It has been an awesome two weeks working with other members of the NGEE Arctic project in Barrow. A number of friendships have been forged by working and living in close proximity to so many scientists across the project. I am continually amazed by the dedication of those involved in the project and their willingness to endure crowded apartments, sharing food and one refrigerator, and coordinating their research with others as we come and go from the field. Winters are especially challenging given the cold temperatures, long days in the field, and the tendency to get frustrated that you may forget something while in the field or if things just happen to not go according to plan. We do try to minimize these events, but they seem to arise once a day for someone.
So, it’s been a fun and productive week in Barrow. Our team has collected permafrost cores, prepared for snowmelt, installed cameras, and conducted a variety of geophysical surveys across the landscapes of the Barrow Environmental Observatory. My thanks to everyone who made this field campaign a successful one and for all the data from which new knowledge will be derived for both understanding and modeling the Arctic in a warming climate.
