tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177520392011-11-24T10:04:36.072-09:00On travels and experiences running ALISON, the Alaska Lake Ice and Snow Observatory Network, a group of K-12 teachers and students learning science by doing science with a university professor - me.Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1141007571152075382006-02-26T17:30:00.000-09:002007-04-01T14:54:50.253-08:00

It seems like it was only yesterday that I met Marge and the five Somers High School students at the airport. The week has gone by very quickly. Time does fly when you’re having fun, and fun is what we have had as we have worked and learned together.It has been a busy week with a packed schedule of activities and events. I hope the students remember their visit. I know I will, and for all the

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140934549359198912006-02-25T21:12:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:24:43.933-08:00

Soon after 10 am we were at the Wilderness Access Center listening to ?? Swett (I don't know his first name) talk about his climb up Mt. McKinley in 1989, when he was 43 years old. He didn’t make it to the summit because he chose to help a sick, fellow team member return part way down the mountain to safety. Still, he made it to about 17,000 feet and played an important role in helping the other

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140934083590356902006-02-25T21:04:00.000-09:002007-03-28T18:21:27.666-08:00

The weather couldn’t have been better for the students’ first ever visit to Denali National Park and thereabouts. As we entered the park at about noon, the clouds cleared to reveal the snow-covered mountains under a perfect blue sky and bright sunshine. Good weather for outdoor activities and photography.Our primary purpose this afternoon was to visit the ALISON study site on the Nenana River at

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140757270126021452006-02-23T19:58:00.000-09:002006-02-23T21:59:29.476-09:00

Permafrost is permanently frozen ground. Or, to be more precise, ground that has remained frozen for more than one summer. There is a lot of permafrost in Alaska and throughout the Arctic, and as long as the ground remains frozen, then all is well. But if it thaws, then watch out, there are going to be problems. And that is the situation we are in today: there is ample evidence that permafrost

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140674755023181862006-02-22T20:51:00.000-09:002006-02-26T15:14:06.866-09:00

On most occasions that we visit Poker Flat to make ice and snow measurements, we visit the three study sites – MST Pond, 33.5 Mile Pond and 31.6 Mile Pond – in that order. This is because it’s the only practical way that 2-3 people with one vehicle can do it. But once a year we usually have enough people and vehicles to put a party on the ice at each pond to make simultaneous measurements. Today

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140583074899246732006-02-21T19:30:00.000-09:002007-02-17T19:04:35.333-09:00

Each February since 2002 we have assisted with 4th grade Snow Day at University Park Elementary School. Today, 21 February, was Snow Day 2006, the fifth that we have contributed to.Our role in Snow Day is to provide most of the outdoor activities: (1) making measurements with snow depth/temperature probes and digital readers [coordinated by Marge Porter]; (2) examining snow crystal sizes and

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140500308885120542006-02-20T20:26:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:29:17.890-08:00

On windy days like today I am reminded of a conversation that took place 21 years ago in a Malaysian Restaurant in Calgary, Canada. Kim and I were having dinner with Dr. Bill Sackinger, who was to become my post-doctoral mentor in August 1985, when we moved to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The meal was an opportunity for us to quiz Bill about what we could expect of life and work in

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140397193317856392006-02-19T15:53:00.000-09:002006-02-19T16:49:55.443-09:00

We were told to expect snow last night, but there was no sign of new white stuff on the ground this morning. The sky certainly looks leaden, as if it will snow before too long. Meanwhile, the air temperature is hovering around 0°C, just like yesterday, which amuses the Somers students as they came all the way to Alaska to find the weather warmer than it is at home. It is supposed to be cooler by

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1140326798544050592006-02-18T20:09:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:52:40.026-08:00

Wonders never cease: Alaska Airlines flight 1 made it to Fairbanks only five minutes later than scheduled (4:20 pm), and Marge Porter and her five freshman students and their bags were on the plane. Marge has been to Fairbanks many times before to participate in the lake ice research project, but this is only the second time that she has brought students with her. The first occasion was February

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139535907130872212006-02-09T16:44:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:51:06.256-08:00

Each of the entries below is a journal that I wrote while travelling to set up an ALISON study site between early November 2005 and late January 2006. Sometimes I travelled alone, sometimes I travelled with Kim Morris. She is the ALISON Webmaster, data archivist and, like me, a scientist.At the time the journals were written I did not have a blog, but the journals provided ideal material for me

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139534028311566412006-02-09T16:12:00.000-09:002006-09-03T10:23:53.603-08:00

The last time I was in Anchorage, with Kim Morris, was during 10-12 December 2005, when we were unable to put in the study site on Eastchester Lagoon due to warm weather and poor ice conditions – because of recent rain, Chester Creek was in full flow and had melted a large area of ice where it enters the lagoon. It simply wasn't safe to go out on the ice. This time, the weather and ice conditions

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139533909989309062006-02-09T16:09:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:44:43.486-08:00

It was a rather chilly -35°C when we left Fairbanks at 7:15 am on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It was a university holiday, but no day off for us; we had important business – visit the Denali Foundation to set up an ALISON study site on the Nenana River, the first ever ALISON site on river ice.The frozen Nenana River from the Parks Highway bridge. The ALISON study site is a little further

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139533614242248622006-02-09T16:05:00.000-09:002006-02-17T16:36:14.753-09:00

Today, Willow was a very different place compared to when we visited on Saturday 10 December: it was dry, cold (-10°C) and calm, and there was no question about going out on the ice to set up the ALISON study site on Willow Lake.Look for the plane on the roof at Willow Air and you will find the ALISON study site on Willow Lake.After a brief talk with Pam Horton’s kindergarten students, we were on

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139533491308447412006-02-09T16:03:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:41:35.526-08:00

The name Eagle River has real meaning: this morning, Tuesday 13 December, we saw five Bald eagles sitting in the trees just across the road from the Eagle River fire station on Eagle River Road. Later in the day we saw a porcupine in a tree at Camp Birchwood. This caused great excitement among the 5th grade class we were about to take out on Psalm Lake to make ice and snow measurements for

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139533342519501872006-02-09T15:58:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:32:53.270-08:00

WillowAs we left the Hotel in Wasilla on Saturday morning, 10 December, a light rain was falling. As we drove north to Willow the rain worsened. Adding a definite soaking from above to the possibility of a soaking from below by slipping and falling on the ice was not an attractive proposition, so we postponed setting up the ALISON study site.Pam Horton, who is teaching kindergarten this year at

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139533039262138012006-02-09T15:56:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:38:56.273-08:00

We have just returned from Lucille Lake (on 9 December 2006), the site of the Wasilla High School ALISON study site. It was very reminiscent of this time three years ago when Martin visited Mystic Lake (Amos Lakes) to set up a study site with Fred McElroy. Now, as then, the air temperature at Lucille Lake was well above freezing (~5°C), all the snow has melted, and there was standing water on the

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139532936755799962006-02-09T15:50:00.000-09:002006-02-17T19:59:51.903-09:00

After leaving Hughes late in the morning on Thursday 1 December, I was able to spend the afternoon in the office doing useful things before leaving for Mentasta on Friday 2 December. Shortly before leaving the office I checked my e-mail once more and there was a curious message from Kenna Dubois in Delta Junction - she, Barb and the students had visited their ALISON study site that day and found

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139532565664530622006-02-09T15:45:00.000-09:002007-03-22T15:09:27.690-08:00

HusliaAs the plane taxied away from the Warbelow’s office at Fairbanks International Airport, the pilot said something about low cloud at Huslia and perhaps not being able to land. The closer we got to Huslia the more nightmarish that option looked – the coffee I bought at the Alaska Coffee Roasting Company on Geist Road before checking-in at Warbelow’s had ceased to stimulate my brain and was

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139532172876726492006-02-09T15:41:00.000-09:002006-04-28T00:17:33.136-08:00

Putting aside the Poker Flat study sites, where we have worked since autumn 1999, we have visited Aurora Pond in the middle of Fairbanks more often than any other ALISON study site. This is partly for obvious reasons – we live and work in Fairbanks – and also because it is the longest-running ALISON site visited by an educator and students: Deb Bennett has been coordinating visits to Aurora Pond

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139532010267350002006-02-09T15:38:00.000-09:002007-03-19T09:19:13.426-08:00

After spending the morning in a meeting of the advisory board for the MapTEACH project, and finalizing the budget for a northern river science education proposal in the early afternoon, I was glad to escape to Healy shortly before 4 pm. That gave me plenty of time to get there without rushing on icy roads to participate in an ALISON evening for parents of Tri-Valley School students who

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17752039.post-1139531719615179202006-02-09T15:28:00.000-09:002006-02-17T19:55:49.103-09:00

North PoleAfter setting up our own three study sites at Poker Flat on Tuesday-Thursday, 1-3 November, we were ready to begin setting up other ALISON study sites in the Interior. And so, on Monday 7 November we went to school, North Pole High School, that is, to set up the study site on “Patriot’s Pond”.We were on the ice by 3 pm with Tom Kinn, who will run the study site this year instead of Rob

Martin Jeffrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12557423457544608730noreply@blogger.com0