I visit Kaktovik today. It’s cloudy but feel warm no wind!

Levi took me to his uncle’s ice cellar. He is high school senior and great memory! We dig down maktuk to find datalogger.

Tohru Saito is getting busy office work recently. He used to come with me by snowmachine more than 2000 miles in Alaska. He join today for drilling Joy Elementary school frost tube. This is tough site up to 2m nice dry silt but below this loose dry gravel. It easy to collapse inside wall. Two of us working hard but only 20cm going deeper, that it! Even no picture time…

We back to Pearl Creek Elemntary. This is oldest monitoring school in our network.

I try to establish again at Pt.Hope. We could not get permission last year. We only have a Sigluaq measurements here! I talked Dave for checking temeprature for cellar, but not borehole again! I could not make it.

Dave and Elaine help me a lot to establish permafrost site…

Next morning at Wales, I met two classrooms and going to air! Weather was still corporative.

Ice runway at Diomede

Wales

What we were doing at Little Diomede community!y? I should tell you about!

1. To install permafrost monitoring station as usual…this is challenge! because no land, no flat place in the village, village is located west facing steep slope. all house and walk way (no road!) are very tight but very comfortably build. So not great for do my work! Nacy Deen (Wales teacher) was here 5 years, she suggested behind teacher’s housing. It is only place we can do, also IRA agree to work this location.

View from mid town toward Big Diamede (Russia).

Teacher’s housing is part of school, but need walk many step. We have to carry up drill equipments as well…

It was fun to walk around, but easy to lost… I remind me this is similar like Casbha (Algeria).

2. to install data logger at ice cellar. This community is also whaling community, so they have traditional meat cellar (Sigluaq). We open the entrance and examine inside.

Pilot Dave helped me a lot!

Dave was performing drill.

3. Finally , I met school students and talking about permafrost.

Then we flew back to mainland (Wales)!

It was beautiful day! Sunset time at Wales school. We can see Diomede, Fare way Rock, Russian Mainland… One of the great unforgettable days goes end.

It is very interesting Island! Russia is only two mile away and a few hundred meter away, we have a international date line. So this means the other island is tomorrow (we are looking at future world!). here is landing video!

Little Diomede (US) and Big Diomede (Russia) farther one, also you can see main land of Russia Far right!

Little Diomede community (US)

Big Diomede (Russia)

to be continue…

Yes, finally we made here! More information will continue…

I was at Randy Smith Mike’s science class this afternoon. I met two 7th grade students. Most of the students are from Pearl Creek Elementary School last year. So they knew frost tube, borehole etc. That was fun to see them again!

It was low snow winter. Temperature was not cold in Fairbanks, but such low snow winter made ground freezing deeply. Aufeis (icing) could develop more than normal winter! This picture is taken today at farmer pingo scar site, where spring emerged all year around. Usually the ground is not severe freezing at this site,  spring water moves and drained. But this winter, spring artesian pressure push up the pond ice about 2m high!