14 July 2013 We are in Barrow, ready to get started.

Journal

Arrived in Barrow

Travel today could not have gone any smoother. The beautiful, blue skies in Nenana continued all the way up to Barrow.

View coming into Barrow — As the plane descended into Barrow, this was the view from the windows. These geometric shapes in the ground resemble mud cracks but are very different. What do you think they are? Photo courtesy of the National Parks Service.

My flight arrived at 10am and I was swiftly picked up and transported to the bunkhouse. The quarters are very nice and will serve as a great place to spend the next two weeks. We have great internet, comfortable beds, and cable TV. More luxuries than I’ve been used to for the past 2 years ☺

Anne and I spent the afternoon discussing the logistics of our research and what lies ahead for the next two weeks, then walked around town and grabbed some yummy Chinese food.

Having lived in Alaska for the past two years, I’ve grown a bit desensitized to some of the geographical characteristics that are so unique to the polar regions. I will do my best to highlight some of these differences in culture and environment in upcoming journals, though they would be best described with some photos and video. I will be sure to provide some in tomorrow’s journal entry. I will say that the biggest surprise to me so far has been the flatness of the land. The sky seems so large here with no mountains or trees. The word desolate comes to mind.

Anne and I will spend tomorrow planning events for the week – I think we can expect meetings with many people to discuss potential risks that the coastal communities of the Arctic may face with warming temperatures.

Please, comment back to me and give me some ideas of how warming temperatures could affect the coast of Alaska. Anne and I will take all ideas in consideration and base the next two weeks on possible risk factors that could arise from such conditions.

Good night .

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