Getting Around Camp

Toolik isn't very big, so the most common ways of getting around are walking and biking. Here's a video I took with Google Glass that shows you my usual "commute" for the day. In other words, from my weatherport housing, past the dining hall and finally to the GIS trailer.

 Most of the brown/green trailers are labs or operations buildings. The tan towers with steps going up them are bathrooms. Most of the tents, especially the green and tan ones all bunched together, are housing.

Day 3 - co2 Sensor Repair documented by Google Glass

The biggest event for today was tagging along to do maintenance on several data collection instruments about 20 miles from the station. I used Google Glass to document much of our outing. Here we are landing at the first location:

The audio didn't turn out so well here, but researcher Adrian Rocha explains the different sensors to me. The ones on the far right are a CO2 and temperature sensor. The instruments on the left side of the tree are radiation sensors. The box is where all of the sensor data comes together and is recorded. You can also get a good idea of what soggy tundra looks like as I walk over to him. The packet that Arian puts on top of the box at the end of the video is a dri-pak, which is used to keep the inside of the wiring box dry.

We found that the first sensor issue was that a bird had pooped in it, making the software tell Adrian the sensor was obstructed. That site also had dead batteries (the size of a car battery) In the second location, we found a bear had ripped some of the wiring out of the box. Adrian also made a few positioning adjustments to some of the sensors and then downloaded data from the hard drive located under the solar panels.

Day 2 - Errand in Deadhorse, AK

Today in the morning I spent time working on the computer, and catching up on a few things. But, in the afternoon I was able to tag along on a trip to Deadhorse, Alaska. The camp helicopter's battery was dead, and a new one had been shipped up to the tiny, primarily oil-company-servicing airport in Deadhorse. This is about as far north as you can get to the Arctic Sea by road and not trespass onto oil refinery property. Any further north you need to go by air. The trip is also all dirt road on the Dalton Highway, which actually comes to an end in Deadhorse. Dalton is really the only main "highway" through northern Alaska, so this is a pretty big deal. So, the helicopter pilot and I started up to Deadhorse.

From Toolik Field Station north to Deadhorse is about 130 miles...but at 50 mph, so it's a significant trip. The ride was definitely very scenic. The fog rolled in for the first part of the drive, but we managed to see a pack of caribou crossing the road.

For a while, the drive is pretty mountainous. There are even some strange-looking bluffs. 

Eventually though, the landscape gets very flat, for a long time. There is also more and more water, ice, and snow as you get closer to Deadhorse.

Then, you arrive in Deadhorse, which is really nothing more than an oil rig camp. Everybody is there for one thing, and that is to work the rig. It's an area full of specialized machinery and grit. It's definitely a rough and harsh place to live and work. It boggles my mind that a few of these structures, which are not that impressive to look at, can supply so much energy. I mean, it's barely the size of a lighthouse.

It also boggles my mind that there is such a thing as "oil pride" as I call it. Like shirts with the pipeline and a polar bear on it. Oil pride paraphernalia was pretty much the only selection of souvenirs at the general store, which also had all of the other sundry items you might need.

Then, we went to the airport, picked up the battery and headed back.

Along the way, we ended up coming across a few animals. The first was a large fox.

The second was a heard of Musk Ox hanging out by the water.

Then we got back to camp, ate dinner, and the helicopter now runs. The End. Until tomorrow...

Interlude II - more pictures....tundra hike

More pictures from my short hike in the tundra:

Rocks with lichens

Bog cranberry, or alpine berry, and some mountain heather? Probably totally misidentified these..

Cottongrass was used by the Inuit for oil lamp wicks

Camp

Brooks Mountain Range from camp

Interlude - more pictures...the ride north

 More pictures from the ride north:

Our ride north next to the Alaska pipeline, near the Yukon River

The Arctic Circle, obviously

Mountains from the truck. Notice the trees are starting to get sparse....just a bit further north there won't be any trees at all.

Coldfoot, AK, world's north-most truck

stop

Day 1 - getting organized

This morning I gave the GIS staff their orientation on their new Google Glass. We also tested the video hangout functionality which will be used as part of the PolarTrek (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) program. Another use for Glass came up as a result of testing this function, which would be lab inspection. In the lab that is studying the local squirrel population, there is need for remote video communication between on-site and off-site researchers. They have currently been literally carrying around a computer in the lab and using Skype, but we hope to make that a hands-free process with Glass. Of interesting note, the squirrel studies are actually quite fascinating given their eventual outcome. As you might imagine, arctic squirrels have a way of surviving the winter...a biological process that may help humans travel through space over long distances! Surprised me that was why they were studying squirrels..impressive!

The GIS trailer.....one of the many places where SCIENCE! happens.

GIS trailer - where science happens!

Today I also spent some time walking the tundra. Which, also looks like something from outer space. It was also an experience given all of the snow hasn't melted yet and some of the drifts are still waist deep. The tundra is also very squishy and soggy right now. So, to get out to the exposed tundra, you walk the planks...

If you step off of a plank accidentally, or loose your balance and put your foot down in the snow, it's pretty much guaranteed your reward is a leg deep in snow. Then, you have to dig yourself out and hopefully your foot doesn't get too stuck. BUT, the tundra is really pretty and incredible.

The last thing I did today was watch the breakup of the ice around the river flowing into Toolik Lake. Several researchers were in the process of taking water samples, watching the breakup, and observing the color of the water (which tells you about the C02 composition of the water. The big chunks of ice on the right side broke while we stood there, but didn't quite fall into the river yet.

Final stretch....then we arrived at Toolik!

Today was primarily a travel day, although it didn't seem like it because the drive was definitely scenic. It's approximately 350 miles from Fairbanks to the Toolik Field Station, but the speed limit is 55 and much of the road isn't paved so it takes about 8-ish hours to get there. Toolik runs a "shuttle service" up and back to the station, so those of us going north that day load up the truck and get on the road.

The biggest aspect of the drive up that I didn't expect to see was the constant presence of the Alaskan pipeline. Dalton Highway, i.e. THE route north, as I found out was the original service road for the pipeline. So, you essentially get mile after mile after mile of pipeline the whole trip. It really makes the little touristy stop to get your picture taken with the pipe in Fairbanks kind of silly when you realize how much of it there really is.

So after much pipeline and the Brooks range of mountains, we finally arrive at camp just in time for dinner! After camp orientation, I unpack. Everyone pretty much stays in weatherport semi-permeant tents during the summer season, although there is still a bit of snow on the ground so electricity and space heaters are helpful.

On my way...

I said to myself "I'll just take the train so I don't have to pay for airport parking." I still don't regret it, but...

It's awesome to take the train, on a hot day in DC that goes to Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day said no one ever...and hauling all of your cold weather gear. I'm not sure if I feel hard core or stupid right now...

Snow is actually sounding refreshing...that's good cause it's still snowing here:

Go North

This blog is primarily to document my experience at Toolik Field Station, which is about 500 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. I'm headed up to the station to brainstorm, test, explore, and design new ways of using technology with the operational staff and researchers. We are primarily testing the idea that consumer technology can be used to accelerate science, polar research in particular.

I will be posting video, photos, and commentary on this blog while up at the station.