Thoughts, images, wonderings, quests
with the International Arctic Buoy Programme
with the International Arctic Buoy Programme
Engage with IABP AK Spring 22 Deployment Expedition
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****Please sign up to receive the journal posts directly in your email to follow along. This is in addition to Arctic Ruminations. ****  You must click on this image to sign up for the PolarTREC Journals in your email. This is different than these Arctic Ruminations. With only about 10 days until blast off, I am starting to pay attention to the Utqiaġvik extended weather forecasts and figuring out exactly what to pack. This week the high temps are around -10 degrees F. Brr... I want to make sure you see the daily journal posts I am charged with posting on the PolarTREC Arctic science expedition website. These will be different than what I post here on Arctic Ruminations, so you must sign up to receive the journal posts directly in your email to follow along. I also invite you and anyone else who may be interested (colleagues, students, children, friends) to engage with my upcoming PolarTREC expedition to the Arctic Ocean. Here are some ideas for engaging with this expedition.
 Engage with IABP AK Spring 22 Deployment Expedition
The International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP) is responsible for accurate highly precise observations of weather conditions of the atmosphere above the Arctic Ocean as well as the temperature of ocean water and movement of sea ice. The observation data is then used by many other science and research teams to interpret the changing Arctic. People who are not formally trained scientists also take observations of the current conditions of the landscape; actually we all do this everyday to help us decide which clothes to wear if it is a warm, wet, cold, or windy day outside. And some folks go beyond that and have rain gauges outside their homes, thermometers on their windows, and wind socks in their gardens among other weather instruments. The IABP buoys our team is placing out on the sea ice are similar, in that they have instruments inside them that measure the current weather and they have the necessary technology tools to send the data out to a satellite to then beam the data down to a master computer here on Earth. Community and Citizen ScienceMany people around the globe are interested in not only being observers of the places where they are, but also contribute to the collective understanding of how the world works. We call these folks community and citizen scientists. I was fortunate to participate in an Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) online conference in October 2021: the Community and Citizen Science in the Far North meeting. I learned about so many initiatives happening around the Arctic Circle to not only collect observation data, but to affirm and celebrate the people and culture of who make the observations and share what they are seeing. In addition to radar, satellite data, and other technologically advanced observation data, the IABP team also relies on citizen science observations from both more formal citizen science projects such as the Alaska Arctic Observatory & Knowledge Hub or AAOKH (most recent observations are on AAOKH facebook page), SIKU, the Indigenous Knowledge Social Network, and Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network; we also ask and listen to the local people of northern Alaska for their daily sea ice observations and any pertinent knowledge to ensure that we are safe while out finding the best places to deploy the buoys.  Sea Ice Descriptions and Names from SIKU Citizen Science Challenge for All Readers In addition to the deployment of weather buoys, I will also be collecting citizen science data for the NASA GLOBE Observer program and I invite you to do the same from wherever you are on the planet in the next three weeks (and into the future). All you need is a smartphone and an email address to set up the GLOBE Observer app. Then you can easily learn how to make Cloud and Landcover observations through the app. I have all the instructions clearly explained here. It is important that you join the Wild Rose Education 2022 Arctic (and beyond) observation team so we can see where in the world everyone is making observations. Let's Have a Contest! Let's see who can make the most observations with the GLOBE Observer app from now until April 10, 2022. Then whomever has the most observations will win a small prize. You will need to make sure you read the daily PolarTREC journal posts (get them in your email) for instructions on how to let us know how many observations you've made over the next three weeks to be a winner. Bonus Points In the 'field notes' section of each observation include any other observations you can make such as temperature (if you have a thermometer), snow depth (need a ruler or yard stick), inches of rain fall (if you have rain gauge), barometric pressure (if you have a barometer), as well as any other observations you can measure.  GLOBE Visualization System map https://vis.globe.gov/GLOBE/ You will be able to see the observations I make in the Arctic (northern most point of Alaska) on the GLOBE Visualization System map. It does not appear that many GLOBE Observer Clouds or Landcover data have been submitted from the North Slope of Alaska, so my observations will be very useful to the NASA scientists. Also, I will be watching your observations come in through our group team map as well. Please comment below if you plan to participate and in which region or area of the planet you will be observing. I really look forward to seeing your participation! Engage with IABP AK Spring 22 Deployment Expedition
I've been wondering about the social-political perspectives of the Arctic Ocean. I teach courses on public lands in the USA. I'm realizing how little I understand how oceans are managed administratively. So, I have looked into it and found this short video (watch below) that helps to explain the nuance and increasing complexity due to sea ice melting and navigation becoming easier. As you watch it, I'm curious to know what your new questions and curiosities are; please share a comment if you wish at the bottom of this page.  New York Times OPINION Rushing for the Arctic’s Riches By Michael T. Klare, Dec. 7, 2013 https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/opinion/sunday/rushing-for-the-arctics-riches.html
Engage with IABP AK Spring 22 Deployment Expedition
So Much Preparation
With only just over six weeks left before departing for Utqiaġvik, Alaska the to-do list is growing. As you know I am not only an assistant scientist with the IABP team, I am also the public relations officer for this IABP AK Spring 22 Deployment mission. So here are a few things I have been working on and still have to do. Public Relations Officer Duties
 The National Science Foundation (NSF) Rigor 1951762 Risk Assessment / Planning Call was yesterday. Our team participated in a call with risk management leaders from the NSF along with local community expert liaison from Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Now we are messaging back and forth to ask more questions. After realizing a bit more about just how remote we will be when flying the local SAR (search and rescue) helicopter out on the drift ice, approximately 50 miles from land to deploy environmental sensor buoys, I have asked for more training. Specifically I need to learn more about the following:
I have been thinking about the unforeseen advantages of having had to wait two years living through Covid-19 to be able to join the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) science team on the Arctic Ocean sea ice. I was supposed to have deployed with them April 1, 2020 for nearly two weeks, and of course did not go due to stay-at-home orders. We're Back On! Back to the logistics planning table and white boards to capture all the details... yet we are still working from zoom and google drive, no real tables or dry erase markers yet. A couple weeks ago the National Science Foundation loosened the quarantine requirements for NSF funded scientists deploying to Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Upon the announcement, almost immediately my team came together via pixels on the screen to talk through eight pages of pre-field logistics. There are six people working on all the details of me traveling and contributing to the work of the International Arctic Buoy Programme. I have never had such an entourage of personal assistants to help make an adventure come to fruition. Well, they are not exactly personal assistants, more so they are experts in Arctic science, travel and expeditions, education and outreach, cold-weather gear, and day-to-day up north living. It is an incredible gift and opportunity to get to be in this position as a PolarTREC educator.
Headed into the field is standard vernacular for outdoor science observing and data collection and typically is very desirable work time for scientists. Yet, I want to use alternative vocabulary of headed out on the ice. Instead of fieldwork, we should be calling it 'sea ice work' as the observations and data collection all happens on the sea ice or directly in contact with the Arctic Ocean water. Ways to Be Part of This Expedition
Weather and Climate Change from the North Pole to the MainlandYouth (and the young at heart) are invited to this virtual event with Ignatius Rigor Ph.D. Director of the International Arctic Buoy Program. Encourage your students to attend. Tuesday, November 10, 2020 from 5:00 pm-6:15 pm MST. Register HERE This is one of four Youth Water Leaders LIVE events happening virtually throughout November.  Find out how climate changes in the Arctic are affecting not only the Arctic Ocean and sea ice, but also the land and waters on the surrounding continents. Melting sea ice and changes in wind patterns affect polar bears, ocean health, ecology, and navigation of ships and submarines. Ignatius Rigor, Ph.D. an international Arctic scientist will share videos of weird natural phenomena happening in the arctic, his experiences in the field, and give youth participants a chance to interact with him and his work through this virtual experience
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