Many of you are wondering as to why our team, (currently 7- three Germans and 4 Americans) are spending so much time in Pevek. Clearly, it was not part of the original plan to fly ¾ of the way around the world to spend over a week waiting at the Pevek weather station.
In mid-March as we were preparing for our journey, spirits were high when we received the reports that the team at the lake was collecting the first sediment cores. After many weeks of delay due to weather and things beyond our control, drilling was progressing well and the science team estimates that they retrieved sediments containing climate data dating back to more than 1 million years ago! Then, right after we began our journey, the drilling equipment broke. The team at the lake carefully proceeded to a back-up plan and began the drilling process a second time. Again, cores were being successfully collected. As we embarked on the journey from Moscow to Pevek, in another un-related incident, the drilling equipment broke again. Our team received this news when we arrived in Pevek. This is second break was a much bigger problem since the team was already using the back-up equipment. If you would like to read more, see the ICDP Lake E news: http://www.icdp-online.org/contenido/icdp/front_content.php?idart=2113
Because of these two incidents with the drilling equipment, it was necessary for our part of the team to stay here in Pevek and try to coordinate shipment of replacement drilling tools. The team at the lake has been waiting also because they do not have the equipment to continue drilling. With phone calls and emails circling the globe, arrangements have been made to fly-in the necessary parts, including another type of drill bit to use as a back up. Since the only way to get to Pevek this time of year is on a plane that flies every other week, other arrangements had to be made. As it turned out, some equipment was able to be purchased in the Eastern Russian city of Magadan. Other equipment was flown from remote locations to Magadan. From Magadan, the equipment will be flown to the town of Bilibino today. If the weather permits, tomorrow (4/1/09), our team will board the helicopter, fly first to Bilibino, to pick up the parts, then fly on to the lake. We all are optimistic that when we arrive with the replacement equipment, we will be able to continue the work of collecting this important record of Arctic climate. Obviously, for the details above, I do not have pictures...Yet, I want to leave you with some today... As I head to the lake tomorrow, my internet connectivity may decrease.
Each day our group has gone for walks around town to learn what we can while we are here. So below is a photo essay... a bit of reflection on spending a week in Pevek. Although this week has had its moments of frustration, I have learned a lot living in the arctic environment of the northern most city in Russia. The climate is harsh yet the people of Pevek are resilient.
Sometimes it is the simple things that improve the quality of life; a door closer made from a tire inner-tube or a box hung from a window becomes freezer for food storage. The town is full of contrast. Soviet era icons, mix with religious, a fresh snow covers the litter, the "homeless" feral dogs will greet us with a wagging tail, the new cinema and discotheque stands near abandoned apartment blocks. The longer I am here, the more I learn and the more questions I have...
Automatic door closer made with rubber from a truck tire innertube
Freezer boxes haning out windows in Pevek apartments.
Old apartment building near the Met station
Pevek Post Office.
The Pevek Orthodox Church
Doorway in abandoned Pevek building
A common sight under buildings in Pevek.
Colorful tundra truck with Pevek apartments in the background.
Delicate frost crystals decorate the window of a Pevek shop.
Old warehouse along the road to the Pevek airport.
New cinema and discotheque.
Arctic sunset behind a Soviet grave marker in the Pevek cemetery.
Arctic sunset behind a cross in the Pevek cemetery
T-Mart... staying warm in Pevek