, and my ticket back to the warm hut, might disappear and I'd be left in this stranded white abyss not knowing which way to go. I'm pretty sure they would stop at some point and realize that I was gone, but I'm also fairly certain that the batteries on my radio have died. Better not to risk it. The speedometer isn't working on my snowmobile, but even if it were, I probably wouldn't be able to read it. I don't know what the windshield is at -30 degrees while driving at 40-50 mph and into a headwind, but I'm sure it doesn't classify has warm. The true miracle is that our bear guard knows exactly where he is and leads us on a direct path back to land. Or at least I think we have hit land as the snowmobiles lurch over a huge hill and the white ground below begins to have a dirty gray tint. We continue on for what seems like forever, and suddenly buildings start to appear. Before I know it, we are back at our storage facility, quickly unloading the sleigh, and plugging the ICE-MITT into wall power. I can't really believe my eyes as the end plates of the ICE-MITT continue to read the same temperatures we recorded as we pulled the core out. And I'm beat.
(Note: photos for this post are from a different day for obvious reasons)

Non-standard coring technique

Front runner for best day

Why hello Mr. Polar Bear

Ok. You can ignore the last post. It was pretty cool seeing a polar bear 500 feet away and all. However, how about 3 polar bears. 30 feet from your truck. Right after you saw the most incredible northern lights display. The evening you successfully extracted a multi-meter core while maintaining its temperature profile for the first time in science. Now that's what I call a good day (and makes me somewhat forget about all of my friends skiing knee deep powder back east).

We had all been feeling pretty tired after a long day in the field (I promise, at some point I will blog more about the science. However, the “other” stuff is just so incredible that it is momentarily taking precedence). Although it was getting pretty late, I wanted to head back to our storage area to check on the ICE-MITTs and make sure nothing had melted. As I got into the truck and started driving over, I thought I saw a flickering light overhead. I knew I was pretty tired so I tried to ignore it. Perhaps the light was just fog. The fogginess was growing though and somehow the stars behind it were still visible. Then I realized, oh damn, that's the Aurora Borealis. I quickly turned around, woke Rachel and Ellyn up, and we all drove out to the very point of Barrow and away from any light pollution.

Note: This aurora photo is from my trip in 2011

If you haven't seen the aurora before, there really is no way to describe it. It's a mystical movement of lights, usually green but occasionally other colors as well, dancing across the sky. Tonight we had long circular waves of green that transformed into green brush strokes morphing into dark green linear curtains. Every so often a wisp of pinkish red would swirl into the painting and vanish moments later. The details of the science takes away from the beauty. Very briefly though, the aurora results from electrons and protons entering our atmosphere and hitting atomic oxygen (as well as occasionally nitrogen). This results in oxygen being excited and then releasing that energy in the form of light, usually in the green spectrum, with the colors dependent upon the height of collision. All of these interactions are related to the solar wind and the magnetosphere, but essentially mean that the aurora is found in moving rings around both the north and south magnetic poles.

What yummy garbage we have here

Oh right, the polar bears. As we were driving back to the hut, we saw 6 trucks in a semi-circle with their headlights on. After wondering why they would be watching the aurora with their headlights on, I realized that they were all focused on 3 polar bears who were raiding the local whale bone dump. Locals drag the discarded whale carcass out to Point Barrow after harvesting nearly all parts of the whale, and this is naturally a favorite hang out spot for local polar bears. We sat and watched as these polar bears had a feast just 30 feet from the safety of our truck. Although I think we could have driven away fast enough, I was feeling slightly concerned every time one of the bears would try to stare down and intimidate the truck to our right. It was a very surreal man vs nature encounter that I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. The bears were quite visibly agitated by the trucks, but they were encroaching upon human dumpsters. I think the only part that truly bothered me was when the bears tried to leave, two of the trucks continued to follow them. Note that this was not the first time in my life that I have stared at an animal that would like to devour me if I were to step outside the safety of my vehicle. This also reminds me to ask how fast the snowmobiles can go before we head out onto the ice tomorrow.

Polar bears!

First polar bear sighting!

Today we saw a polar bear. In the wild. On the sea ice. How many times in your life do you get to say that? Ok, we did see him from the safety of our pickup truck and he was far enough away that I don't know if he was a he or a she (although if we were a bit closer, I'm not sure if I would have known anyways). Rachel and I had been heading into town to pick up some supplies when we heard on the radio that a polar bear had been spotted right outside the shop where we were headed. Obviously, we sped forward, spotted the bear a few hundred feet offshore, and started gawking. After 15 minutes, we realized Ellyn was not in the car (and thankfully not on the ice), but had been left back at the hut. Not wanting her to miss this opportunity, we quickly picked her up and returned to find the bear still ambling along. Mr. P. Bear was simply minding his own business, taking a leisurely stroll, or perhaps looking for some seals to eat. It was really the perfect way to encounter a polar bear. Although we have a bear guard with us at all times on the ice (don't worry mom), I still think I prefer to have the encounters while inside our truck. It only troubled us slightly to realize that Mr. Bear was walking in the exact direction of our field site which we were headed to in about an hour.

Read for my Arctic run

What was more troubling upon reflection was that our bear encounter was along the same road I had gone for a run yesterday. Now running in Barrow is hard enough without the thought of polar bears. However, I had been tasked with the mission of having perhaps the first tracks on Strava in the area and I wasn't about to let 50 below zero windshield get in my way. I stuck some toe warmers into my hiking boots, layered up with my blue puff jacket, balaclava, and goggles, and braved the elements. I had been warned by the staff here that polar bears are often spotted to the north, so it would be best to run to the south. Once I started running, the temperature and wind weren't too bad (I actually was overheating a bit). The fog and blowing snow though made it so visibility was pretty poor. Once the ice started building up on my goggles though, I could barely see the road beneath my feet or the occasional car drive by. I only went for about 3 miles, but was pretty bummed to learn that my phone decided it was done with this weather after the first 1.4. I think I might have a guess for why even the locals think I'm crazy here.

My outfit for going into the field

This day was off to a good start already. However, we then successfully extracted an ice core, maintaining it at the correct temperature, for the first time in scientific history (more on this in the next blog post). If this day couldn't get any better, we then had a delicious feast at the Japanese restaurant, where the Paradise roll was perhaps the largest roll of sushi I have ever seen. For dessert, Ellyn and I realized that we both love Ben and Jerry's mint chocolate cookie ice cream, and to our delight, the grocery store did indeed have it. To top off this great day, we were hand delivered a case of Alaskan Brewing Company's Icy Bay IPA (beer is quite a delicacy in a town where they don't sell alcohol) by the taxi driver Rachel and Ellyn had befriended in Anchorage and just happened to be on his way to Barrow. 

Best present to finish off the day

First core collection, whaling, and native dancing

Drilling our first core with Ellyn

When I first came to the Arctic, Don Perovich had told me, “There is seeing, breathing, and not getting frost bite. You can only pick 2 at any time.” While that saying still indeed holds true, I have a new one: Choose 2 of the following: staying warm, not having loud noises (i.e. overhead heaters), and having semi-decent internet. Thus, I have found a way to get good enough internet to upload some photos but it involves hanging out in our staging Quonset hut kept just above freezing with very loud overhead heaters. Most of this week has been spent getting the ICE-MITTs up and running, and trying to run the tests that we did not have time to run back in Hanover. Scientifically, the highlight so far has been getting out onto the sea ice on Tuesday and successfully gathering a full core. Although the core broke in half during the bumpy ride home, we showed that it is indeed possible to gather a full 1 meter core with no breaks. The mission had been to gauge sea ice thickness in the region, so we did not bring an ICE-MITT out into the field. This means that the ice core changed in temperature during the snowmobile trip back. Since this core will only be used for testing, we were not too concerned. In the spirit of celebration, last night was cause for a celebratory drink as we successfully created a temperature gradient (and maintained it!) using the ICE-MITT. The fact that it was the wrong temperature gradient from what I asked the ICE-MITT to do is minor details. Apparently our ICE-MITTs have a mind of their own. “You want 5 degrees F, I give you 15 degrees F,” says the ICE-MITT and it was so. Still, it is pretty satisfying having an ice core at 0 degrees F at one end in a room that is 50 degrees F.

Loving our first core

Let's be honest for a minute. Although the science is exciting and pays the bills, it isn't the sole reason one falls in love with the poles and is definitely not the reason you are reading this blog. Antarctica was about the penguins, with the seals being a close second. The verdict is still out for this year's trip to the Arctic, but so far the people and culture is taking a strong lead. This week Barrow is hosting the international whaling community for the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). It involves many Inuit whalers from communities all across Alaska, Canada, and even whalers from Russia. Tuesday night the local community hosted a potluck complete with native dancing. Consistent with the friendliness of the town, we were invited to join. Still riding the high of the Patriots win (editor side note: high probability the Patriots will be mentioned in nearly every blog post over the next few weeks), I immediately was drawn to a whaler wearing a Red Sox hat and had to ask him about it. It turns out that Keith is from the Makah tribe in Washington (one of the few people here from the lower 48) and he just happened to catch a Mariners/Red Sox game one year. Only after we sat down for dinner together did he show me that he had a Seahawks jacket on underneath. His tribe has a 2,000 year old cultural and spiritual connection to whaling, hunting gray whales for sustenance, clothing, handicrafts, etc. From 1920 to the 1990s however, the Makah had to stop, as commercial whaling put the gray whale on the Endangered Species Act and the Makah began to lose their traditional knowledge. With the gray whale population recovering in the 1990s, the Makah started whaling again, but have been held up in legal battles with animal activist since 1999 despite having a treaty with the USA signed in 1855 granting them rights to the sea and the support of the IWC. Keith explained to us some of the other current challenges and struggles of the whaling community, as we dined on whale (both boiled and frozen raw), seafood, turkey, and soup from caribou. After the 2 hour feast, we were treated to hours of traditional dancing by the local Barrow community. I am most impressed with the respect and honor that the community shows to the elders, evident in all aspects of life in Barrow (even on comments I heard on the radio today).

Dinner with Keith and the International Whaling Commission

I have been hearing that it is pretty cold back in Vermont this week. Rumor has it that windshields even brought temperatures down to -21 degrees F. I was about to have a lot of sympathy for everyone back home, but then I looked at the temperature outside. Today was -29 degrees F, without windshield. Tomorrow we have decided not to head out onto the ice as windshields are supposed to be 50 below zero. The cutoff for work is generally about -40. We also don't have the 2-3 feet of fresh powder New Englanders are currently enjoying right now. An aurora viewing one of these upcoming nights though would make me temporarily forget about that.

Native dancing after dinner

Superbowl in Barrow

Arriving to Barrow

“And to the right of the plane, you can see the northern lights,” the pilot alerts us on the BOS-SEA flight. What a great start to the ICE-MITT field campaign it has been so far: seeing the northern lights on our first flight, Patriots winning one of the best Superbowls in recent years, and all of the ICE-MITTs shipping successfully. It all makes me almost forget the fact that our toolbag got lost in Seattle and our blowing snow catching tower is lost in Anchorage.   It feels good to be back in Barrow, staying in the same hut I was in 3 years ago.  

Bags are packed, ready to go

After enduring a whole bunch of heckling during the flights to and from Seattle (perhaps because I chose to proudly rock my Patriots shirt), I took a quick nap in Anchorage and jumped on the earlier flight to Barrow in time to watch the game.  Rachel and Ellyn elected for the full night sleep, tour of Anchorage, and the later flight to Barrow.  While here, we stay just outside of Barrow at the old Naval base (NARL), which is also home to the local college (Ilisagvik) and my access to a TV.  Forest, a student at the college, is my new best friend since he called that the Seahawks would through a pass and interception rather than run it on the final key play.  At some point, a random person came by and delivered a platter of wings, jalapeño poppers, mozzarella sticks, and fresh fruit.  All in all, despite being the only Pats fan in town, watching the Superbowl in Barrow turned out to be a huge success. A couple of notes about Barrow: - The internet is reaallyy slooooowwww.  Unfortunately I think this means that I'm going to have a real hard time uploading any photos to this blog.  (editors note: photos added later) - Prices for goods, especially food, are hilarious.  I bought a box of wheat thins and a small thing of hummus today for $16.  Decided to skip on a box of cheerios for breakfast at $9/box.  - It's a bit cold here at times (Wednesday's high is supposed to be -22) so vehicles are either kept running or you plug them in when you are not using them. - Internet is really slow, so I need to end this post now or it won't upload.

Refueling in Deadhorse