Goodbye Greenland
It was my last full day in Greenland and it had to be a special one. I woke up early, grabbed a bike and rode to the Kantina for a superb Greenlandic breakfast. After fueling up, I immediately headed for the fiord below the airport runway, but on my way I noticed a police officer leaving the airport. I stopped him and asked if he could stamp my passport (since we arrived late upon entering Greenland, there was no one to stamp our incoming passport). He was very happy to stamp my passport and smile for a picture.
Kangerlussuaq Policeman at the Kanger Airport. He stamped my passport.
Typical Greenland homes. The colors are a welcome sight since the landscape can be a bit dreary. Not a lot of green vegetation around and lots of rock!
I rode to the end of the airport...
Summit Station to Kangerlussuaq
The final hours at Summit were exciting yet sad. Many of the staff would be returning home after months of being away. They were very excited. I, on the other hand, was sad to see such a cool experience come to an end. I guess one of the cool things about Summit Station was getting here. So, at least I had the HC-130 trip to look forward to. We all loaded our bags on a cargo pallet and waited.
Gear on cargo pallet
While I waited for the crew to unload fuel and load up the cargo, I got to spend some time with the new station manager, Ed Stockard. Ed is a polar region veteran, having worked in Greenland and Antarctica for many years. He said he was looking forward to a little piece and quite once the summer crew left. He will certainly get that, as there...
Packing up Summit Station
Today, the entire summer crew as well as other staff gave their final goodbyes to Summit Station. It was a busy couple of days, with the crew trying to close and organize the entire station, yet still be functional. One of the big jobs was to build a six-foot high berm to store all of the stuff needed over winter and next summer. The berm was built to keep all the gear from getting drifted in this coming winter.
Six-foot high berm at Summit Station used to keep equipment, materials, supplies and gear above the expected drifting snow this winter.
The winter crew will maintain the remaining structures on the ground using the large snow machines. There will only be five people here for the next 8-9 months. They rotate crews every three months. To get here, they...
PolarConnect
August 19th came a lot faster than I imagined. After several reviews of the PolarTREC binder and my notes, I felt I was ready to go live. But, as we all know, Murphy’s Rule applies in any situation. In my case, I was in need of an expert in Baseline Surface Radiation Network instrumentation for the PolarConnect event. Since my primary researcher was unable to make the expedition, I had to find someone either on site or online within a short period of time. I began my search with Ken, the station manager. He was quick to direct me to Andy, a science tech, who had experience with BSRN. I approached Andy and due to his hectic schedule of closing for the summer, he was unable to commit to the PolarConnect event. My next option was to talk to the NOAA techs. They quickly...
Radiation and weather at Summit Station, Greenland via BSRN, NOAA and the 50-meter Swiss Tower.
Weather conditions: Temperature High 24 F Low -15 F Wind-chill 0 to – 30 F
Today was a day of information gathering for me as well as the scientific equipment. We started the day by going back out to the AWS to repair a “fussy” sonic sensor that measures snow fall. The AWS transmits data on the hour via satellite to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where CIRES is located. Nico has access to the data almost as soon as the AWS transmits it to CO. Every AWS has two of everything, meaning if one instrument fails, the other will hopefully continue to transmit a signal. Nico and I loaded up a sled and snow machine and made our way to the AWS. With Nico precariously balanced...
AWS Up, up and away.
Automated Weather Station with labels - CIRES
Monday morning at Summit began with Ken giving the 8am briefing. Safety was the main message being conveyed, especially for the Phase 1 Winter crew. They will be training for the next three days before taking their positions on full time.
Ken Jensen giving daily 8am briefing. Agenda included safety, training, and scheduled work and science projects.
After the meeting our team met to discuss today’s agenda. Today we would work on the Automated Weather Station. There are 18 automatic weather stations (AWS) that are collecting climate information on Greenland's ice sheet.
Map of Greenland with AWS locations. Note the location of Summit AWS.
Each AWS is equipped with a number of instruments to sample the following:
air...
Today I woke up to my tent shaking in the wind. I knew that I could hit the snooze button a few more times as high winds meant no work on the Swiss Tower. We were anticipating calm winds today so we could climb the tower to move scientific equipment to a higher position due to the accumulating snow. The instruments on the Swiss Tower are part of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network project. The data collected will be used to further study the Greenland Ice Sheet and it’s processes such as melting and gas exchange with the atmosphere. The measurements are part of an international effort to record radiation.
With no break in sight, we were given the opportunity to catch up on some much-needed paper work. I spent most of the morning responding to emails and updating my PolarTREC...
Weather Conditions
Temperature -17 C 1 F
Wind speed 7.0 knots
Wake up 1:30am, 3:43am and 6:30am
Tent City
Sleeping in a tent in the Arctic was a new experience for me. Temperatures dipped below 0 degrees F and the winds were consistently blowing against the tent. At first, I was a little cold, but I eventually warmed up enough that I could shed my sleeping bag liner. I was thankful for my special yellow bottle, especially since I did not have to put on all of my gear to make late night visits to the outhouse in negative temperatures.
Summit Station outhouse
Emerging from the tent, I was pleasantly surprised to see a fog rainbow hovering over the Big House. The snow was crunching under my feet indicating the absence of moisture and very low temperatures....
Kangerlussuaq to Summit Station
After about 4 hours of sleep, we were back on the move again. Our first stop was the Kantina (restaurant), located at the other end of the airport building. We feasted on a great buffet style breakfast including scrambled eggs, mini sausages, bacon and some of the best pastries I’ve ever tasted!
Once breakfast was finished we went back to the KISS building and grabbed our belongings for the final van ride to the airport. On the way back I was able to see some of the play structures the local children get to use in the town. It looks like pretty good stuff, I’m sure my three kids would have a blast on all the cool structures. The education system is very different from the US. One of the locals described that when a child is old enough to...
NY, USA to Kanger, Greenland
The morning began with a groan, waking up at 4:30am to catch the military bus to the New York Air National Guard base aka 139th Air Support – NYANG. We were provided with coffee and a muffin at the hotel and then we were off to the base at 5am sharp! The ride on the bus reminded me of my military days as a young soldier in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard going off to basic training, but I have a feeling this ride would result in a much cooler experience.
Bus ride to NY Air National Guard
Once we arrived at the base (15 minutes later) we were dropped off in one of the hangers where all of our bags and equipment were placed on cargo pallets and wrapped in cargo netting.
We then checked in with our passports, were given a number (mine was lucky #13...
The journey begins!
Leaving the 90 degree, humid weather in PA
After a crazy morning of getting the kids ready for science camp and out the door on time, I began the final packing of my bags. It can be difficult to pack for a trip like this because of the multiple climates and unknown weather conditions. Today in Pittsburgh the temperatures reached a balmy 90 degrees F. In the next 48 hours I will be in a location with highs in the 0 to 20 degrees F. I was selective in what I packed since I would only be in warmer weather for 2-3 days and in arctic weather for 7-8 days. We were also told to bring warm clothes to wear on the flight from NY to Greenland, because the Hercules C-130 is not heated like a commercial plane.
Cold weather clothes for the plane ride to Greenland...
Visit with CIRES Education and Outreach and CIRES Picnic
Today, I was able to visit with Dr. Susan Buhr, the director of the CIRES Education and Outreach department. She described the major goals of the Education and Outreach department and this immediately led to a brainstorming session about the possible ways to collaborate with the PolarTREC expedition. Her colleague, Emily Morton, joined us to add to the discussion. They were kind enough to supply me with resources that will assist in creating meaningful lessons on Arctic science such as the science of snow and modules that teachers could use in the classroom for teaching about climate.
Dr. Susan Buhr - CIRES Education and Outreach Director
After our meeting, the entire CIRES department attended the annual picnic located in...
Pre-field visit with the research team at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
After getting approval from PolarTREC to conduct a pre-field visit with the research team, I was on a plane and heading to Boulder, Colorado to visit with Dr. Konrad Steffen, the director of CIRES, at the University of Colorado.
View of University of Colorado, Boulder from Flagstaff.
Our meeting began at 9am in the Eckely Building on the beautiful CU campus located in Boulder, Colorado. There I was greeted by Ms. Garcia, a very polite and helpful secretary. I then met Professor Konrad Steffen, the director and lead researcher for the expedition. He is also the Swiss Consulate, so as you can imagine, he had a very strong accent. Professor Steffen prefers to go by “Koni”, as that is what...
Thinking about ice on the first day of summer.
Well, the first day of summer has come and gone which means that the amount of daylight has reached its maximum for us in the Northern Hemisphere. As I sit at the beach in Florida enjoying(enduring!) the heat and listening to the waves crashing on the shore, I begin to catch myself wondering what it will be like working and sleeping on an ice sheet 2.5 miles thick in two months. I then ponder the questions, what is Greenland like? Where will I be going? Is it cold or really, really cold? So, I decided to check out a website dedicated to the research station I will be visiting in August, www.summitcamp.org.
Summit Station website
As I perused the site, I immediately saw the current conditions on the left side of the screen. Temperature -11...
Another school year comes to an end.
As the school year closes symbolizing the end of a chapter, a new chapter is about to unfold, expedition to Summit Greenland! But before I close the book on the current chapter, I would like to highlight some of the accomplishments of the wonderful students I worked with this year.
First, I had a group of students who participated in a “Green My School” contest last year. They won the competition and became motivated to start their own club. At the beginning of this year, the “Green Team” met to discuss ways to promote recycling, encourage “green” habits and spread environmental awareness. Many of those students have gone on to be more active in their communities and in college.
Picture of the students who co-founded the Green Team.
Next, the...
How do you define BUSY?
Well, it’s May 28th and June is right around the corner. The students are getting excited about summer and going to the beach, but I have other things on my mind.
This is a very busy time of year, especially for educators. What do you define as busy? Well, as many of the other PolarTREC teachers can attest, getting ready for an expedition like this requires lots of time and preparation.
Here are a few of the things that I need to do to get ready for my expedition to Greenland in August.
Finish meeting with 70+ parents to plan their child’s GIEP (6-8 page document) goals for next year.Complete research and course work for my EdD program (seems like it is taking forever)Administer online Astronomy course for local college (I love the planets and stars)...
Wrapping it up and going back to the grind.
Saturday, May 8th 2010
16:30 - PolarTREC training officially complete. What an incredible experience with incredible people. Time to pack.
18:00 - Farewell dinner with Janet (and family), Kristin and the rest of the PolarTREC teachers. Thai food + great company = good times!
23:00 - Seven of the twelve PolarTREC teachers load into a Chevy Suburban, with luggage and depart from the Westmark Hotel for our trip to the Fairbanks Airport. Approx. 20 minutes. We had a fairly smooth check-in process, except for Karl, who was attempting to preserve his newly made, fragile, very sharp, stone tools by carrying them on his body. TSA had a blast interrogating him! He eventually had to place the flint mapped obsidian in his luggage, hoping the fragile,...
Extreme Field Trip
The birds and the trees.
PolarTREC teachers on field excursion to the UAF Large Animal Research Station (LARS). Lindsey Blaine, UAF Institute of Arctic Biology provides in depth tour of the facility.
Lindsey combing out qiviut from Bernie the Muskox.
Well, after yesterday's great excursion to the University of Alaska's Large Animal Research Station (LARS) and the Alaska style potluck dinner at Pioneer Park, I didn't think PolarTREC training could get any better. But it did! We went from extreme cold to extreme heat!
Map of Creamer's Field Refuge
Sandhill Crane at Creamer's Field - Fairbanks, Alaska
Our first stop of the day was at Creamer's Field Wildlife Refuge. Melissa Sikes, program director, gave us an outstanding educational tour of the refuge. We started with...
This is a practice journal entry using a simplified email process using Markdown symbols. I hope it works!
Photo using satellite phone.
Today we learned how to use a Satellite phone. Roy Stehle from SRI Communications, provided us with the information we need to use a satellite phone in the field. For practice, I called my wife in Pennsylvania and she said the call was crystal clear. Roy explained that the satellite phone system works off of an Iridium Satellite system, basically like a moving group of cellular phone towers in space. I also called one of the secretaries at Gateway High School in Monroeville, PA. Becky was thrilled to know that she was talking to me via satellite phone from Alaska.
Later today we will be working on public outreach and working with the media. After a...
Communication, communication, communication!
Learning about journal writing.
The last two days in Fairbanks, we have focused on communication. Journal writing, camera and photo management and techniques have allowed me to become an "expert" in creating and posting journals on the PolarTREC website. Tuesday began with a webinar with all of the PolarTREC researchers from around the world, who had access to a phone, to meet and briefly discuss their research. This allowed us to experience what a real webinar is like and how the PolarTREC staff coordinates and manages the experience. Next we went on to learn more about journaling, a tool for reflection and outreach. We all shared our ideas of what makes good journaling and created a list of those ideas for later use.
Cold weather gear....
Transformation Station - Fairbanks, Alaska
Westmark Hotel sign
Yes, that’s right, the National Science Foundation has identified us as PolarTREC teachers who have the potential to be transformative! Does that mean we can change shape? No, but after eating the great food here in Fairbanks, I feel like I have transformed my midsection to a slightly larger version of what I had when arriving late Saturday night. So far, our orientation has exposed us to some of the most incredible educators and professionals I have ever met. Janet, Kristin, Zeb and Ronnie are amazing people who really have the “right stuff”. They have literally transformed our group in to a cohesive unit ready for deployment in the harsh polar environment. The emphasis on safety and documentation has more than eased our...
