February 23, 2009 Fairbanks, 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, met way more people than I can ever remember, and started learning the most impressive things. I am becoming fluent in both PC and Mac, have learned a handful of new log-ins and passwords, and more new applications than I thought existed. So of course, this morning, my tired old laptop blew a gasket and I had to switch to a loaner computer. On Wednesday I will be issued a "Toughbook" computer to use in the field where wet, muddy conditions are an issue. I am still likely going to be using my own camera; it is a familiar old friend and I love it. I have also requested an audio recorder so I can interview to my heart's content. There are a few familiar faces of people that I have met other times and other places.
Jen Thompson from Juneau
There are a number of people I have visited with on PolarTREC websites in the past, and there are new and fascinating people who form the largest segment of this bright, talented group. I am lucky to have my researcher here to work with me. Heidi Roop, from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, is the person with whom I will work most closely. We will be doing research on climate change in the subarctic, which will involve travelling to remote lakes to get sediment cores from the lake bottoms. Now that we have had a chance to talk I am learning there is a whole lot more to this than just bringing up mud! I am getting excited to share this with my students. Now for the things the students have asked about: No, I have not seen any polar bears. No, I have not seen any wolves. No, I have not seen any big icebergs, but I saw some from the plane when we were flying up the coast. They were not large, just chunks that had calved off the glaciers along the SE coast, but they count. Tonight I have asked for a wake-up call from the front desk so I can go outside and get pictures of the Northern Lights. There is also a really good chance that the first, and winning, team in the "Yukon 1000" sled dog race will come in tonight and we are going to be called to get down to the finish for that. I'm thinking we won't sleep much tonight, but it will so be worth it!!! And tomorrow, the Fairbanks ice carving festival kicks off and we will be getting up to experience that too. I'll report more when I get the chance.