The last email I received from Janet Warburton encouraged me to post a final journal entry to let folks know that I made it home safely and to wrap of the story of my research trip. She said, "Just let folks know what you learned, how you feel about the experience, and what your plans are now." The word that bothered me most was "final" so I have been putting the task off. Labor Day Weekend, the official end of summer break around here, has come and gone, so I guess it is finally time to put summer to bed. I got home safely. I immediately tried to plunge back into the activities of being a responsible homeowner: mowing, pruning, scrubbing, dusting, paying bills and cleaning out the "office" I keep in my car. My classroom is organized, sort of. My wardrobe...
We arrived at Allison Lake after a 6 hour drive from Anchorage. From Valdez it took 3 float plane trips (Cordova Air) to get all 5 of us and a lot of gear (really heavy gear) up to the lake. The first job was to set up our tents and then put together our inflatable motor boat and the raft that would be our coring platform. These will be indispensable for the tasks we need to accomplish at this location.
Next jobs: retrieve temperature logger from the ridge at the south end of the lake;begin assembling gear for making cores; dinner. (The rain began at dinner after a beautiful sunny day. The rain made the bugs go away...yippee!) This morning 3 of us went out right away and pulled in sediment traps then the whole crew boarded the 2 floating crafts and headed for a pinpoint GPS location...
I am in my tent, wet and bedraggled, working on thawing my fingers, drying my clothes, and writing yet another journal entry. It is raining again....still.
40 minutes ago the fog was so thick I could barely see the cook tent 15 meters away. Now the fog is gone, there is no wind, and I am trying not to get sleepy from listening to the rain patter on my tent. I am DRY! Heidi and Caleb are out on the beach putting together a new piece of equipment that we will probably deploy tomorrow. They are WET! Megan and Darrell are in the cook tent working on programming for the new equipment we hope to deploy. They are DRY! Yesterday was bright and sunny and WE WERE ALL DRY!! We left Anchorage at 8:10 AM and drove up the Glen Highway, through Eagle River, Palmer, Chikaloon, and Glen Allen to...
At James Monroe Elementary we work together to make sure students and staff follow the 3 R's: Be respectfull, Responsible and Resourceful. On this expedition I have seen just how important those qualities are.
I am here with a team from Northern Arizona University. The team leader is Dr. Darrell Kaufman, a geologist who teaches and does research in paleoclimatology. Dr Kaufman is also a respected author of numerous scientific articles.
With him for the 5th year is Caleb Roop-Schiff who works with Dr Kaufman as a Senior Research Specialist at NAU. He runs the lab that will work on analyzing the cores that we get.
Here for the 4th season is Heidi Roop-Schiff who is working on research to finish her Master’s thesis. (You may remember reading about Heidi in a journal entry I filed in...
The cores are harvested in 2.5 inch diameter polycarbonate tubes that are tamped into the lakebed with a weight. The tubes are fastened onto a "coring head" and collar with large hose camps to hold them firmly in line with the weight by a threaded rod that passes through both of them.
[photo coming soon]
Both the coring head and the weight are attached to ropes which are used to lower them together to the lake floor, then the rope for the weight is pulled up a little and dropped repeatedly as the line on the tube is played out carefully for about an additional amount as long as the tube. For short cores this is about one meter. Both ropes are pulled up simultaneously until the open mouth of the core tube is just below the surface. One of the team then reaches into the water...
An aerial overview of Southwestern Alaska reveals a concentration of natural lakes. For these to exist there need to be depressions in the landscape below the water table that allow ground water to accumulate. These topographic lows were created by the scouring action of glaciers which also form moraines that dam the glacial valleys to trap water.
The attraction of a lake is that it is in the bottom of a drainage basin so it receives water, sediments and organic matter carried by precipitation and melting glaciers. These reflect the environmental changes within the watershed.
Scientists use lake sediments as a proxy* to help them understand the history of those watersheds. For example, the "proxies" mean patterns established by the way big rain events carry larger amounts of...
Sediment cores are harvested in 2.5 inch diameter polycarbonate tubes that are tamped into the lakebed with a weight. The tubes are fastened onto a coring head and collar with large hose camps to hold them firmly in line with the weight by a threaded rod that passes through both of them.
Both the coring head and the weight are attached to ropes which are used to lower them together to the lake floor, then the rope for the weight is pulled up a little and dropped repeatedly as the line on the tube is played out carefully for an additional amount about as long as the tube. For short cores this is about one meter.
Both ropes are pulled up simultaneously until the open mouth of the core tube is just below the surface. One of the team then reaches into the water and pushes a cap on the...
You will remember that in my last journal I reported what we did for the first 24 hours at Cascade Lake. Before we left we made 2 more sediment cores and took water samples from 2 points where glacier melt water enters the lake and from the outflow point too.
Scientists will use evidence from the cores and sediment traps, plus water chemistry and temperature data, to learn about the climate at the lake. Our short cores are used for more recent history (about 150 – 200 yrs) and long cores can go much further into the past.
Cascade Lake was chosen as a research site because it is fed by glaciers relatively close to the lake, is ice free, and is accessible by float plane. This small lake can be visited in a relatively short time. The fan created by a long ago glacier provides...
We arrived by DeHaviland Beaver floatplane after a one-day delay in our plans. Rick, our pilot, helped off-load our gear and took off again immediately. We too advantage of the dry weather to set up our cook tent near the landing and then our 3 sleeping tents at sites as far down the beach from the cook tent as possible. (This in important because bears may be drawn to cooking odors and we don't want them to surprise us when we are in sleeping tents!)
3:00 PM The weather was still workable, so Heidi said "let's go for it!" We quickly gobbled lunch and went to work! First order of business was setting up the Zodiac, with each of us taking a turn on the foot-pump.
Within 2 hours we were out on the lake to recover sediment traps that had been deployed two years ago. We found the...
Forty years after man first walked on the moon, I have managed to use a satellite phone to contact PolarTREC...and I owe it all to Iridium!
The Iridium system is satellite-based and has 3 components: the satellite network, the ground network and the hardware.
First the hardware: the part you can see: this is the part I am struggling to learn to use, satellite phone, various antennae, modem, computer, and power supplies. There are adapters for every situation from sitting at home in the city to sitting on top of a mountain. Many of the pieces just have numbers, no names, so I spent a lot of time studying each one to figure out the logic of where it must connect. The phone itself is pretty basic for anyone who uses a cell phone or a two-meter hand-held radio. (Besides, it comes with...
When I come to Alaska I almost always head to Wasilla first to see my two sons and their families, but not this year. Our oldest son picked us up at the airport and we hit the road right away. The major difference this is time was that the first stop was NOT at Kevin's home, nor even at his brother Darin's. No, this year we went right to the home of our grandson and his wife to meet our new Great Grandson, Blaze Cascade Rubeo!
Blaze was originally supposed to put in an appearance on August 12th, the day I am due to return from the back country. Luck was on my side when he was born happy and healthy one month early on the 10th of July so Great Granny got her cuddle time before the expedition. What better treasure could we have found as a reward at the end of a long plane ride?
It is still daylight as the motor home sways and bumps along beside Turnagin Arm. Twice we have struggled to stay in our lanes against the force of the wind blowing from Cook Inlet. Forest fires have been a problem in the Alaska interior lately so this rain is welcome. It is hard to tell if the pink and lavender streaks in the sky last night were from volcanoes in the Kurile Islands, Mt Redoubt, or smoke from the fires.
We are on our way to the Kenai Peninsula to participate in 2 traditional summer activities: dip-netting for salmon and clam digging at Clam Gulch. (Of course, I won't be dip or dig...I'm the photographer, here to record some Alaska summer fun to share with the folks back home.)
Wow! I totally misjudged dip-netting! This has been a real adventure. We launched our boat...
Today is the day!Today is “make sure I can set up the tent…in the dark…in the rain…in a windstorm” day. I have been through it once and I know the basics, but I need to be GOOD!
During the years from 1994 to 2006 Mr. Peterson and I spent large parts of our summers on the rivers of central Idaho, the Salmon and the Middle Fork. Summer weather in the river canyons changes quickly. Sudden thunder storms are common and may occur day or night. Sometimes, on hot nights, we chose to unroll our sleeping bags on tarps on the beach. Sometimes the weather changed in the middle of the night. Sometimes we leapt up and danced around in the rain and wind to put up tents aided only by intermittent flashes of lightning. Sometimes we just grabbed the trailing edges of our tarps, did a barrel roll,...
I spent a major part of my morning trying to decide how to pack for my trip. Keeping in mind that my focus is function, not fashion, I worked through the hockey-sized 40lb. duffle bag sent to me by CH2MHill Polar Services. Unpacking was something between the treasure hunt from Hades and watching clowns climb out of a circus Mini Cooper: no matter how much I pulled out, there was still more to come!
Step 1: try everything on - Fleece jacket, knit caps, bug jacket, and several pairs of gloves, - OK. Fleece pants, outer jacket, rain set, fleece neck gaiter, - GONG!!!
Step 2: try gear - 0˚ rated sleeping bag, too warm; fleece bag liner, too new; 4 season 3 person tent and high density mattress, just perfect. (I feel like Goldilocks!) I can fill in the rest from my own gear....
Weather: cloudy 55º showers predictedJames Monroe Elementary Everett, WA 47.899158, -122.195266
Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary Everett, WA 47.934435, -122.261013
In Febrauary, at PolarTREC orientation, I met this remarkable lady who talked about bringing her fifth grade students to the Seattle area on a "trip outside" in May. It sounded like an opportunity for students that I just couldn't let go by.
After 2 months of emails, May 7th was finally here! The big white van carrying Tonia Kushin, fellow teacher Melissa Grego, and 10 students from the school on St Paul Island in the Pribilofs pulled up in front of James Monroe Elementary and disgorged its passengers. I met them and introduced myself in my usual shy manner, giving Tonia a hug and shaking hands with Melissa before tackling...
My PolarTREC research expedition is scheduled smack dab in the middle of the research season. I have 4 months to wait before it is my turn in the field. So what do I do with that slow-moving time?
Well, first of all, I work with the tools. There is a learning curve to becoming proficient with the special laptop, camera, audio recorder, video camera, satellite telephone and all the new software that goes with them. We came home from training in Fairbanks with a four-inch binder filled with step-by-step directions and helpful hints. I took copious notes on how to do what and when. It all seemed so simple back then! It takes practice to get through it efficiently and conditions in the field will never be as compatible for working on this as they are here and now.
The equipment I was...
If you are from Seattle, and if you lived there in the ‘70’s, you know the emotional meaning of “Will the last one out turn off the lights!” Well, today, that would be me.
This amazing PolarTREC orientation week has come to an end. This gathering of strangers that became so connected and bonded during our 7 days together have parted trailing behind strands of a huge web of friendship as we spread out to cover the globe from pole to pole. We shared lessons, geography, dreams, dog sled races, Musk Oxen, reindeer, permafrost, snow, cold toes, warm hearts, smiles, tears, hugs and cameras this week. I propose that, like a gaggle of geese, a herd of reindeer, or a school of fish, we call ourselves a “wonder” of PolarTREC teachers! That seems to capture the essence of our experience better...
"I've Been Everywhere Man"My first introduction to Heidi Roop was over the telephone. As part of the PolarTREC selection process I had a 75 minute phone interview with the team from Northern Arizona University of which I was, hopefully, to become a member. Heidi was so friendly and upbeat that I felt pretty comfortable by the end of the interview. Friendly and upbeat isn't half of the story!
Heidi, "my scientist," is one of the few researchers here in Fairbanks for the orientation week training. We have had some time to talk about our project, but have actually spent very little time together. Why? Because there is so much for me to learn that although Heidi is so very knowledgeable about field conditions and technology I have really had to focus much more on the...
On Tuesday, February 24, I had the opportunity to meet two young men from Pennsylvania who form an ice carving team entered in the single block competition of the 2009 BP World Ice Art Championships. This is the second year for this team who are competing for a chance to qualify as competitors in the International Sculpting Competition at the 2010 Olympic Arts Festival in Whistler, BC. When not carving ice, Jared works full time delivering ice for his uncle's company, DiMartino Ice, in Pittsburgh. Elliot is a student in community college and also works for the ice company.
The ice used for the contest is frozen and harvested from a local lake. For the single block division sculptors work with a block 8' X 5' X 3'. This year's blocks are a little off sized at 8' X 5' X 28...
February 23, 2009Fairbanks, Alaska!"Hello, Barney, this is Kristin Timm. Welcome to PolarTREC." And those were the magic words that started me on a whirlwind journey to Fairbanks, Alaska, to meet with the 2009 - 10 PolarTREC teacher cohort and the researchers and support staff who would become my lifeline to "the great adventure of 2009!" Two weeks to prepare, write lesson plans, take care of the salmon tank, and fly, fly away! One day of flying and dealing with airports and shuttles and finally I am in beautiful downtown Fairbanks. The temperature outside is a balmy -7 C. The sun is shining and there is snow on the ground and ice on the sidewalks and AWESOME icicles hanging from the buildings!... And I am inside attending meetings!So far we have had equipment issued,...