Spring Break on the
Beach in Alaska
March 14, 2006
James: I am starting to adjust to the time zone. I
know this because it was hard to get up this morning. Like I said
7:30 a.m. is way too early. Anyway, I got up and had breakfast with
Dr. Herman and then it was off to the theatre. We were hoping that
the new transmitter would be on the a.m. plane. Barrow gets two
planes a day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening.
So, a representative from BASC was going 
to go over to the airport while we were taking
data. Today we didn’t need a bear guide anymore because we were
within site of BASC on the sea ice and there have not been any bear
problems this season. We went out on the ice. As predicted we
got to go up and back down on the ice once before the transmitter
died.
We came back into the theatre and found out that the new transmitter wasn’t on the morning plane so it must been on the evening flight. After a half and hour for the transmitter warming up, sure enough it came back on. We scurried back onto the ice to make another pass before lunch. After lunch, Dr. Herman took the equipment for the first time. He got up the ice and then on the way back we ran into trouble. It was a little unexpected because the transmitter had been lasting longer. We don’t know for sure what was making it cut out. It could be a combination of the cold, battery trouble, and possibly but hopefully not a signal loss problem due to the ice salt boundary. We came in and decided to stop taking data for the day.
It was a little early (maybe 4 p.m.?) so I got a chance to run around on the snow covered ice pile that had formed right where the ice sheet runs aground at the shoreline. As the ice shifts around, the ice gets pushed into the shore and sometimes piles up (like miniature plate tectonics). Dr. Herman and I checked out the blue green ice that forms from the sea water. We also checked out the crack that looked as though it was getting bigger near the shore boundry. It was a small stress crack that ran, as far as we could see, all the way down the shore. I found an open patch of beach, presumably where sewage from Barrow is let out? I’m not sure. I did get to snap a picture of me soaking up the sun on the beach on spring break though, he he.
The transmitter was probably or should have been on the evening flight but I did not see the BASC representative that was checking the airport for us. He had mentioned however that often the airport does not make cargo available until the next morning. So hopefully we will have that tomorrow morning.
Tonight Dr. Herman gave his
talk on Black Holes at the
In the evening I spent some time as usual writing to people like my parents, girlfriend Elizabeth Pooré, and friends. I can’t use my cell phone up here. There is no service to any of the major cell phone providers. There is only the one Alaskan cell phone company but I don’t know what that is. Anyway, I need to try to get some sleep tonight. So tomorrow we will get some more great data and we will have the transmitter. Maybe we will get done early do I can go into town to do the tourist thing. I haven’t seen much or any of the town.
March 2006