Jack’s weather report: Yesterday, June 6, 2007 was another beautiful day with almost no wind, which is unusual. The temperature was around 40° F but it felt warmer in all our clothes.
Today is very windy, sunny, and around 38 °F, with a wind at 20 knots (kt) with gusts up to 24 kt. This makes a huge difference in how cold it feels.
Wind blowing at 21.7 knots.....
.....resulting in a windchill of 11.3 *F
Yesterday was our first day out to the field in several days. Because of the thawing of the tundra, we can no longer use the snow machines to get out to the site. We had to walk the half-mile or so trying to stay on the plastic path provided. (see picture) It is placed there to protect the tundra from being damaged by our presence. Because the snow is still present for much of the walk, we would lose the trail and slush through snow a partially thawed snow, or slush. This is where my XTRATUF Neoprene boots are a must.
TundraA treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs. Walk
We saw a snowy owl on our walk. It was perched on a new power pole that is providing electricity to our research site. We also saw a lemming running across a patch of snow. Lemmings are a favorite food of the owl and are best described as small rodents, 3 to 6 inches in length and weighing 1-4 ounces. They are herbivores.
Snowy Owl
Birds are the dominate wildlife seen. Take a look at these photos.
Battling Buntings
Thanks to Marina Elliot for providing me with some nice bird pictures she has taken while here. The birds in these pictures are a common sight around barrow, along with geese, ducks, loons, arctic swans, and others. I will try to take other bird pictures, or get help from better photographers, like Marina.
Semipalm Sandpipers
Speaking of geese, we heard on the radio yesterday afternoon that there was an Apugauti, pronounced "ah-poo-ah-ti”, which is when a whaling captain calls the community together to share in some of the whale that was caught during the spring. A couple of us hurried down from the lab and shared in goose stew and cake that was there. Unfortunately the mikigaq, fermented whale meat, ran out before we got to sample some, maybe next time. There will be other Apugautis. Fermented whale blubber……..sounds yummy doesn’t it?
Apugauti
Yours truly eating goose soup...delicious!
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