Back Home in Arlington

WOW! What a trip! My adventure to the Arctic's Edge was an amazing journey. I learned so much and I hope that I passed on this knowledge to all my readers out there. Thank you for following along. I feel like a real explorer now who can go out in the world and accomplish anything. I hope I have inspired you to take chances and never stop learning.

I met so many great people during my time in Churchill: scientists, teachers, and snow lovers. Thank you to all my fellow Earthwatchers for making my trip so memorable. It would not have been the same without you. You helped me survive the cold and dig deep snow pits and laugh through all the branchlet /needle work.

Thank you to my students and the Barrett Elementary community who followed along on my expedition North. Your support was constant. Every time I got a new comment on my blog, I felt loved and knew my trip was exciting you as much as me.

It was nice to be back at school today. The students had two surprises for me: a huge, colorful banner and a Radio Ranch web cast all about me.







Click the link to watch the Radio Ranch show.
http://barrettpi.blogspot.com/2009/03/radio-ranch-season-1-episode-16.html

What I learned about Climate Change

After many, many graphs (they are a favorite pastime of Scientist Steve), I know for sure that climate change is occurring. At night, after my work in the field, I heard several lectures about climate change and why the continued study and research in the Arctic is necessary. I feel so privileged to have been apart of this. All my work in the snow pits and with the branchlets helped collect data that will document this serious problem.


Over thousands of years, the Earth has gone through temperature fluctuations from hot to cold and back again. Now the Earth has begun to break out of this cycle. The Earth has been warming by 0.6 degrees in the past 30 years. This is unprecedented.















How will climate change effect the Arctic?


1. The scientists predict that there will be a 3.5 to 6 degree temperature increase in the Arctic in the next 100 years. This will have huge effects on this cold climate. A one degree temperature increase will result in two weeks being added to the growing season.

2. The sea ice is thinning and shrinking in the Northern Hemisphere. It is breaking up a month earlier which has resulted in a 22% decrease in the polar bear population.

3. The depletion of the the ozone means that people are more at risk for skin cancer because we will be receiving more UV radiation.

4. And there could and most likely will be more negative effects.

What can you, as an individual and a part of our global community, do to help reverse climate change?

Scientists Still Work During A Blizzard

A blizzard blew into Churchill today. The temperature is -21F but with the wind chill it feels like -54F. It is predicted to get as low as -40F tonight. Who knows what the wind chill will be? It sure is loud outside with all the wind hitting against the building! The wind is gusting between 28 - 37 miles per hour. Because Churchill is located in the tundra, it only gets about 25 centimeters of a snow a year. During the blizzard, all the snow gets whipped around and creates high snow drifts. I hope I can stay warm under all 4 blankets.

Out in the blizzard today, I thought that the wind would lift me up and let me fly.

What is a blizzard?













Our last day of science work was filled with needle extraction. This was lucky since we got to stay inside and work during the blizzard. I would not want to have to be out there digging a snow pit in this weather. We had to remove and count all the needles from the branchlets. We had already finished weighing the branchlets. We did this for five days straight to see how much weight they lost as the moisture evaporated from their needles. We are helping Scientist Steve with his research which will show the effects of climate change on trees here at the Arctic's Edge.

What would be the most precise and efficient way to count all these needles?

Life at the Churchill Northern Studies Center (CNSC)

Everyone has been asking what are the living conditions like for me in Churchill? Where do I sleep? What do I eat? Do I have a roommate?

Here is a brief schedule of my day. It varies a bit from day to day.
6:30 - Wakeup, shower, dress for the day
7:00 - Breakfast
7:45 - Briefing: what are our jobs today, what area are we going to dig in
8:15 - Depart for the snow pits in the qamatuk
9:00 - Dig and collect data from the snow pits
11:30 - Back at the CNSC: Take off all the outer layers and start entering data into the computer
12:00 - Lunch
1:15 - Briefing: Afternoon schedule reviewed
1:45 - Lecture, discussion, data collection and entry, and blogging
5:30 - Dinner
7:00 - Lecture: I go to class every night to learn something new about climate change.
8:30 - Work on my blog some more and have some free time with Earthwatch friends
10:30 - Time for bed

Are there chores? Yes. Some days I have dish duty after meals. Everyone has to be a contributing member to the community.

Now watch a video of what the centre looks like and some of the interesting scientists and friends I have met while here.


The food here is quite delicious. I am eating very well and never go hungry. This is what I ate today.
Breakfast: French toast, hash browns, and an orange
Lunch: Fried chicken, baked beans, french fries, and salad,
Dinner: Fillet of sole, corn, potatoes, salad, oranges

Keep track of all the food you eat in one day and think about where it all comes from. Do you ever think about how we use our natural resources to supply us with food? How does the food on our dinner table get to us? I am amazed with how the CSNC gets and keeps all this delicious food here for us to eat. Do you think that other people around the world eat the same kinds of food as us? Do they have the same choices and the same amount?

For something a little different from my daily routine, I decided to sleep in the igloo last night (as a true Arctic adventurer would). It was beautiful inside as I looked up at the top of the dome lit up from the moonlight. The moon was bright last night with a halo around it. There were four of us sleeping in the igloo. The more bodies, the mroe heat that is generated to keep warm. I was warm all night in my sleeping bag, except for my nose. It was not the best night of sleep but I am glad that I tried it out.

Transportation Subarctic Style

I have had two new experiences with Subarctic transportation.

Everyday we ride the qamatuk to the snow pits. It is like a winter roller coaster ride across the snow and ice. We sit in a box with couch cushions (provides a bit of padding) and are pulled by a snowmobile. It can become bumpy and the wind whips across your face. It is fun but tomorrow I hear we have to take the qamatuk 45 minutes to our last snow pit site. I hope I am not frozen by the time we arrive.














Today was our day off ... a little rest and some play time. I decided to try out the dog sledding even though dogs make me a bit uneasy. These huskies are lean, fast dogs that have gone through great training. They are trained to run the Hudson Bay Quest, which is 250 miles. It takes the dogs roughly 36 hours. The sledding was fun. I stood and tried to do a little steering. It was a quick 1 mile ride.




























Which transportation would you rather take to school or work everyday? The qamatuk or the dog sled?

Time to Build an Igloo

I am a full fledge Canadian / Inuit / Eskimo because I built an igloo today. It is not easy work. It exercises the brain and body.

First we had to find the right kind of snow: hard packed, usually found in a high drift, and solid chunks are necessary. It takes 50 rectangular blocks to fit 3-4 people comfortably for sleeping. We dug around in the drift until we found the hard packed snow. Do you think the snow that fell in Virginia this week could be used to build an igloo?

Second we got a saw to cut out the solid blocks. You cut along all four sides and then carefully wedge it out of place and tried not to break into pieces. Do not try this at home. An adult is necessary to use all this sharp equipment.

Then we had to figure out how to pick up these large blocks of snow. You are supposed to cradle it in your arm on the left side and hold it from underneath with the right hand. Easier said then done. They probably were about 20-30 pounds each. One time after lifting it and carrying it through the snow to its resting place, I slipped and just fell down with it right in my lap. There was no way to get up without someone helping me and lifting the block off my lap.

We collected over 50 snow blocks so we could then figure out which ones would fit best in our igloo design.

The next step was to make a circular shape in the fresh flat snow. We went stomping around to flatten the snow. We used a string attached to a pole in the middle of our circle to make sure the base was wide enough.Then we started positioning our snow blocks in a circle. We had to tilt them inward a bit to start the dome shape design.

As we placed each block on the circular design we had to pat snow around the bottom to secure it. After we had our base layer, we shaped it so it was lower at one side and then spiraled higher. Now it was time for the second layer. We had to place one block on top at a time. Then we used a large knife to tilt and wedge each piece in place. Some carving (or chopping) along one side and the bottom is necessary. Then we gave it a hard slap on top to seal the blocks together. It began to look like a snake coiled around as the second layer rose up.

It was so cold this morning when we were building the igloo. The temperature today was -40 F (with the wind chill). This was the coldest day so far and the wind was whipping around with no sun to help warm us up. It was so cold that the lens cover on my camera even froze for a little bit. Check out this crazy picture.

Now the sun is out and the igloo looks fantastic. A very impressive feat!

What does feat mean?

Would you sleep in an igloo if you had a chance? I am taking a poll because I am still undecided. They say the igloo is very warm at night. You place caribou skin on the floor, get 2-3 other friends, and slip into a sleeping bag to stay warm and cozy. I knew it would be hard to survive in the snow, but I am learning and experiencing a little more and more each day. I could not live here 365 days a year; the climate is too harsh. An igloo can only remain in tact for a few days before a new shelter has to be built. This is a lot of work, on top of finding and cooking food.

Polar Bears have been spotted ....

Preview

Just not by me. Boo hoo. There is a very good reason for this though. The polar bears are in two locations right now, neither of which are in Churchill. The male polar bears have been out on the sea ice in search of food. The female polar bears are headed there right now. They are coming out of their dens with their cubs and going way out on the Hudson Bay. There is a large polar bear population that lives in and around Churchill, in Western Hudson Bay. Since the population is high, the Canadians have collected a lot of research on the polar bear. The Churchill polar bears are on of the most studied large mammals in the ...Just not by me. Boo hoo. There is a very good reason for this though. The polar bears are in two locations right now, neither of which are in Churchill. The male polar bears have been out on the sea ice in search of food. The female polar bears are headed there right now. They are coming out of their dens with their cubs and going way out on the Hudson Bay.

There is a large polar bear population that lives in and around Churchill, in Western Hudson Bay. Since the population is high, the Canadians have collected a lot of research on the polar bear. The Churchill polar bears are one of the most studied large mammals in the world.
Two men, Dennis and Seth (aka the bear men), are here in Churchill conducting their polar bear research. I have been harassing them at meal time to tell me everything they know about polar bears. Finally today these two shy bear men shared some of their secrets. They go out twice a year for about 4 weeks and try to tag and track the polar bears. They have to take a helicopter to find the polar bears. Right now, they are looking for the females and cubs coming out of their dens. The reason for tagging the polar bears is so they can monitor their travel and also gather information, like polar bear standard measurements. So these two bear men have been lucky enough to see the bears but they cannot be persuaded to take me up in their helicopter as their official photographer.

Track the bears with the bear men. http://polarbears.wwf.ca/tracker.html

Polar Bear Facts
1. Polar bears are found all around the North Pole but have a high population right here in Churchill, on the Western Hudson Bay.

2. Adult males weigh 770-1500 lbs
Adult females weigh 300-550 lbs
Babies weigh 1.1 lbs at birth
How much do you weigh? How many of you equal one female or male polar bear?

3. They can be as tall as 9 feet on their hind legs. How tall are you? How many inches taller is a polar bear?

4. 25, 000 polar bears worldwide and 15, 000 in Canada. They are not endangered but considered threatened.

5. About the body -- The feet have small pads that are hairy to protect from ice and gripping. The claws are small. They teeth are sharp for gripping and grabbing.






















6. The sharp teeth are needed to eat meat. The bears' appetite leans towards ringed seals. Also they have long, skinny necks with small ears so they can easily stick their head into the sea ice and capture the seals.

7. The polar bears live to an average of 20-25 years of age out in the wild.

Year in the Life
April - May: The polar bears mate on the sea ice.
July: Bears forced ashore by melting sea ice. They do not feed on land. They are forced to live off sea ice. Could you not eat for 6 months? What food would you miss the most?
Late October-Early November: Males begin to gather along the shore waiting for the sea ice to form.
Late November-December: 1-3 cubs are born to the mother. They stay in the den for 2 months with the mother. This is not full hibernation but the mothers do slow down, do not eat, and their body temperature drops.
February-March: Mothers and cubs leave den and go out to the see ice. This is happening now.

Compare my hand size and head size to the polar bears. How would you describe the similarities and differences?



















Since I have no polar bear pictures, check out this website for video and photographs. http://polarbears.wwf.ca/home.html#/media/