Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Bonfire on Willow Run

Although I intended the posts on the Arctic Ocean to be my last on this blog, perhaps ending the year with some evocative photos of the Winter Solstice and the beauty of winter in general would be a more fitting way to finish it off.  On December 21st the sun rose at 10:58 am and set at 2:40 pm for a length of day of 3 hours and 41 minutes.

Willow Run in winter

We have had a lot of snow in December and temperatures have been unusually low even for Fairbanks.  Last month the average temperature was 23 degrees lower than the overall average (which I think is around minus 20).  We continue to experience temperatures of minus 40 degrees F and lower -- especially in the Goldstream Valley.  One night this month the forecast was for a low of minus 58.  The first couple of years here I found experiencing these temperatures an adventure -- now I find it just COLD!

Ice fog and arctic pink

This is how the world looked at about 2:00 pm on the Solstice from the top of Willow Run.  You can see the Alaska Range silhouetted in the background and the lights of a car coming down Ballaine Hill.        The foreground is blurred by ice fog.

My cabin at the end of Willow Run

There is no question that when I look back at these photos after leaving Fairbanks I will miss the austere beauty of the place.  I will forget about the days my car almost didn't start and that I started parking it facing out on Willow Run in case I were to need a tow.

The cabin in the dark

I will miss less ...  dog walks in the dark with a headlamp, slippery roads, trips to the outhouse in deep snow, taking at least 15 minutes to "suit up" to go outside, shoveling 4 times a day during heavy snowfalls, etc.

The cabin is especially warm and festive during the holidays.

Savannah in a pensive mood

The falling snow adds a sort of magical quality to everying ....

...from the front deck of my cabin

This display of the Aurora Borealis occurred just a couple of weeks ago.  These are the first photos I've been able to take of the lights -- although unfortunately I only had my little point-and-shoot camera at hand.  On the other hand, it is well I did as the display lasted a mere 10 minutes and it would have taken me more time than that to set up my SLR.  Even up here it is not that often we see such a spectacular display.  It is more common to see them as a fluorescent rainbow across the north sky.

...here you can even see a hint of pink

To those of you in Florida, I will see you relatively soon, and to those of you I owe emails -- I have NOT forgotten you.  I will write soon.

                                                  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

End of the season in the Arctic Ocean

Sunrise on the Chuckchi Sea

In November of 2008 I was on an icebreaker in the Antarctic Ocean and in November of 2012 I found myself on an icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean.  In some ways it feels like I have come full circle (but I guess it is more like 180 degrees) in four years.  The two experiences were comparable but not really similar -- both, however, were unimaginably rich.  On the Antarctic trip I was an ecotourist with nothing more to do than enjoy the ride.  In the Arctic I was a woman with a job!

Barrow and the Arctic Ocean

The "man camp" at Barrow

We flew from Anchorage to Barrow and were transferred by shuttle to the "man camp" where we had lunch.  After much uncertainty about whether  the helicopters would fly that day (the weather was a question mark throughout the project), we were bussed back to the heliport, rushed into our suits, forced again to watch the helicopter safety movie, and were finally off.

To board the Tor Viking we first landed on the heliport of the Fennica, a Finnish icebreaker, then transferred with the Fennica's crane by "basket" to the Tor -- an experience not be be forgotten.

The Tor Viking

Billy-Pugh transfer basket

The Tor Viking is a Swedish Anchor-handler/Icebreaker that normally works in the Baltic and North Seas.  There was also an Ice Advisor on board from Halifax.  I felt very confident even as the ice started "growing" in the Chuckchi Sea.

The Fennica in snow

Shoveling snow off the back deck of the Tor Viking

We had the total spectrum of weather including ice, snow, fog, rain, strong winds, a real storm, complete calm, and bright sun.  And it could all change within 10 minutes.

A calm day on the Chuckchi

One of the days the weather was mild on the Chuckchi Sea.  Very soon ice would start growing.  I thought I was going to miss the ice entirely since the season started so late, but we were out there long enough to see all of the phases of "new" ice which grew strong enough to support resting seals on its surface.

Pancake ice in the Chuckchi

This form of new ice is called pancake ice. There are a number of stages in the development of first year ice, but most of what we saw was pancake which later consolidated into large sheets.  There is a good description of all the niceties of ice formation at the following site: http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/seaice/characteristics/formation.html.

The Fennica and one of the Harvey supply vessels

Pale sunrise

A sunrise of another color with the Fennica in the distance

My watch was in the morning so I have lots of photos of sunrises.  Don't imagine I was getting up at the crack of dawn -- oh well, yes, the crack of dawn which was about 8:30 am.  Sunrise was around 10:00.  I warn you all of my photos on this trip are of ice, other ships, and sunrises.

The icebreaker Nordica 

The vessel behind the Nordica is the Noble Discoverer.  The next photo was taken when the Tor was providing ice management while  the Nordica refueled at the tanker Affinity.  The Nanuq is standing by for assistance with any potential problem.

The Nordica refueling from the Affinity

Ships in the ice and fog

The lights of Barrow in the early morning

Another spectacular sunrise

Close-up of new ice

On the way back to Dutch Harbor in the Bering Sea we were hit by a storm with 50 knot (60 mph) winds, Beaufort Level 10, and 30 ft seas -- it lasted two days.  Although one shouldn't wish for bad weather, I'm happy to have experienced it.  It was probably about the same level storm as the one in Drake Passage off Antarctica.  Luckily, this time I didn't crack any ribs.  The photo really doesn't do it justice.

Storm in the Bering Sea

Back in Dutch Harbor with snow on the peaks

As you can see, by the time we docked in Dutch all was calm.  About an hour before departing to the airport we all had the gift of the following on the back deck of the Tor Viking.

Eagle on the back deck of the Tor Viking

This post will probably be the last on this blog.  It has been an incredible 4 years exploring ice and snow (with a few diversions in Florida), but I think I am ready to close this chapter.  I don't know what I will do next but between now and spring I have some time to think about it.  I do intend to come back to work next summer and the firm has indicated they will cover my travel, but there are more adventures out there .......

Happy Thanksgiving to all and I should see those of you in Florida sometime in the spring.

What I did last summer ....

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything to this blog.  After my sojourn in Bettles in December, Fairbanks had an extremely cold winter.  In January we had 19 days of temperatures 40 below (F) or colder.  I sent some of you a photo of the thermometer on my porch bottomed out at minus 60.  It was too cold to cross-country ski, too cold to go on long walks in the woods, it was often too cold to drive the car as the power steering doesn't function at 100% at those temperatures.  It was even too cold for the dog to be out long -- she prefers temperatures around minus 20.

So ... basically I drank wine, ate pasta, and watched DVDs.  Not much to blog about there...  But in June everything changed.

In the summer of 2010 I trained to be a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO).  Due to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, oil exploration in the Arctic was put on hold.  Now, in 2012, it was going to happen -- like it or not.  I can recommend an excellent book for any of you interested in the history of oil exploration and development offshore in Alaska:  The Eskimo and the Oilman: The Battle at the Top of the World for America's Future, by Bob Reiss.  It presents the point of view of native residents of the North Slope, of Royal Dutch Shell, and highlights the incredible inefficiency of the bureaucracies responsible for issuing permits.  The author is a journalist and the arguments are presented, for the most part, without bias.  It is easy reading.

It started for me in late May with Helicopter Underwater Egress Training (HUET) in Kenai, AK.

Helicopter simulator

Underwater upside down

This exercise was daunting, even given scuba diving experience and having been a synchronized swimmer in high school.  Being strapped into this contraption in a buoyant flight suit -- and having to knock out a door or window and release the seat and shoulder harness underwater was challenging.  I had to repeat several of the "dunks" before I was able to pass.  There are several u-tube videos of this training if you want to scare yourselves.





I flew out to Dutch Harbor in late July after a number of delays mainly resulting from the late disappearance of ice in the Arctic this summer.  We were further delayed once we were on the ships.  I was briefly on the Harvey Spirit waiting for the Sisuaq, the ship on which I was assigned, to arrive from Bellingham, WA.

Dutch Harbor is a beautiful place to be stranded for a month.

Dutch Harbor is thought by many to be one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.  The weather changes every 5 minutes so everything looks different each time you look out.

The Sisuaq arriving.

The Sisuaq, a Harvey Gulf International supply vessel was great -- the ship, the crew, the experience.  We made lots of trips from Captain's Bay to Broad Bay for crew changes and grocery deliveries to other vessels also waiting to get out of Dutch.

Makushin Volcano seen from Broad Bay

The gray clouds you see above the volcano are active "puffs" of smoke/ash.  Apparently this only occurs about 15 days a year.  We were quite lucky.

Yours truly in full PPE 

Which one is the "real" me

Above I am standing on the deck of the Sisuaq with the Noble Discoverer (the "Disco") behind me.  The photo on the right, as most of you know, is from when I was at USF.

The Kulluk on the way to the Beaufort Sea.

The Kulluk is the second of Shell's drill rigs.  Here the tugs have just hooked up to tow it to the prospect site in the Beaufort Sea.  All vessel movements in the Beaufort were on hold until the Inuit whale hunt was finished.

Gateway to the Bering Sea.

My next ship was the Aiviq, an icebreaker/anchor handler.  Our job was to tow the drill rig, Kulluk, to the site in the Beaufort Sea after the Inuit whale hunt was over.

The Aiviq

We had to access the ship via helicopter from Deadhorse.  One of our colleagues took the photos of us coming in to the helipad on the Aiviq.

My least favorite aspect of this job

This is what we trained for

Bridge of the Aiviq

The bridge on the Aiviq was amazing.  Imagine 360 degrees view.  Our work station was where you see the laptop.  This was an interesting deployment -- quite different in tone from the Sisuaq.  The Oil Spill Response Team was fantastic.

The Kulluk in the fog

We were tied to the Kulluk, towing it around for nearly two weeks.  Finally they were able to set the 12  anchors and we could leave it at the drill site.

The Kulluk at sunset

The colors in the arctic are really extraordinary -- not easily captured in photos.  The Kulluk was the only thing we had to look at that far out in the Beaufort.  I kind of got attached to it.

The Brooks Range as seen from the Beaufort

We could occasionally see the Brooks Range off in the distance.  Just being out on the Arctic Ocean was so special.  One of the guys from the Oil Spill Response Team put it well asking "Can you believe we are really out here?" Not to mention getting paid for it.

Jackie's cake

As most of you know, I celebrated my birthday out there.  One of the Oil Spill Response Team made this wonderful cake.  In case you find it hard to interpret, there is a whale (probably a bowhead), a seal (species unknown) and an observer (me).  My colleagues gave me the DVD On the Ice, a film produced and directed in Barrow.  We watched it in the lounge with most of the Inupiaq crew who knew everyone in the film.  It is a powerful work and has won a number of prizes -- including at Sundance.  The director is Andrew Okpeaha MacLean.  Needless to say this was a VERY memorable birthday.

Sunset on the Beaufort Sea

As you can imagine, the blog doesn't begin to capture the magnitude of this experience.  I'm scheduled to go out on the Tor Viking later this month so I will also get to work in the Chuckchi -- and maybe be able to continue on back through the Bering Straight to Dutch as the season finishes up.  Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I have been.  I wish everyone the opportunity to do what they have always dreamed of.