Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 11:07
Forums
Ocean, Atmosphere, Sea Ice, and Snowpack Interactions

  • If it is very cold there, what do you eat?

  • What kind of wildlife is there?

  • Have you noticed that the ice is melting into the ocean?

  • Have you seen the volcano errupt?

  • How cold is it at night?

  • Have you seen the Aurora borealis?

Thu, 04/02/2009 - 11:41

Betsy Wilkening

The cold and the food are not related to each other fortunately.  When flights are working properly, (no volcano eruptions and no extreme blizzards) Barrow receives cargo from elsewhere in Alaska and the lower 48 states.  So we have a variety of food in the cafeteria that has traveled to get here.  We even get in some fresh fruit, and there is an ice cream machine.
There is a lot of wildlife here, but I have only seen ravens.  They have walruses, seals and whales in the ocean.  Polar bears are nearby and some of our team members saw one on the ice.  Arctic foxes and snowy owls are around.  There will be more birds as spring arrives.  Other members of the team saw caribou while out on the tundra.
There is ice melting and new ice forming out near the lead.  It is still relatively far from the land, and I have not been that far out on the ice.  The spring break-up of the ice should occur more rapidly in the next month and the Inupiaq Eskimo tribe will begin their whale hunt.
The volcano eruption is not visible from Barrow, but I will see more if I make it into Anchorage later this week depending on the flights.
The coldest it has been at night here is -38 degrees C.
I saw the aurora briefly one night.  I looked out the window about 2AM and saw a greenish glow.  I quickly put on my jacket (no bibs) and my hiking boots (not winter boots) and ran outside.  They were faint because of the lights around the huts.  It was cold enough that I watched for a little bit and then went back to bed!
Thanks for reading!
 

Thu, 04/02/2009 - 13:04

Kyle H

HI!!!!!!!!!!!!! hows alaska? tucson is fine. we are waiting for the thing to come on.

Thu, 04/02/2009 - 19:41

Alison K.

Hi Mrs. Wilkening!
I'm from Mrs.Tilicki's AFT class.
I was wondering what was your favorite part about going to Alaska?
What kind of foods did you eat?
How many layers did you have to wear to stay warm?
Thanks!
Alison K.

Tue, 04/07/2009 - 21:12

Betsy Wilkening

Alison,  If you come by my classroom now, I have all of my outer clothes from the trip and you can try them on!  I loved everything about the trip except when my hands would get too cold and when it was really windy for 3 days.  We ate cafeteria food mostly, which didn't have a whole lot of flavor.  I missed salsa!
Mrs Wilkening