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Tuesday, August 22, 2006

For the literary out there, the foreshawdowing on Monday's crazy flight schedule from Deadhorse Airport came last week when our tour bus driver-security guard, Tom, told us far more flights were delayed in summer at Deadhorse because of fog than in winter because of ground blizzards. Here we were, waiting at the tiny airport, when the Alaska Airlines person came on the speaker to tell us our flight had simply flown past Deadhorse and was headed to Fairbanks -- without us. Not a problem, all 50-or-so people in the airport were scheduled for the next flight. Then, that one was delayed, so we were rescheduled again. Our third try was the charm. As it turns out, several of the men on our flight had been trying to leave Deadhorse since Friday. As I mentioned before, Deadhorse is a dry town, so as soon as the flight lifted its landing wheels, the booze started flowing. A guy in front of me got a two shots, a beer and a Coke. Good thing the flight, headed to Anchorage, wasn't a long one. As it turns out, it was very clear so we had a great view of Denali and Mt. McKinley.

We Gotta Get Out of This Place

| 7:28 AMMolly Murray

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Monday, August 21, 2006

The Sleeping Bag Squisher

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North to AlaskaThe News Journal's Molly Murray is one of five journalists traveling with scientists to Toolik Lake Research Station through the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory Science Journalism fellowship. Follow her expedition along the North Slope of Alaska through this blog.

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10/3/06 8:49 AMdelawareonline | The News Journal | North to Alaska

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If you ever tried to fit something big into a small space, you can relate to the wrestling match I just went through with my sleeping bag. I hadn't really thought much about packing up to leave, until I started rolling my sleeping bag. It comes with this skinny-little, bag-like contraption that Mary Engel, from the Los Angeles Times, calls a squisher. It really does work. My full-size sleeping bag now fits nicely into my suitcase. But what a battle! We are leaving at 6:45 a.m. Alaska time, heading back to Deadhorse and flying to

Anchhorage. Some of us part ways there. Pam Hinkle Clapp will meet her family in Anchorage and then head off on a week-long adventure. Mary, a former editor writer in Anchorage, will meet friends there for a few hours. Jim Metzner, with Pulse of the Planet, is spending the night. But Anton Caputo, with the San Antonio paper, Marc Airhart, a freelance reporter based in Austin and I will spend more than 7-hours in Anchorage on a layover. The three of us fly to Minneapolis and then part, the two men to Texas and me back to Philadelphia. I get home Tuesday. It is time to leave Toolik lake. Many of the scientists and research assistants have already left -- headed back to their universities as the fall semester starts. Yesterday, as we hiked through the China River Valley, we noticed signs of fall . There were migratory shorebirds -- a small group of Dunlin -- feeding on the tundra insects. They are starting their journey south for the winter. The tunda, when we arrived a velvet greeen, was showing traces of brilliant reds and yellows. The creeks and streams will filled with water. The mountain tops of the Brooks Range were covered with snow. We actually saw the sunset over Toolik Lake the night before last. It sunk down to a dusky-like sky. Sunset into darkness can't be far behind.


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Saturday, August 19, 2006

They say August is the rainy season in the Arctic but after three days of snow, we're beginning to think it's the snowy season. This morning, we awoke to more than a dusting. The

staff was passing out these nifty rulers at the Delaware State Fair last month so I brought one along. I never imagined that I would be measuring snowfall with it. So here's the official measurement: 3-inches.

Snow and More Snow

Delaware Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures

| 2:18 PMMolly Murray

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Friday, August 18, 2006

Now This is Camping



Most of us were prepared for rugged conditions when we first arrived at Toolik Lake. Afterall it's a remote site, off a dirt road. But when we arrived, we were asigned to a mobile "hotel" called the "Cotton Grass." We call it the Hilton because it is so nice. It has real walls, real windows, heat and bathrooms. Now there are some rules with the bathrooms. First off, all the wastewater has to be trucked 130 miles north to Prudhoe Bay for treatment. That means we have to minimize wastewater. So the rule is: "If

it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow." Our rooms have room-darkening shades to make it seem like it's dark outside even when it isn't. And there is heat but our unit doesn't seem to be working. The air temperature today was just above freezing and it's been snowing on and off. We're really starting to feel the cold. Of course it helps to have a full belly in these times. Today, at lunch, the kitchen staff, pulled out all the stops with chocolate-covered strawberries and homemade chocolate chip cookies. This is roughing it.


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Atigun Pass



The Arctic National Wildlife Area is just south of Toolik Lake and Thursday we ventured down to Atigun Pass for a four mile hike. The hike would be awesome most any time but it was extra special because it had been snowing all morning. We saw dall sheep in the mountains and our reward for bouncing over the rough tussock tundra and up a steep incline was a view of a spectacular waterfall. Lots of creatures don't have trouble crossing the tundra. A grizzly bear had been in the area before we got there. This scrape is a

spot where a bear probably tried to dig out a small animal that was hiding beneath the ground. | 12:51 AMMolly Murray

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Thursday, August 17, 2006

In Delaware, we know a thing or two about company towns but few places I've ever been top Deadhorse and the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. You can go to Deadhorse, visit the post office tucked inside the hardware store and stop by the two hotels, both of which serve a buffet dinner. But you can't see the oil field or see the Arctic Ocean, let alone swim in it, unless you go on a pre-arranged tour. They need your driver's license in advance and they check your i.d. when you arrive. It is a little weird. No one from

BP was there to take us journalists to the area where a pipeline spur had corrosion damaged or where another spur fell off its supports. They did a media event a week earlier. Instead, we had Tom Sumey, a bus driver dressed in a uniform that resembled a security guard's, who took us through the Prudhoe Oil Field area and pointed out the highlights along the way. Tom was a no-nonsense guy but as the

Company Town



tour progressed, he warmed considerably especially after we were tricked into thinking a sand hill crane decoy, placed by his buddy a few years back, was the real deal. There we were, a group of journalists and some other tourists, completely tricked by the fake crane. Tom was loving it. So with that, he made sure the suckers saw Halliburton's installation -- at least on a drive by. -- and he even diverted from the designated route to see if we could find the grizzly bear that had been spotted earlier in the day. The Deadhorse Camp picture, above, is at the Halliburton complex. The irony is there are no trees in Deadhorse. The oil operations, at least in the driving tour, are little more than a series of big and little buildings. The little buildings are oil well houses. From the video we watched before the tour, we learned that the oil companies have self contained towns within towns, complete with "healthy" meals (That was their expression, not mind) excercise rooms and housing. There are lots of other people coming and going into Deadhorse and they are mostly there to support the oil industry. In the winter, when oil activity is at its peak, about 6,000 people are working at Prudhoe Bay. About 1,000 live in Deadhorse. The funny thing I learned, is that most people who are there are really excited to leave. We had dinner at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel and a group of men were there because they are working on improvements at the Deadhorse Airport. The hotel, by the way, isn't your typical Days Inn. It is built above the ground -- like everything else in Deadhorse to protect the permafrost -- and it looks like several mobile homes have been strung together and connected. It is surprisingly nice inside and the buffet food was good. But as the bumper sticker says: "DeadHorse: So Far and Still no Bar." The town is dry and men out number women by a huge percentage. One guy told me he signed up for five weeks, he was staying five weeks and he wouldn't stay another day even though they had already asked him to. A young man joined us at dinner. He was in Deadhorse for the money -- a few weeks on, a few weeks off. His home in Niagra Falls was paid for and he had a few more payments left on his vehicle. He delighted us with a story about a grizzly bear that wondered in behind the Arco he was living in. Arcos are portable housing trailers that you find all over the North Slope. The bear had been spotted earlier in the day and had pawed through the garbage. So our fellow went out a few hours later to pick up the trash. Next thing he knew, the bear came out from around a corner. "I don't know who ever said don't run from a bear," he said. "But I sure did run." His buddies joked with him. "They said it was a small bear but they're from Alaska."


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It was cold and snowy when we left Toolik Lake for the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay on Wednesday. One thing we have all learned is that even if you need to go just a few miles down the road, allow plenty of time. The 130 mile, one-way trip took us three-and-a-half hours over muddy, bumpy and sometimes slippery roads. Pam Hinkle Clapp, the director of communications at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab, was our driver -- having taken and passed the required

The Arctic Ocean Polar Bear Club



driving test here at Toolik Lake. She did a great job under rugged conditions. Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse aren't the sort of place most people want to be if they don't have to be there. I'll write more on Prudhoe and Deadhorse later. But for now, all you need to know is that there is an Arctic Ocean Polar Bear Club and four of us journalists: me, Marc Airhart, Anton Caputo and Jim Metzner are now members. Pam had to save her strength to drive and May Engel was the official photographer. Pam was also the official blanket holder so I could change out of a cold, wet bathing suit into dry clothes. It really does take a village to be an Arctic Polar Bear.It also takes full body emersion to qualify and you can't really run out into deep water like you can in our Atlantic Ocean. The Arctic, off Deadhorse, is just too shallow. So that means, if you're like me, you go into waist deep water, wait for a wave and then stick your upper body in. The water actually wasn't that bad at 38-degrees. Getting out was the hard part. The air temperature was 41-degrees with a wind chill of 36. The Arctic has a pebbly beach and along the shoreline, there was lots of driftwood. There aren't trees in Deadhorse. In fact, it is this flat expanse of land that resembles a Delaware salt marsh at a place like Prime Hook. The timber fragments drifted down from Canada, according to our tour director, Tom Sumey. Tom also told us not to worry too much about real polar bears because the ice pack, where they live and hunt, is 30 to 150 miles off shore. However, he said, sometimes polar bears do show up in Deadhorse. I'd be lying if I said the water wasn't cold, because it was, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it could and would be. The coldness really doesn't hit you until later. We were sitting around the dining room at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel waiting to eat dinner and suddenly, I realized I was really, really cold. A cup of hot coffee warmed me up again. I also have to admit that I hate being cold and in fact, when my Mother found out I was going to Alaska, she laughed and pointed out to me that I'm the one who wears a sweater in the summer. So to swim in the Arctic Ocean, I just didn't think too much about it. It was cold and we were still seveal hundred miles from the real top of the world. The North Pole is 1,200 miles away.


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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Most of our hikes so far have included trips across this heath-like land and tussock tundra. If you look down, you find tiny red cranberries, peach-colored cloud berries and blueberries. I haven't tried the cranberries but the blueberries are delicious, a little on the tart side but very good. As for the cloud berries, they must be an acquired taste. The fruit is shaped like a blackberry. They are at their peak when they are pale-colored. Once they turn orange they start to ferment. They have a sort of milky, tart sweetness. There are also all sorts of fungi, which are

beautiful to look at. As for the bugs, I learned something new yesterday. The black flies and gnats were pretty thick when we went to see the fish research at the Kuparuk River. Lots of people were wearing bug nets. But, hey, I'm from Delaware and I know bugs so I didn't think it was all that bad. I haven't even opened my bottle of bug spray, yet. Of course that means you inhale and swallow a few bugs ever now and then. The field ecologist mentioned that black flies are nectar eaters so it you take time to savor them, they will be sweet. I know the bugs can get a lot worse, John Hobbie, our leader, told us a story yesterday about a moose that had twin calves. The mosquitoes were so bad that summer that the insect bites ended up killing the babies. He said once, the bugs were so bad, a moose just wandered into Toolik Lake and stayed in the water to avoid being bitten. By the way, it's still snowing but it isn't sticking and it looks like the sun is trying to break through the clouds. We are off to in a few minutes -- next on the agenda: a swim in the Arctic Ocean.

Berries and Bugs

Prudhoe Bay | 1:15 PMMolly Murray

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Yes, the title is accurate. It's snowing. It's about 7 a.m. and I haven't been outside yet to see how cold it is. But the mud puddles aren't frozen so it must still be above freezing. One of the hardest things about coming here was deciding what to pack. Footwear was the most

problematic. Our packing list recommended four pairs of shoes: Tevas -- the sandals that lots of people wear in the summer -- hiking boots, calf-high rubber boots and running shoes. I ended up packing three kinds of boots. The most indispensable so far were the ones that weren't on the list: the old

Snow!



fashioned, L.L. Bean Maine hunting boot. It has been muddy everywhere we go -- and I'm not talking a little mud. The other must-have has been this great coat I brought. It's Gore-Tex on the outside and it has a removable polar fleece, long sleeve lining. It also has a hood that can tuck down into the collar. The thing I really wasn't expecting was how quickly the temperature can change. I guess I didn't expect it because it's daylight most of the time. But when we get going in the morning -- usually around 7:30 a.m., it's been pretty chilly -- like an above freezing, Delaware winter morning. I usually wear my coat and several layers because we are outside most of the time. Then, it gets pretty warm so we're all getting rid of coats and fleece. Then the breeze fills in from the Arctic Ocean and you're cold again. There's a plant here called fireweed. It is one of the first to rebound when a fire passes through a spruce forest. But the flowers bloom from the bottom up. My fellow journalist, Mary Engle,an editorial writer with the L.A. Times, used to live in Anchorage. She said the local legend is that when the fire weed flowers are at the top of the stem, it's six weeks to the first snow fall. In Fairbanks, the flowers still had a lot more blooming to do but on the trip to Toolik, we noticed the fireweed was just about done.


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The first time we saw a caribou on our trip north, we got so excited, we all started taking pictures. Of course the animal was so far away, it looked like a rock in the distance. But over the last few days, we've discovered that caribou -- at least this year -- are common around our camp. There is so much that is beautiful to see from the play of the clouds and the shadows they make on the landscape to the micro world of plants that make up the tundra. The tundra, by the way, is not only amazing to see, it's amazing to walk on. I imagine that today, as I walked

about a mile over the tundra, I must have looked a lot like a toddler taking his first steps on the beach. It was an odd sensation and one we've all been discussing. Just how, we wondered, is the best way to describe it. We concluded it's a lot like stepping into one of those moon bounce attractions but instead of air-filled ridges, they would be squishy foam. The tundra is very squishy, very hard to walk on and one of the most beautiful micro worlds you can imagine.

Nature All Around Us


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The Pipeline



When oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay in 1969, the key was figuring how to move it . Oil is the reason for lots of things that are here on the North Slope, including Toolik Lake Research Station. The research station is on the site of a work camp that was built when the Dalton Highway was built

from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. The pipeline, completed in 1977, changed the once-remote Arctic area. Up here, much of the pipeline is above ground because of the permanently frozen ground just below the surface called permafrost. If the permafrost melts, structures built beneath the surface will settle. That can cause damage.Now, two of my fellow journalists here are from Texas -- another big oil producing state.asked me to take this picture of him to share with his readers back at the San Antonio paper. Anton is doing a blog, too and you can link to his site by clicking on the link from his full name.

Anton Caputo


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Some reporters have all the luck. Take my colleague, Jim, producer of the radio science program Pulse of

the Planet, brought a spinning rod and purchased a temporary Alaska fishing license for his trip to Toolik Lake. On Tuesday, he went fishing for science. Researchers at the

have been monitoring fish populations in Kuparak River for years as part of a long term Arctic research program. The fish in this river live for about 14 years and scientists want to find out which conditions are most favorable for their growth and survival. What they've found is a little surprising. Adults do better in years with high river flow but the young fish thrive in low rainfall years. They believe part of it probably has to do with access to food. With lots of rain the river is wider and there is more habitat, so the adults have an easier time finding food that drifts off the rocks. The little ones, on the other hand, are bottom feeders and do better in a more compact, low flow setting. It may like a feast or famine life but with a long-lived species like the Arctic grayling (Thymallus articus) this mixed bag of survival tactics may ensure the success of the species. Bottom

line: some years the young do well and other years, the adults thrive. But how do researchers find all

Fishing for Science

Jim Metzner.

Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab



this out? They do what lots of us would like to do on a sunny, warm Arctic day: they take a barbless hook and go fly fishing in the name of science. So there was Jim, the journalist angler, standing waste deep in an Arctic River, casting into tumble holes. He missed the lectures on flux towers and modeling and our walk across the tundra. When we saw him, he'd caught one grayling but by the time he came back to camp for dinner, he claimed to have caught more than a dozen. Do you think it was just a fish story? We're just not sure. Once the science fishing team catches the grayling, they are kept in a holding area for 24-hours. The idea is to weigh the fish and not their last meal. Then, scientists record weight and growth information and check the tag data. If a fish isn't tagged, they do that too It's the time of year when the fish are beginning to return upstream. They can't survive winter in Kuparuk Lake because it freezes.


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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

At Toolik Lake, the Long Term Ecological Research site on Alaska's North Slope, scientists have a clear goal: "To predict what is going to happen to the ecosystem in the future," said Scientific Liason John Hobbie. In the tundra around the lake, scientists are running a series of land-based experiments designed to help them predict what could happen if additional nitrogen and carbon -- trapped in the Arctic soils here-- are made available to tundra plants. There is of course, a difference between weather -- and its day-

to-day, month-to-month and year-to-year variabilities -- and climate. Here, they know that temperatures are rising about 7/10s of a degree each decade. The average for the rest of the United States is a degree in one century. Most scientists agree that global warming is happening. And here, at Toolik Lake, they want to find out what to expect.

Most of the plants here are in miniature. For instance, the blueberries and cranberries look like the master on bonsai has been at work clipping roots and branches. The leaves are tiny. And the blueberries -- the seeds of the plant's future -- seem to get all the energy in the 90 days the plants have to get their business of growing and seeding done. There are tiny mosses and birch trees that are more than a decade old but no higher than an adult's knee caps. This world is like an Alpine Desert. Most of the precipitation comes from melting snow and available nitrogen and phosphorous in the soil -- the fertilzers that fuel plant growth -- are in slim supply. Enter scientists like Donie Bret-Hart. She and others are working to better understand how changes in the Arctic climate could impact the plants that grow on the tundra. To find answers to the "what if" question, they do things like add fertilizer, snow, shade and heat to tundra areas. What they have found out so far is that extra nitrogen and phosphorous make some plants thrive, somethings at the expense of the biodiversity in the fragile ecosystem.

"This is just a great laboratory to think about what is going on," she said. If the soil warms, microbes in the soil may convert more nitrogen to a form that the arctic plants can use. So in one experiment, scientists built a greenhouse and fertilized the plants that were growing naturally there. Over the course of more than a decade, birch trees grew rapidly, ultimately filling the entire greenhouse and far out pacing their unfertilized neighbors. Other plants suffered and didn't thrive.

Later in the day we took a hike across the tundra and up Jade Mountain Peak. The mountain ridge is home to nesting hawks in the early summer and we saw three young birds flying in the area. The views were spectacular. To the north, there was the expanse that leads to the Arctic Ocean, to the south, Brooks Range and just below us and to the north, the Toolik Lake camp.

The Goal of Arctic Research? What if . . .


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