Scientists working on the NGEE Arctic project have never
been shy about outreach and communication when it comes to the exciting
research that we are doing both in the field and laboratory. Over the last two
years we have implemented a number of innovative approaches to informing people
of the challenges we are tackling in the Arctic; we have a project web site,
Facebook, Flickr, monthly “Science Talks”, and postings to our project blog. Today
we took another step by broadcasting live from the tundra where we are working
for the next couple of weeks. The Google Hangout was led by the Public Affairs
Department at LBNL, and featured scientists working in Barrow and others in laboratories
back in Berkeley, CA. Also joining us in this endeavor were students from
Oakland, CA and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Craig Ulrich and I setup a laptop and
video camera in the field and “went live” at 10:00pm. We were introduced by Dan
Krotz from LBNL and then Craig and I talked about the NGEE Arctic project and
about the geophysical and permafrost sampling tasks that our team are
undertaking this week. Although we experienced a few technical glitches,
everything went smoothly and the students seemed to enjoy seeing science in
action. They asked some really great questions too! A special thanks to the
students and teachers that made this a successful and learning experience.
