Updated:
October 6, 2009

August 2 - 6, 2009: Round 1 For Fall Field Campaign

Well, round one for the fall campaign was recently completed, when Chris, Art, Matthew and Stephanie traveled to Barrow. There was much needed work to get the BEO and Snow Fence equipment repaired and back on line. The towers at the Cake Eater snow fence were pretty twisted and bent from the large forces exerted on the guy cables from the snow drift. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of ingenuity, a dozen or so hose clamps, and a big hammer.

At the BEO site most of the action occurred on the "Small Tower" which went through some needed changes. The data logger box was rebuilt in Fairbanks with hopes of ferreting out the gremlins that plagued our wind sensors and the thermistor string was rebuilt (it's more of a chew toy for the foxes). Gradient Tower was reorganized to get the sensors a bit higher above the ground, the bottom most sensors were buried in the snow at times, and within easy reach for our furry friends. We tripled out efforts at fox proofing the cables but it's never good enough. Finally, the Wyoming Gauge was recharged, and made ready for the new winter. The Conestoga was cleaned up and should provide an excellent warming hut for our winter work.

We were visited by Jerry Brown who graciously arranged for the use of a local helicopter to fly out some our equipment and to give Chris a chance to get some great aerial photos of the site. Chris spent some quality time with a GPS unit mapping out different features of the polygonal tundra and to classify the local vegetation. He even honed his magnaprobe skills and probed the vegetation heights.

Round 2 will begin August 30 with Matthew, Chris, and Art head to Imnavait to conduct a LIDAR campaign over the snow free surface.

The towers at Cake Eater Snow Fence took quite a beating over the last two years. It was surprisingly easy to piece the towers together and to get them relatively standing straight. (photo by Chris)

Art and Matthew examine the outermost tower. Most of the welds where the guy cables are attached have broken and the tower is nearly severed. (Photo by Chris)

Steph and Art working on Small Tower. (Photo by Chris)

Steph has a huge smile, she's trying to drill a hole with two dead batteries and not a charger in sight, another typical day in the field. (Photo by Chris)

Chris! Your ride is here! (Photo by Chris)

An aerial view of the Cake Eater Snow Fence. You can see NARL near the top of the photo and the Arctic Ocean beyond. (Photo by Chris)

Aerial view of the BEO. The network of boardwalks are clearly visible and the SnowNet site can be just made out in the upper right. (Photo by Chris)

The SnowNet site from the air, the conestoga on the lower right and the Wyoming Gauge in the upper middle. (Photo by Chris)

Jerry Brown pays a visit to the site. (Photo by Chris)

Tundra polygons. (Photo by Chris)

Polygon Man! (Photo by Chris)

Chris laying back enjoying the posh lodging in Barrow. Wondering what's better, the fine quality air mattresse with faux felt, or the lumpy "MRSA specials" at Toolik. (Photo by Art)