tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12131568947291379632024-03-13T15:55:07.190-07:00Clark's BlogClark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-25258087911841386062009-10-26T21:32:00.000-07:002009-10-30T19:53:54.715-07:00This is the end....<span style="font-family:arial;">Well, I think the blog is nearing its end. We didn't manage to catch the last bear, I guess it will have to wait until another less foggy day comes along. All in all it was a successful field season, we managed to catch all of the bears we were after except two. Of those two, one of them didn't have any type of tracking device (try and find a white bear in a white world without any help).<br /><br />It was quite a task getting everything packed up. Our field gear totaled around 600 lbs and took up three pallets. Shipping all that stuff back to Laramie is no small feat. Normal shipping carriers like Fed Ex and UPS don't exist in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Deadhorse</span>. Instead you have to use local carriers like <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lynden</span> or <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Carlile</span>. First the shipment will fly down to Anchorage, then go to Seattle on a boat, and then by UPS ground to Laramie. With any luck, we should see our stuff back in Laramie two weeks from now.<br /><br />I decided to end with a bunch of random photos from the past month that hadn't made it into previous posts. We were very lucky to have wildlife biologist / professional photographer Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> on this trip. He graciously shared several pictures with me for this post. You sure can tell the difference between a professionals' touch and my pathetic attempts at taking pictures. Thanks for sharing Mike! Well, I've had a great time sharing my Alaskan experiences with you all and I hope to see you soon. Peace out.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440999545927154" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusdfKbW9fI/AAAAAAAAAMI/2QR8QS7hGgo/s320/1.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bullen</span> Point. The North Slope of Alaska is dotted with old military installations called the DEW (defense early warning) Line. These were used most extensively during the cold war as early indicators of a potential attack from Russia.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440923935536562" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susdawwb9bI/AAAAAAAAAMA/bUPujfCOnuk/s320/2.jpg" /></span></em> <div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Point Lonely. Many of the DEW Line sites have since been decommissioned, like Point Lonely. However, they are good spots for us to have fuel caches for the helicopters. The radar equipment is quite powerful, one of the pilots said it has a range of around 300-400 miles. </span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440864419580882" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusdXTCui9I/AAAAAAAAAL4/J2yX19Hotws/s320/3.jpg" />When I was up in August we stayed at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Oliktok</span>, a DEW Line site that is still functional. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Oliktok</span> was really neat because a pair of peregrine falcons was nesting in the radar unit while we were there. </span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440797988199506" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusdTbkQHFI/AAAAAAAAALw/Mco1P7Oofvo/s320/4.jpg" />Most of the drilling on the North Slope is onshore, but there are a few offshore rigs like this one.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440724231254834" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusdPIzOczI/AAAAAAAAALo/AXJWqaI6NH8/s320/5.jpg" />One thing you get used to around <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Prudhoe</span> Bay is an extensive system of pipes. These are used for blowing off excess natural gas.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 207px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440648928241426" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusdKwRlpxI/AAAAAAAAALg/5HvW6CJJyBM/s320/6.jpg" />All over the Beaufort Sea coast are these little fishing shacks, some in better repair than others. Occasionally you find a polar bear napping in one of them.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440572414698578" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusdGTPVpFI/AAAAAAAAALY/PUkS13uzWs8/s320/7.jpg" /></span></em> <div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Prudhoe</span> Bay hotel. Most of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">architecture</span> in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Deadhorse</span> is composed of modular units. So imagine a hotel made up of double-wide trailer houses all linked together (Dana Petersen photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><br /><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 212px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440431034005506" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susc-EjjeAI/AAAAAAAAALI/c38QCwMG-Ek/s320/9.jpg" /> I took this picture on the Dalton highway after a wildlife viewing excursion. What do you think, could it be an Ice Road trucker?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 203px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440347743472114" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susc5ORiyfI/AAAAAAAAALA/N6p5l2O3KtM/s320/10.jpg" /> The Trans-Alaskan pipeline runs all the way from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Prudhoe</span> Bay down to Valdez Alaska, a distance of 800 miles. The pipeline is 48 inches in diameter and the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">steel</span> is 0.5 inch thick. It takes oil almost 12 days to get from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Prudhoe</span> Bay to Valdez.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440268942324530" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susc0ot4szI/AAAAAAAAAK4/Q2_x_GheEZM/s320/a.jpg" /></span></em> <div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">A better shot of a Musk Ox. This picture was taken about 30 miles out of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">Deadhorse</span> on the Dalton Highway (photo Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span>). </span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440176020025506" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscvOje8KI/AAAAAAAAAKw/TbmK2GMqS0w/s320/b.jpg" /></span></em> <div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">A musk ox calf. If the musk ox feel threatened, they circle the wagons with all the adults facing outward and the calves in the middle (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 236px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440093047815874" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscqZdXfsI/AAAAAAAAAKo/Ww6A-f79uEo/s320/c.jpg" /></span></em> <div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Most of the caribou have migrated off the North Slope by now, but there are still a few that linger around all winter (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398440022739270514" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscmTigO3I/AAAAAAAAAKg/feb9_-UaaD4/s320/d.jpg" /></span></em> <em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">This was really fun to watch. Foxes often <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">employ</span> this technique to capture small mammals. You see them crouch down and go really stiff, kind of like a hunting dog when it goes on point. Then they do this really impressive jump and hopefully pounce down on dinner (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439949179412866" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusciBgd4YI/AAAAAAAAAKY/XaelVuJ2ptU/s320/e.jpg" /></span></em> <em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439868037981378" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscdTO15MI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/DQmFpirJFcY/s320/f.jpg" /></span></em> <em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 255px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439728441017090" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscVLMVQwI/AAAAAAAAAKI/jiQINoo3QCo/s320/g.jpg" /></span></em><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">This has got to be the world's cutest animal. They're very inquisitive and not at all afraid of humans. This little guy was being very playful with Mike one night (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 238px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398587792263157538" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Suui_n6bFyI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/zcPp48C4wNg/s320/h.jpg" /></span></em> <em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Although the number of birds was certainly much, much lower this trip than in August, we did see a number of interesting birds including this Gyrfalcon. He had just recently killed a Willow Ptarmigan (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscHwsAKbI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/c4CO0X49KXk/s1600-h/i.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 124px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439497987795378" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscHwsAKbI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/c4CO0X49KXk/s320/i.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> Speaking of Willow Ptarmigan.....here is a whole flock of them. Like arctic foxes, willow ptarmigan also change color for the winter, turning you guessed it......white (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscCdg601I/AAAAAAAAAJw/QNr2XzWQ_x4/s1600-h/j.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 235px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439406941688658" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuscCdg601I/AAAAAAAAAJw/QNr2XzWQ_x4/s320/j.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> The polar bears were obviously really cool. But one day we happened across this pack of wolves, and man, they are just as cool. I think we saw a total of 8 maybe 9 wolves in the pack. They likely came down out of the Brooks Range, but they were really close to the coast, maybe 1 or 2 miles inland from the ocean (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susb-ThkJDI/AAAAAAAAAJo/7fQHSxbydK4/s1600-h/k.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439335540565042" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susb-ThkJDI/AAAAAAAAAJo/7fQHSxbydK4/s320/k.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> Two of the wolves were jet black, which I thought was totally rad. These wolves were the first I've ever seen outside of a zoo, so I was super excited. I don't know, they looked bigger to me running around in their natural habitat (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susb6VqzfSI/AAAAAAAAAJg/WOHkPp7zxkU/s1600-h/l.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 255px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439267396713762" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susb6VqzfSI/AAAAAAAAAJg/WOHkPp7zxkU/s320/l.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> White bear, white landscape. You've probably thought at some point, "How the heck does that work?" Well, if the snow is somewhat fresh we mainly look for tracks. If they're fresh, with a little bit of luck they lead to a bear. Surprisingly, I found it quite a bit harder to see bears in the middle of the month when we had a brief warm spell and most of the snow melted (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em></div><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susb0y59JpI/AAAAAAAAAJY/PWRC6QSThFE/s1600-h/m.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 237px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439172165674642" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Susb0y59JpI/AAAAAAAAAJY/PWRC6QSThFE/s320/m.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> This picture was taken on Cross Island, about 10 miles offshore. The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error">Inupiat</span> people also hunt whales here, and I thought this was a great photo to really demonstrate how massive these whales are (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_29" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusbwmDp_5I/AAAAAAAAAJQ/pLfHoi0gGZo/s1600-h/n.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 218px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398439099997224850" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SusbwmDp_5I/AAAAAAAAAJQ/pLfHoi0gGZo/s320/n.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Cross <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_30" class="blsp-spelling-error">Island</span> is probably no more than 1-1.5 miles long and maybe 1/2 mile wide. That said, I think there were about 14 or 15 bears on it. Mike got a great shot of these two cubs in a shoving match (Mike <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_31" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lockhart</span> photo).<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em></div><div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Supz-NHhoGI/AAAAAAAAAJI/fYOCQ9ySJZg/s1600-h/Sunset+on+the+Dalton.jpg"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398254615867269218" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Supz-NHhoGI/AAAAAAAAAJI/fYOCQ9ySJZg/s320/Sunset+on+the+Dalton.jpg" /></span></em></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;"> Sunset on the Dalton Highway. When I left <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_32" class="blsp-spelling-error">Deadhorse</span> the sun was coming up at about 10:15am and setting at 4:45pm. </span></em></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-54525005911481224532009-10-25T21:38:00.000-07:002009-10-26T21:31:02.988-07:00Helicopters<span style="font-family:arial;">The storm is finally over! Peak wind speed topped out at 62 mph. The last night of the blizzard we were watching TV and it felt like a miniature earthquake because everything was shaking (couches, chairs, beds, etc) from all the wind. We've made it out two days in a row now, but we still haven't been able to find our last bear. One more day of looking and we'll probably have to call it quits.<br /><br /><br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">I think that one of the most interesting things about this project is all the time you get to spend in helicopters. If you've never ridden in one, it's a real trip. The helicopters that we've used on this project are from a company named Prism based out of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Wasilla</span>, AK. Whenever we go out looking for bears, we take two helicopters. One helicopter has a pilot and usually 2-3 people from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">USGS</span> that actually dart the bear. The other helicopter has a pilot and usually two people (one of whom is me) from the University of Wyoming to take all our measurements. On this particular project we mainly used two different types of helicopters: a Hughes MD-500 and an A Star AS350 (we also used a Robinson 44 one day). When looking for polar bears we usually fly 100-200 ft. off the ground at a speed of 60-80 mph. Usually we can fly for about 2-2.5 hours between refueling, the MD-500 that I rode in most of the time has one 50 gallon tank and an external 30 gallon <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">auxiliary</span> tank. It's really amazing how <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">maneuverable</span> the helicopters are, our pilots can park them into some pretty tiny spaces or more often, zip right in for a close shot at a polar bear.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Aside from our project, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Deadhorse</span> is teaming with other helicopters. There are <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">oilcamps</span> and rigs all over the North Slope that either don't have roads going to them, or only have ice roads in the winter time. So helicopters are quite useful for ferrying people and smaller loads of cargo to and fro. </span></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397094042162856370" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZUb7J-gbI/AAAAAAAAAIY/3d-6HDvt4y4/s320/Blizzard.jpg" /> <em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I took this picture about 3:30 in the afternoon walking back from the hotel gym. I think this was like day 2 of the blizzard. Needless to say, visibility was poor.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397093882526195858" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZUSodoYJI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/vfZFsfpaLyo/s320/Path.jpg" /> The wind was finally starting to die down when I took this picture. I'm sitting down in the middle of the path outside our back door.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397093630479129250" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZUD9g7WqI/AAAAAAAAAII/rf6uCrQt3hU/s320/500+in+Blizzard.jpg" /></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Every night the pilots put sleeves over the helicopter blades so that ice doesn't build up on them. We had to do a little shoveling to make this helicopter operational. </span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 212px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397093535647032242" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZT-cPMY7I/AAAAAAAAAIA/7VfauqjctRE/s320/Drive+Way.jpg" /></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">The day after the blizzard, 2F. I'm standing in the middle of the driveway leading up to our house.</span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397092791585031266" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZTTIY_RGI/AAAAAAAAAH4/wmRv22RPjmA/s320/Snow+Pile.jpg" /></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Deadhorse</span> is really dependent on the airport for supplies and getting all the oil workers moved around. Snow removal is obviously critical, and these were some pretty big time machines. </span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397092702035291186" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZTN6yqrDI/AAAAAAAAAHw/UoGG_gBZ5I0/s320/Snow+Loader.jpg" /> I'd love to know how much that scoop full of snow weighed.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><div><div><div><br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397092609223085538" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZTIhCgzeI/AAAAAAAAAHo/U1Jmnix2rsw/s320/Snow+Loader+II.jpg" /> This front-end loader didn't even have a bottom on the scoop, strictly made for pushing snow.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397092284106451666" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZS1l4qqtI/AAAAAAAAAHY/BQydiUVxDmQ/s320/Flying+in+the+Back.jpg" />Me all decked out in my flight gear. Two things: you definitely want to wear ear plugs and those helmets are incredibly heavy, especially when you're craning your neck around all day looking for bears.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><br /></div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 216px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397122868895242466" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZup3GjWOI/AAAAAAAAAI4/reYzL85E_Ys/s320/Pumping+Gas.jpg" />We filled our helicopters up at fuel caches stored in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kaktovik</span> and Point Lonely. Unfortunately, the fuel tank at Lonely is self service.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397092150820833186" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZSt1W5h6I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/cIMlqjfWIJ4/s320/500.jpg" />This is the MD-500 helicopter from prism. The white tank underneath it is the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">auxiliary</span> fuel tank, 30 gallons. This helicopter also has emergency floats, for use over open water. I could tell you that Magnum P.I. had a helicopter just like this, but I'm pretty sure that no one other than my dad would get the reference. It looks pretty sweet, and has a price tag to match: $500,000.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397091579241967762" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZSMkD4MJI/AAAAAAAAAHA/7Lm9iCegtmo/s320/ASTAR.jpg" />This is the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">ASTAR</span> 350 that the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">USGS</span> folks flew in. It's quite a little bigger than the MD-500, and worth more too: $2,000,000.<br /></span></em><div><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397091428188068322" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZSDxV0meI/AAAAAAAAAG4/4pBgipbfF3Q/s320/Antennas+on+ASTAR.jpg" />The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">USGS</span> crew put these flashy <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">antennas</span> on to track bears that have radio collars. </span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397122736047006994" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZuiINEJRI/AAAAAAAAAIw/Q0CwulZAPAw/s320/Paula.jpg" />Helicopters aren't very exciting unless you have some pilots around. Pictured on the right is one of the best, Paula.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397092382057719570" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZS7SyEZxI/AAAAAAAAAHg/f-AhCfalt6E/s320/Pilots.jpg" />Joe and Bruce: these two were our pilots for most of October. Occasionally you can trick them into doing the hard jobs, like weighing cubs. Joe plays a mean game of fussball and Bruce is from New Zealand. I think Bruce is the first person I've ever met from New Zealand. The accent from Flight of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Conchords</span> is totally legit (Dana Petersen photo).<br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397120593589492690" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZsla7Y29I/AAAAAAAAAIo/fJcIJcIPtFw/s320/Chuck.jpg" />Chuck only flew for us one day, but it was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">totally</span> worth it because we managed to capture our only male polar bear that day. Chuck raises Angus cattle in Montana when he isn't flying around Alaska, so we had some good chats about beef cows.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 209px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397122961022718210" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SuZuvOTdEQI/AAAAAAAAAJA/D846NsgapEM/s320/Galine.jpg" />I think if left to their own devices, helicopters can be kind of a rowdy bunch. It probably helps to have a mechanic like <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gaylen</span> around to keep an eye on them.</span></em> </span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-81434340001374296262009-10-20T17:07:00.000-07:002009-10-25T21:37:24.148-07:00Winter Weather<span style="font-family:arial;">Man, we've encountered a stretch of bad weather that just won't quit. Since my last post, we've flown a total of two days! Mostly it's been thick fog keeping us on the ground, but today it's a flat out blizzard. Granted, we captured bears on both days, but it's been slim pickings for awhile now. Luckily we're down to the last bear that we need to capture. Only problem is that she's currently 8 miles out swimming in the ocean. So unless she decides to swim back towards land, our capture season may soon be drawing to a close.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This may be a good time to elaborate a little bit about the ecology of polar bears up here. I think I've already mentioned that most of the polar bears from the Beaufort Sea population (that's the one we're working with) follow the retreating sea ice to the north every summer. However, a small portion of the bears choose to stay on shore during the summer. The drawback to staying on shore is that polar bears are typically very poor hunters on land. The bears are quite reliant on the sea ice as a platform from which they can hunt seals. At this time of year, the sea ice is just starting to form on the coastlines, called "land fast" ice. At the same time, the polar ice pack is starting to creep down from the north and will eventually connect with the land fast ice. So the polar bears that we've been capturing on land are starting to think about returning to the ice. In fact, I've seen several seals hauled out on ice already. Get set for lunch, right?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, not for all bears. The pregnant females will stay on land and hunker down in a den for the winter, giving birth to their cubs sometime in January / February. Unlike brown bears and black bears that hibernate in a den all winter <em>de facto</em>, the only polar bears that bed down for winter are these pregnant females. The rest of the population will stay out on or near the sea ice. We've already started to see bears digging prospective den sites, usually in pretty heinous snow banks. Today's blizzard aside, den sites have been pretty hard to come by due to the warm weather we've had lately. We even saw one female trying to den in the Brooks Range, 30 or 40 miles from the coast where there is more snow in the mountains (polar bears are usually found right next to the ocean).<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Armed with your new found information on polar bears, do you think our last bear is pregnant? That is the million dollar question for our group right now.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><p><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149140923602322" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9rjxcBVZI/AAAAAAAAAGI/iu9TNx6hZl8/s320/Ice+Formation.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">I've seen all kinds of different ice up here. This is a photo of ice just starting to form up next to the shore, "shore fast" ice. The ocean has a slightly lower freezing point (29F) compared to fresh water (32F). This is due to the much higher salt content of ocean water, the same reason you put salt on an icy road.</span></span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149266523907186" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9rrFVd5HI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/EHNvJ4NAj5A/s320/Pancake+Ice.jpg" />Often the ice is composed of a multitude of appropriately named pancakes. Pancake ice is formed when the top layer freezes, but wave action breaks it up into these pieces. After bouncing off each other for awhile, the edges of the pancakes get turned up and rounded. </span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149765314964258" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9sIHehayI/AAAAAAAAAGw/QVSoO52N6hM/s320/Smooth+Ice.jpg" /></span></em></p><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Occasionally you encounter really smooth ice, perfect for sliding on (Dana Petersen photo). </span></em></p><p><em><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em></p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 184px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149518369041666" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9r5viBrQI/AAAAAAAAAGg/fsa-C46QIS8/s320/Seals.jpg" /></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Here are a couple of the seals we saw the other day. They keep breathing holes open in the ice, and seconds after we flew over, they dove down the holes. Polar bears often hunt the seals by ambushing them when they pop out of their breathing holes (Dana Petersen photo). </span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149392188382690" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9ryZeNneI/AAAAAAAAAGY/MjOB2F5dztY/s320/Polar+Bears+on+Ice.jpg" /> We've certainly been seeing quite a few polar bears when the weather permits flying. These polar bears were out on a barrier island that was surrounded by fresh ice.<br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149028086619426" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9rdNFlnSI/AAAAAAAAAGA/sPqSrnI1Mlg/s320/Den+Site.jpg" />Any idea what this is? It's a potential denning site for a pregnant female. They excavate all over the place, usually in big snowdrifts like this, looking for the perfect spot to pop out a few puff balls (Dana Petersen photo).<br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><br /><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395149637274395810" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9sAqfRZKI/AAAAAAAAAGo/Ruu3BVWASMM/s320/Smiley+Bear.jpg" />It almost looks like this polar bear smiled for the picture. I like to think she was just really stoked about contributing to science.<br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></em><div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395148895280659842" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/St9rVeWLfYI/AAAAAAAAAF4/aMnTA1PpWD0/s320/Birthday.jpg" /></span></em> <div><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Despite my best efforts to keep my birthday under wraps, somehow word leaked out. I'm glad it did, the cake was quite tasty. My favorite part was that they put an emergency strobe light on it for a candle. Thanks polar bear crew!</span></em></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-82708948075184748362009-10-13T22:16:00.000-07:002009-10-13T23:51:14.375-07:00Big BearsThe latest news from Deadhorse is that it's been warm (-ish, for Deadhorse in October this means high temperatures in the mid-30s) and we've been catching plenty of bears. Not just any old bears mind you, but big bears. Several days ago we captured a female bear that weighed 820lbs, pretty dang big for a female. The fat layer over her rump was almost 6 inches deep. Take out a tape measure and imagine what it would feel like to have your body covered in that! We also captured a male two days ago that weighed over 1000 lbs. I'm not going to lie, it's a little weird being next to a carnivore that big. Our team takes several measurements of all the bears we catch including weight, length, fat biopsy, muscle biopsy, breath sample, hair sample, even a fecal sample. We're cumulatively using all this information to see if there are any differences in the health / body condition of bears that follow the sea ice in the summer compared to the bears that stay on land. So, here are the latest photos.<br /><br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392337039525858850" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVt97YeziI/AAAAAAAAAFw/QsNBuoDt82M/s320/Sunrise.jpg" /></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Early morning light over the arctic ocean. Ice is starting to form up on parts of the shore, but the main ice pack is still quite a ways out.</em></span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 234px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392336903499364114" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVt2ApPNxI/AAAAAAAAAFo/eiU9Fj1ci-U/s320/Big+Male.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Here's the big male we caught two days ago. He weighed 1020lbs. The pictures don't really do it justice, but I can assure you this thing was massive.</em></span> </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 194px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392336782068312674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVtu8R0amI/AAAAAAAAAFg/84ergUxd70Y/s320/Big+Male2.jpg" /></em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>I think one of the coolest things about polar bears is the size of their paws. This is a picture of the front right paw of the big male. I'm told that polar bears can walk on thinner ice than a human can, in part because these large paws distribute weight over a greater surface area. </em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392336533187037026" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVtgdH5h2I/AAAAAAAAAFQ/OvRGOHJ2Zjw/s320/Breath+Sample.jpg" /></em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em> I just realized tonight that I don't have a current photo of breath sampling. So this one is from August. The nose cone is attached to a device with two one-way valves. The bears breathes in air from the environment and exhales into the bag. Believe it or not, that little valve costs $700. From the bears breath we can calculate if it's metabolizing primarily carbohydrates, fats, or proteins. Students from Mrs. Banes class take note: I'll show you how to do this on yourself when I get back. Since you won't be anesthetized (well I hope we don't need to), we can even accurately calculate how many calories per hour you're burning. </em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392336404549129058" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVtY96O02I/AAAAAAAAAFI/1vAmBUK3dEU/s320/Length+Measurement.jpg" /></em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>The tape measure is a little hard to see, but here we're measuring how long the bear is from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. </em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392336279838010274" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVtRtUyK6I/AAAAAAAAAFA/MbwZ2RNhPGs/s320/Weight+Measurement.jpg" /></em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Ever wonder how you weigh a 1000 lb bear? A collapsible tripod and a pulley system. As long as the ground isn't too soft, you're golden. </em></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em></em></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392336150517405074" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/StVtKLkWVZI/AAAAAAAAAE4/aLAqOmUM6LA/s320/Sunset.jpg" />Sunset photo in Deadhorse, airport in the background. Currently the sun comes up at 9:02 am and sets at 6:19 pm. We're losing about 10 minutes of daylight each day right now. By the end of October Deadhorse will be losing 15 minutes of daylight each day. Enjoy sunlight while you can good people of Alaska.</em></span> <br /></span></div></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-68120847886437508962009-10-08T11:59:00.000-07:002009-10-25T21:53:28.186-07:00Wind Day<span style="font-family:arial;">Hey everyone! Another day another polar bear for us. We've captured three bears so far, not bad for 4 days of flying. We got really lucky yesterday because we darted the bear near a river bank and were completely out of the wind when we did our workup. We had previously caught this bear in August so it was fun for me to see her cubs again. It's a slow day in Deadhorse today, the wind kicked up to around 30-40 mph yesterday afternoon, and it's been blowing strong ever since. So, no flying today. The weather has actually been really good so far, high temperature most days have been in the mid-20s, with the low so far at 7F. I can tell you one thing though, this wind makes it feel a heck of a lot colder. The wind chills last night were below zero. Since it's kind of a down day today, I thought it would be a good time to snap some photos of the living quarters here and give you an idea of what it's like to spend time in Deadhorse. </span><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390319354762150082" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5C5N6CwMI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/LbfDojGaoNo/s320/Cubs.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>These are the cubs that were with the bear from yesterday. They were pretty dang cute, despite being covered in dirt. Oh well, kids will be kids.</em></span> </p><div><br /></div><p></p><div><br /></div><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390319540089246418" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5DEATd0tI/AAAAAAAAAEY/WBmoG8MSZ2U/s320/Kaktovik.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">We refueled our helicopters at Kaktovik yesterday. This is a small Inupiat village not too far from Canada. I'm not sure, but I don't think there are any roads leading to this place, but there is a plane that flies in once per day. I kept trying to picture what it would be like to live there in January when there isn't any daylight. I think I'd want a good cable package (Dana Petersen photo).</span></em> </p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390319665032859730" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5DLRwWEFI/AAAAAAAAAEg/fXslx2tCXsk/s320/Whale+Pile.jpg" /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">The Inupiat at Kaktovik still participate in subsistance whaling. This is the bone pile from this years catch. According to Wikipedia bowheads are around 60ft in length, have the largest mouths in the world, live incredibly long (up to 200 years), and use their massive heads to bust through sea ice up to 2 ft thick to make breathing holes (Dana Petersen photo).</span></em></span><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390320393362368114" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5D1q_oZnI/AAAAAAAAAEo/juJn2vl5tIM/s320/Arctic+Fox.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"> I finally saw an arctic fox up close when my camera was handy. This little guy was hanging around our lab space last night. The fur will thicken up and become more white as winter progresses. They are extremely well-insulated, and don't begin shivering until temperatures hit -40.</span></em><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390317852244568834" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5Bhwl76wI/AAAAAAAAADg/UESJ4ZVXMp8/s320/House.jpg" /> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">This is the living space we're in at Bald Mountain Air in Deadhorse. We're located right next to the airport, so there's always helicopters and jets coming and going. The hub of activity in Deadhorse.</span></em></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390318544744124594" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5CKEWskLI/AAAAAAAAAEI/JGUtlYFMU1c/s320/Drifts2.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I took some pretty sweet action photos of weather this morning, respectable drifting for early October. Well, maybe not for Deadhorse.</span></em> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390318450417927282" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5CEk9lBHI/AAAAAAAAAEA/xWezNkPP1R8/s320/Drifts.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;">The view from out our backdoor. Not much topography once you get past the airport. Man that was a cold wind.</span></span></em> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390318341904521602" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5B-Qt92YI/AAAAAAAAAD4/T3QuCtl5yXg/s320/NOAA+Plane.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;">A NOAA Twin Otter plane that's in the hanger attached to our living space. It's currently being used for marine mammal survey flights around the arctic ocean.</span></em></span><br /><br /></div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390318193425412322" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5B1nlycOI/AAAAAAAAADw/zge0T7ZzQF4/s320/Living+Room.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;"> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">This is the living room in our wee little house. Incredibly comfy furniture, a little too comfortable! We get satellite TV, but the channels are a little spotty depending on weather and time of day.</span></em></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390317976250419170" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5Bo-jPB-I/AAAAAAAAADo/NHnh3Qsnl_Q/s320/Kitchen.jpg" /></span><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Really nice kitchen here at Bald Mountain. I would kill for a stove like this in our apartment back in Laramie.</span><br /></em><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390317701056792930" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5BY9X9iWI/AAAAAAAAADY/LLoaMXqDumI/s320/Bedroom.jpg" /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">My bedroom. The view is east out of Deadhorse, and I felt the brunt of that easterly wind last night.</span></em><br /></span></div><div><br /><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390322852274224482" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/Ss5GEzJ5vWI/AAAAAAAAAEw/1XzF4Ldq_Ak/s320/View.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Looking out my window this morning as the window panes trembled and creaked.</span> </em><br /><br /><div><div><div></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-58337415434998418702009-10-05T17:03:00.001-07:002009-10-05T17:55:21.411-07:00First Bear a Success!<span style="font-family:arial;">It's been a busy weekend here in Deadhorse. Friday evening we took a cruise down the Dalton highway for a little wildlife viewing. We saw quite a few short-eared owls, a red fox, and a pretty cool musk ox. After our little excursion south, we spent Saturday getting the last few things in place for our field work. Our pilots flew up the whole way from Wasilla in their helicopters and arrived in Deadhorse late that afternoon. All our hard work on Saturday paid off, our crew captured the first bears of the year on Sunday afternoon. The female was right around 450 lbs, so not too big for a polar bear. </span><br /><div></div><div></div><div><div><div></div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389275591279358034" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsqNmL7jsFI/AAAAAAAAACI/Z6LQg9stCDE/s320/001.JPG" /> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">Here's the red fox we saw on our drive down the Dalton highway. There are also quite a few arctic fox on the North Slope. I'll try and get a photo of one soon. They are a bit smaller than the red fox shown here, and change color to a creamy white in the winter time.</span></em> <div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389276296512736258" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsqOPPITDAI/AAAAAAAAACQ/SgyYl_PlvNk/s320/Musk+Ox.jpg" /> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">Now that is an animal adapted to cold weather. Usually musk ox are seen in herds, but we found this one off by itself. Although they look pretty big, their size is probably enhanced by all that hair. Musk ox average about 600-700 lbs. </span></em><br /><br /></div></div><div><div><em></em></div><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389277133946866162" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsqO_-0JyfI/AAAAAAAAACY/dq4V5UyD3VA/s320/Dalton+Highway.jpg" /> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">Here's close-up view of the Dalton highway. I'll try not to focus on my love of Ice Road Truckers too much, but this is the road they drive on. Pretty humble when you're up close. </span></em><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div></div><div><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389277596860262978" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsqPa7TTqkI/AAAAAAAAACg/urZfPespn_U/s320/Sunset.jpg" /> <em><span style="font-size:85%;">Sunset is just around the corner. Sunrise is currently 8:30 am, and sunset is about 7:00pm. However, we're losing 8 minutes of daylight per day as the days are getting shorter. </span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389282144063693474" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsqTjm9FoqI/AAAAAAAAACw/FXOG_8PIPm8/s320/Polar+Bears.jpg" /></span></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Hello polar bears! Kind of fun to seem them up close and personal.</span> </em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1213156894729137963.post-57521433717228190912009-10-02T11:00:00.000-07:002009-10-05T18:15:00.003-07:00Arrival<span style="font-family:arial;">Greetings from lovely Deadhorse, AK! It's taken me awhile to write my first post due to an internet deficiency in our living space, but I'm on the ball now. I had a great trip up from Denver, with stops in Seattle and Anchorage. Talk about a change in weather. 87 in Denver. 61 in Seattle. 47 in Anchorage. 28 in Deadhorse, with snow on the ground and all the ponds frozen. </span><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><p align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388080861811866370" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZO_x1gewI/AAAAAAAAABo/8ZwrPy8wYQk/s320/003.JPG" /> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Our first polar bears of the year, too bad they were in the Anchorage airport.</em></span></p><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388081627571743474" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZPsWg46vI/AAAAAAAAABw/0mUDNmDCXMk/s320/018.JPG" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">This is the plane I rode on to get to Deadhorse. Notice that the front half of the plane doesn't have windows, they use that space for cargo. Deadhorse get's two flights a day from Anchorage to serve all the oil fields up here. Most workers in Deadhorse work for two weeks, then fly back home for two weeks.<br /></span></em><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388083035213924210" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZQ-SY8B3I/AAAAAAAAAB4/EbRTeW0mnvM/s320/043.JPG" /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">For those Ice Road Trucker fans out there, here's a picture of the Brooks Range as it meets the North Slope. These mountains contain the feared Atigun Pass that the truckers have so much trouble with.</span></em><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">It's amazing how much difference a month makes up here. When I left in mid-August it was the height of summer with lots of caribou calves, geese and their young, and even the odd herd of musk ox floating around. I haven't left Deadhorse yet, but no sign of caribou and the only birds I've seen are ravens. I thought I'd post a few pictures from August to show what the north slope looked like then as compared to what you'll see in future posts. </span></div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 203px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388076616750349474" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZLIrv-PKI/AAAAAAAAABQ/f2FjwcL92l4/s320/Snowy+Owl.jpg" /> <em><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I saw quite a few snowy owls when in August. There aren't any trees on the North Slope, which is a little weird. I certainly wasn't expecting to see gigantic, white owls hanging out on the ground.</span> </span></em></div><div><br /></div><p></p><div><br /></div><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 202px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388074133801686514" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZI4KC4VfI/AAAAAAAAAA4/u0IVZd1Xnkk/s320/Carribou.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">I also saw a number of caribou in August. This one was ambling across the airport in Deadhorse.</span></em></p><p></p></div><div><div><br /></div><p></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388074972914784482" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZJo__CGOI/AAAAAAAAABA/Z-A_3php_-o/s320/158.JPG" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Other times, I saw quite a few caribou together. This shot was taken from one of the capture helicopters as we were out looking for polar bears.</em><br /></span></span><br /><br /><p></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388075711701797682" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZKUALlSzI/AAAAAAAAABI/1BjkZT_Gj8Q/s320/Wildflower.jpg" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><span style="font-family:arial;">Check it out, there are wildflowers on the North Slope in the summer! I have no idea what kind of flower this is, any botanists out there?</span></em> </span></p><br /><p></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388077082152999378" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vVIURrMAeW8/SsZLjxgnGdI/AAAAAAAAABY/EpFaLtAxE50/s320/Arctic+Ocean.jpg" /><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Here's the Arctic ocean. The ice pack was about 100 miles off the shore when I was here in August. Interestingly, I never saw any large waves coming in like you would on most beaches.<br /></span></em><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;">For those of you who don't know, I'm up here to help with the Polar Bear Summer Ecology Project. When the sea ice retreats from the North Slope of Alaska every summer, a number of polar bears follow the retreating ice pack while a separate population of bears remains on shore. Because of declining sea ice, the shore bears are experiencing longer periods of time on shore, conditions that include warm temperatures and a general lack of prey availability. Polar bears in the Hudson Bay undergo a similar situation every summer and respond by entering a state of metabolic depression termed “walking hibernation” to cope with the lack of food. However, polar bears in the Hudson Bay area are undergoing a population decline as longer ice free periods increase the amount of time bears are stranded on land. The polar bear summer ecology project is interested in seeing how the population of bears on land compares to the population of bears that follow the ice. Bears from both populations are captured in the late spring and a variety of measurements and samples are taken. Bears are recaptured and additional measurements are taken in the fall. Data from the project will help us better understand bear movement and physiology during the summer period and will eventually be incorporated into population models to inform management and conservation strategies under conditions of changing sea ice. For a more in-depth background of the project, check out the website: </span><a href="http://www.uwyo.edu/POLARBEAR"><span style="font-family:arial;">www.uwyo.edu/POLARBEAR</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, I think I'll end this for today. It sounds like our first day looking for bears will be either Sunday or Monday.</span> </p></div></div></div></div>Clark Cottonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04926309681312991961noreply@blogger.com3