Nome was Nome today, the weather a little less extreme than yesterday.
In the morning, around 7:00, the fog was obscuring the ship out on the
sea. It
slowly backed off to reveal the ship in plain view. The sea was still
quite rough -- in the morning more so than yesterday, although it calmed
down throughout the day. Mr. Buckley and I encountered one of the folks
(Terry) who works for CRREL, and was on Sheba.
I keep trying to perceive my situation through the scientists' eyes that I meet, and I wonder if they approve of having a high school student aboard. I always consider someone my equal -- and never realize that I am a student talking with an elite scientist... More than anything, I am trying open myself up to opportunities unavailable in normal circumstances, so I can elaborate on the wealth of information I obtain on Polar Sea. I guess I can't make sense of everything now, I just have to document it, and investigate and theorize later.
Yesterday I chatted with Mr. Buckley on one of the planes (I think Barrow -> Fairbanks) about the significance of determining whether an ice-core has chlorophyll A or B. Algae is a photosynthetic organism, so it can convert light energy to energy it can use to stay alive, not requiring other living organisms to provide it with needed nutrients. These organisms form the base in the food chain, all organisms depending on them directly or indirectly. So, having established their importance in the web of life, we can safely determine what the slightest fluctuation in their population would do to the populations of Arctic organisms. The Arctic is kind of a canary in a mineshaft for the rest of the world, being an indicator of things to come. Seeing how factors such as global-warming, El Niño, and other similar fluctuations in the weather can effect the ice pack, and in turn effect the growth of these vital algae. Fluctuations in the algae populations will effect the sea animals which feed on them, and eventually effect the organisms at the top of the food chain -- which are polar bears, and people. We can't escape mother nature, and with the pollution that we are creating, not only causes environmental havoc, but we are shooting ourselves in the foot since WE are products of nature as well.
Anyway, during these conversations, I met a man that I will most likely be working with that is a professor from Bates College in Maine! And it turns out that Terry has a camp on Moosehead Lake in Maine, so I am not alone as an east-coaster.
It turned out that the seas were too rough to load a landing-craft full of people, so they planned to load us all onto Helicopters. This info came at about 3:00 PM, so I guess it confirms the "hurry up and WAIT!!!!" attitude of any government activity. I personally enjoyed the waiting, for I got to meet some of the scientists heading on board, so I wouldn't be thrown into an incredibly strange atmosphere. Once we get on the boat we are stuck anyway, so I just assume enjoy "land-life" as much as possible. The boat won't head out until tomorrow afternoon anyway, so why rush?
Finally we were summoned for the chopper, and driven to the Nome
Airport where we were to meet it. It turned out that many of the people
that left the Nugget long before us were still awaiting a ride to the
ship. The two helicopters were hauling gear and equipment a lot of the
time before people began getting loaded. Eventually we got into our mustang
suits and loaded onto the helicopter.
This was my first trip on a chopper, so I was quite excited. I was proud of myself for figuring out the seat belt, for it isn't like driving in a car. There is a central button that five belts attach into from the bottom, sides, and over both shoulders. You twist the knob on the button to release all of the other belts and therefore be "unbuckled." I signaled to the coast guard next to me, trying to ask where I should plug my headphones in, and he just shrugged and gave me a thumbs up. So, I wasn't able to communicate, but I WAS able to look out the huge windows. It was quite a trip.
We
got to the boat after a nice chopper ride. The coast-guard guys all converged
on the chopper at once to secure it down with cables -- very interesting
to watch. We ducked out and ran to the edge of the chopper pad where we
were directed into the hangar. We got our stuff, and proceeded to our
births. The flights of steps are incredibly steep and narrow, so I ended
up throwing my clothes-bag down the steps. Many laughed at this, but I
found it to be quite successful at keeping ME from flying down the steps.
After
traveling through a labyrinth of halls and odd portholes, we arrived at
our cabin. The cabin was small, with two bunks, two lockers, and a desk.
It was a quaint little birth, but it worked. We through our stuff in there,
and took a look around the ship.
At 11:30 PM, we went to mid-rats. That is where the folks coming in from that shift get to eat leftovers. We had been cruising around in helicopters from Nome, so we missed regular dinner -- qualifying us for some leftovers. The food was good -- some sticky white rice with some excellent fish. After mid-rats we headed back to our birth (me still following Mr. Buckley, not knowing where I was), and unpacked our stuff into the lockers
The beds are small, my legs hang over the edge, but I am just glad to heading off to bed. It is cold, but so far the blankets are warm, and I have a few good books to ease me into sleep. The room is actually *DARK* in the birth (buried deep within the ship), so I have less problem getting to sleep than with the light in Barrow.