This fantastic opportunity to join PolarTREC is becoming a reality. We are on day two of an intensive training program designed to make us teachers into effective communicators from our far flung Arctic and Antarctic locations. Right now we are staying at a conference center in Fairbanks Alaska, working together to learn more about these environments near the poles and how we can use different technological tools to share our experience with others. A long morning in the Yukon Room today! We began with an overview of the day and an interesting webinar on climate change by Dr. Mary Albert, a former PolarTREC researcher. Her lecture revealed some startling statistics about the greenhouse gases and their potential impact on the global climate. Of particular concern is the issue of feedback loops that will cause the temperature rise to accelerate. Dr. Albert told us that while ice and snow reflect about 70% of the incoming solar radiation, sea water reflects only about 7% of this energy, absorbing this radiation and re-emitting it into the atmosphere as heat (long wave radiation). This point emphasizes the important role of the polar regions in regulating the global climate and how we all depend upon these places for keeping the health of our entire planet intact!
The technical lectures that followed were great, relieving some (but not all) of the anxiety over the tasks that lay ahead, posting journal entries, photographs, videos, podcasts and a host of high tech applications that make for an interactive educational website that will appeal to a wide audience. These skills will be important for me to have, particularly five months from now when I head out to the Pribilofs!
Once lunchtime arrived, it occurred to me that checking work related e-mail and surfing the web took a back seat to the fact that I was in Alaska and the sun was shining! I had to get out for a walk and some fresh air. I grabbed my binoculars from my room and headed out into the 15 degree (warmest since I've arrived) weather.
Since most of our time has been spent at the Westmark Hotel, the only bird species to make the trip list so far, have been the Common Ravens that soar about and make their croaking calls all over downtown Fairbanks. Heading out the door, I spy about a dozen Rock Pigeons flying off from a building a couple of blocks down the street. While this doubled the species list for the trip, these common resident birds of any city sidewalk were hardly cause for excitement.
Since time was short and the lunch break would soon be over, I thought that the quickest way to spot a "northern" specialty bird might be to check some of the residential side streets for backyard feeders that might lure in a bird of interest. This strategy pays off! I spot a flock of small birds flitting about the spruce and birch trees along the edge of the street just a couple of blocks from the hotel. The birds, Common Redpolls, while fairly common here in Alaska, are quite rare in Maryland. One of the redpolls stands out as being particularly pale in coloration, it occurs to me that this is a Hoary Redpoll, a bird that is rather uncommon even in Alaska! A Black-capped Chickadee joins this group of hungry birds and my trip list suddenly jumps to four species!
This short walk is reenergizing as I make my way back to the Westmark for an afternoon of learning and sharing. I'm so glad to be here and to be a part of this great group of teachers!