I had a chance to visit at Asahikawa today to see ice dome. Dr. Kokawa is expert to study and working big one!

Dome was covered the snow and water (ice) on top of inflated air dome.

Tokyo Tower (333m high)! When I was kid this was only tower and tallest building in Tokyo. Everybody wanted to go up there and one of the biggest Tokyo attractions in 60s. But today, so many building around…

Then when in 70s, People from Tokyo spoke and exciting about Sunshine 60 building in Ikebukuro (upper right tall building). But today, Shinjuku area seems more tall buildings (group of tall building in left).

Then… Tokyo Sky Tree is under construction now. It will finish in 2012 then will go tallest antenna tower in the world (634m). The time goes by fast but my eye was catch retro building because of nostalgia ?!

if you don’t carefully look for it, it’s easy to miss or you will think small toilet paper stack on the plant!?

But if you do close to look at, that is amazing structure and fragile thin ice on the stem.

I am outside of Tokyo now. I wake up 4am (actually by the jet lag), then taking train to Takao-san to see “Shimobashira”. I try in December but too early to see last time. But I made it!!!! this time…

This is amazing!

This plant live around this hill area. and atmosphere and surface is negative Celsius temperature but root area has still unfrozen and available for water to the stem. Then ice formed and push out to make this beautiful frost!!

I have to catch up airplane for Sapporo!! I will upload more later!!

Dear Science Teachers and Principals,

Thank you for supporting our program. Hopefully, you are having a great new year!  Our news letter reaches new volume (vol.6!). So, we have already 6^th years now!
Here is a recent update of our program:

1. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a world-wide environmental science program where students investigate their local environment to better understand science content as well as  science processes (observing, designing experiments, collecting data, drawing inferences, communicating results, the nature of science, etc). Here at UAF we operate the GLOBE Seasons and Biomes project, where we support classrooms as they investigate seasonal changes and climate. You can learn more about GLOBE at www.globe.gov <http://www.globe.gov/>  and about Seasons and Biomes at http://classic.globe.gov/projects/seasons
Seasons and Biomes is being used by classrooms around the world and is a great way for your students to link up with other students conducting similar investigations in their own environments. We will be holding a GLOBE Seasons and Biomes workshop at UA Fairbanks during 6-10 June. If you would like to attend, please contact Martha Kopplin at mrkopplin@alaska.edu for an application. If your application is accepted, we can pay for your travel and lodging (in a dorm on campus) and also per diem at $44/ day, the Alaska state rate. We will also supply your school with supplies needed to conduct the GLOBE investigations you choose to undertake with your students (ie, weather station, thermometers, etc). The class will be offered as an optional 3 credit 500 level course. Your only fee is $90 if you want to take it for credit.

Here is a brief outline of what we will cover:
Day 1 – Intro to GLOBE, earth system science, observation, GPS
Day 2 – Atmosphere protocols (air temperature, precipitation, clouds), asking a research question
Day 3 – Phenology protocols (budburst, green up, green down), collecting and analyzing data
Day 4 – Ice Seasonality and Frost Tube protocols, designing an investigation
Day 5 – Authentic assessment, building an implementation plan

2. Temperature and frost depth report will be published this year for 161 schools and communities in our network including other permafrost countries. We will also establish frost tube sites at Southeast Alaskan communities in this summer!!
3.  Are you interested in earning three free education credits by learning more about permafrost and climate change? Sign up to field test an online interactive professional development course for secondary teachers. The project is funded by NASA and created by the UAF Geophysical Institute. Classroom resources include interactive online activities and science lessons aligned to state and national standards. Learn how to use NASA resources, Google Earth, and ImageJ to study Alaska’s climate and permafrost. Field testing begins in end of January 2011. Teacher input required. Hurry, space is limited. Contact: Sam Norlin (907) 474-5318 / cryosphere@gi.alaska.edu if interested in participating in this unique opportunity.

See www.CryosphericConnection.org to learn more about the program.

4. Time is for science fair or science project at school! Do you know somebody interesting or doing permafrost related topics? Please let me know!!

5. For frost tube schools, it is nice to check your frost depth after newyear! If you have a chance to check frost tube, please e-mail me the depth of frost and snow depth. I will update at your school data in our web page. Protocol and worksheet is available from web site.
6. “Tunnel Man Episode 5 (The great Journey)” is start filming. This will be a last episode and going to big filming, CG & editing work (using 5-7 songs, on location in the Tanzania, Peruvian Andes, Mongolia, Tibet as well as Alaskan communities!), however, we try to finish this coming spring! Movie trailer is available at Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8vglKn3Llg !!

7. “Frozen bubble” video was updated. This time, we used the world first colored bubble soap “zububbles”. That zububbles much better looking, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOeHRJ4NVVw

8. We start planning for spring airplane trip to maintain loggers, to catch up schools etc… Hopefully we can land at Little Diomede this year again. Please let me know, if you need me! I would like to include the schedule, if possible.
I really like… but I don’t go by snowmachine this year. But yes, by the boat to Southeast!!
Again, thank you for your participants.
Have a nice winter!

We updated frozen bubble video!

new:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOeHRJ4NVVw

from  old

“Zubbles” works great!! really colored bubble also no stain after break! color was going away.

It is easy to see bubbles landing on the snow without breaking at 20 below F air.

We try to make big one (>10cm diameter), but it was too cold. soap water freeze before bobble formed. We will try “warm” day!

Finally “Zubbles” are here! This is the World’s first colored bubbles!! You can make colored bubble in a space, but here in Earth,  gravity makes difficult to color even using cored soap, bubble keeps clear!

Here it is! temperature is ideal tomorrow!! maybe 30 below! I will try tomorrow!?

Temperature is still low -30 to -40 dF in Fairbanks area. I can show you driving around town for typical cold day!

Sun rise with city’s ice fog!

I thought colder, only -35dC in campus

Airport is also similar temperature.

It’s easy to see temperature difference on the road at UAF. You can see stripes by the horizontal installed thermo syphon.

It’s -40 degree C (F also) north of Fairbanks today. However, Sun looks brighter and warmer… So I feel spring sun shine. It’s hard to believe 12 more weeks later, most of snow will be gone and mosquitos flying around…