Thank-you

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 74 Location: Barrow, AK

As I head back to the world of trees, dark nights and grocery stores that do not carry four-wheelers and I attempt to adjust myself to a world that runs on a tighter time scale, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to several groups of people (hopefully this will be shorter than an Academy Award speech and they won’t start playing the music before I get to the end):

· ARCUS and NSF for making my trip possible by creating, supporting and funding the TREC program.

· Walter Oechel and Hyojung Kwon from the Global Change Research Group at San Diego State University for making this project a part of the TREC program.

· The BASC support group, including Matt Irinaga, Henry Gueco and Alice Brower, for being incredibly competent at making sure that all of the scientists (as well as me) working in Barrow have the supplies and equipment that they need and that they can work safely in the field

· All of the generous scientists working in the Arctic that let me tag along with them, patiently answered my ignorant questions and gave me the opportunity to experience and do things that I may never again have the opportunity, including Mat Seidensticker, Anne Jensen, Bill Larned, Paul Anderson, Julian Fischer, Dennis Marks, Heather Wilson?, Ed Mallek, Marcus Sadak, and the Aerosonde group, including Jake Andrews, Daniel Fowler, Brenda Mulac and David Hobby. I apologize if I have left anyone out.

But most of all I would like extend my deepest gratitude to four people:

Jenny Richards, Kim Davis and Kirstin Skadberg, the SDSU team, who not only graciously accepted me as part of their team, but also let me become a fully responsible and integral part of that team. In addition to being my workmates this past month, however, these three people I now consider to be amongst my good friends and hope that I would be lucky enough to work and spend time with them again in the future.

Kirstin, Jenny, Me and Kim inside a bowhead whale skull

And last, but by far the most important person in all of this, is my husband, Ramond Ohlsen. Without his steady and solid support for my adventure, none of this would have been possible. He has (with only very little complaint) picked up all of the slack that has been left at home in my absence, including paying the bills, cleaning up after and caring for all of the animals, watering the plants and generally keeping the house going. All of this while he has been completing his last quarter of an MBA program at Western Washington University and working full time. He is my rock. I love him and can never really appreciate his support completely enough.

Ramond at the London Bridge