13 July 2004

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 23

Before I forget I want to let you know that I have had a few glitches trying to send photos, so if I refer to a photo that is not there, it is not your computer's fault...just satellite glitches.

I am afraid that the fog that slowed my departure from Sitka has followed me to Inuvik. Today we were unable to fly out and we are looking at another day in town tomorrow. So the question becomes...What do a bunch of scientists do when they are stuck in the Arctic??? Why, they go on field trips!!

After breakfast we headed 48km south of Inuvik to look at a site where Charles, member of research team from Canada, has studied hummocks since 1975. Charles will accompany us to Prince Patrick and has seems to have a lot of Arctic research experience and knowledge...plus a good sense of humor!A hummock is a round rise that forms in the ground with a trough going around. It has an ice core and is typically covered in vegetation. They can vary in size but many seemed to be about a meter across. They are also found close together. (this is a very general simplified description) The photo below shows the dug out hummock where researchers look for many things. They dig down to the ice layer, which was about 2/3 of a meter. Although I knew that there was ice below the changing layer, it was pretty neat to see and feel the ice setting just below the soil. Here is a photo of a hummock that has been dug out so that you can see the soil, vegetation, and ice layers.

Our second field trip took us a few kilometers north of town with Steve who lives and researches here in Inuvik. He is not part of the research team but has worked with Charles and is a local expert who donated his afternoon to our field trip.

One thing that is becoming quite apparent is the wealth of knowledge that exists in this research group. The wonderful thing is that they all share what they know and ask questions of others. All of their individual research comes together because they work together with common goals. I have a hard time keeping up with their conversation but cannot believe how much I have already learned ... and we have not even arrived at Prince Patrick yet.

The day came to a close with a wonderful dinner by our chef Rae. I think we are quite lucky to have such a great chef to accompany us on our journey.

A final thought...remember the truck I helped drive up here? As our time in Inuvik extends as do the amount of times we have to load and unload the truck. This is just one of the many tasks that is part of a science expedition.