Ice

Goodbye

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:42:00 GMT

Hello. I'm going to stop blogging now. I am still loving being in Barrow. It has been and remains a great privilege to share the lives of the people here. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for their comments and interest in my trip. It helped so much, especially at the beginning when I was feeling a bit scared. I really do recommend blogs for this sort of trip. It was fantastic to be able to share photos etc while it was happening. Climate change wise, I've learned a great deal but realised the story is even more complicated than I thought. I'll be working on my material and am contacting everyone who was in touch and posted comments so you can keep across it. It won't be on this space as this was informal and just to update friends and family. If you want to know more about what I'm doing then please leave a comment with a contact email. Signing off, have a good summer everyone, Ice Fairy.

Sea Ice retreat

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Thu, 1 Jun 2006 17:17:00 GMT

Here we are - I found the maps I was after.
You can see how much the sea ice has retreated off the coasts of Alaska and Siberia in comparison to the expected mean - that's the fat pink line around the edge.

Sea ice conditions for September 2002, 2003, and 2004, derived from the Sea Ice Index. Each image shows the concentration anomaly (key on right) and the 1979-2000 median September ice edge (pink line). For each year, the ice edge is well north of its median position off the coasts of Alaska and Siberia. Image provided by National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder.

This is all from this really cool website http://www.nsidc.org/sotc/sea_ice.html

here's an extract...
Passive microwave satellite data reveal that Arctic ice extent decreased about 3 percent per decade while Antarctic ice extent increased by 0.8 percent per decade (Cavalieri et al. 2003).

In recent years, satellite data have indicated an even more dramatic reduction in regional ice cover. In September 2002, sea ice in the Arctic reached a record minimum (Serreze et al. 2003), 4 percent lower than any previous September since 1978, and 14 percent lower than the 1978-2000 mean.

Fossil fuel consumption and the resulting increase in global temperatures could explain sea ice decline, but the actual cause might be more complicated. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) is a seesaw pattern of alternating atmospheric pressure at polar and mid-latitudes. So sea ice decline may result from natural variability in the AO. Growing evidence suggests, however, that greenhouse warming favors the AO's positive mode, meaning recent sea ice decline results from a combination of natural variability and global warming.

Yum yum

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 30 May 2006 21:57:00 GMT

Eli has taught me how to make eskimo donuts. They're just donuts with raisins in and no sugar on. We put blueberries in YUM.

Grrrrrr

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 30 May 2006 04:46:00 GMT

This Barrow polar bear was on the front page of the Edmonton Journal. It was watching another whaling crew here. It didn't come too close and no one shot at it. Thanks to cousin Phil for sending it... I still haven't seen one but Billy saw a 'medium sized one' about 20 metres away the one time I wasn't with him on the snowmachine. It ran away when it saw him.

Goose hunt

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Mon, 29 May 2006 22:45:00 GMT

It was so much fun. I haven't laughed so much in years. First of all we went to Kaleak camp and stayed in one of these cabins. This is the view from the goose shooting hide. It's been used by generations of Kaleaks. Then we went to Uyaghralik(?) which is closer to Barrow because the snow was starting to melt. That means the ice over the rivers is starting to melt and you can't risk snowmachining over them when they are slushy cos you might go through. This is the river at Uyaghralik. No cabin at Uyaghralik so we squished into a tent. You just don't worry about whether it's day or night. Sleep when you want and for as long as you need. No-one gets called lazy. It's great! Played lots of cards when it was too windy for the geese to fly. I have started to win at Rummy(?) but am still not very good at Pick 2. Here is Eli concentrating. At one point Eli got stuck in a melting river and Billy had to pull him out. They are really noticing the warming and Billy is worried that the geese/caribou might stop migrating through that part of the tundra if it gets too warm. They caught about 30 geese altogether. For them and relatives and elders who don't have anyone to hunt for them anymore. I saw caribou and snowy owls. The owls were incredible. The caribou were too young to be of interest for hunting. I can call a goose and a ptarmigan now. Shot the gun twice. First time I wasn't expecting the kick back as they make it look so easy and nearly fell over which made them laugh a lot. Second time shot at a snowball and missed. Am learning Inupiak... But don't know how to spell! Are you cold? - alapoo? Yes/no - eeee/nomee A little bit - oodigoo Thank you - kwee-ah-noc Thankyou very much - kwee-ah-noc-buk Go to sleep - siq-quwoin Calm down - nalai Shut up - atta Scarey - ihanee Your go (for cards) - illivin/illivich I don't know - achoo Dunno you decide - achoo leveen Right? - umeee Good - ardee-gar Very good - ardee-gar-har Cute/pretty - atai Lets go - kida My conversation needs working on! We stayed out a bit long and Julia got worried. We didn't have a radio although we'd visited a neighbouring camp on Friday and told them we were fine on their radio and heading back Sunday we were about 5 hours later than we said we would be. I was put on the search and rescue base list (they keep a list of where everyone is all the time) as Doreen Kaleak. They liked that ha ha. Am staying here longer and not going to northern Canada now. Today we have to clean all the geese. I am going to go and summon courage by eating a snickers.

Multiyear Ice

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 23 May 2006 22:52:00 GMT

I understand the deal with this now. It is ice that has survived the summer melt for one or more years and built up layers. It hasn't necessarily come off a glacier.

I met some scientists who explained it all and said it's now very rare. There isn't much multiyear ice floating around any more. This is what the arctic used to be like. So this year is very unusual and I am very lucky to have seen it. Now most years you just get first year ice which is much thinner and is salt water because the salt hasn't drained out of it. The ice seems to be thinning every year. Polar bears like multiyear ice for denning in (making a hole and having cubs).

Feeling down

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 23 May 2006 21:34:00 GMT

I haven't been feeling up to doing much recently. I have been feeling totally gutted about not being on the ice. It's an horrific wrench coming back to land. I can't imagine what impact not being able to go out would have on people here if they ever can't. The wind/current etc is all wrong at the moment. It might be better next week. But I am now over the moon cos I'm going geese hunting with Billy and Eli. We have to leave in the evening when the ground is frozen. I have been taken over by this place. It's impossible to be an observer and I have almost stopped gathering material which makes me feel a bit useless but gives me an tiny insight into how important the lifestyle is. Here is Jesley enjoying some Jersey toffees that big sis sent. He says thankyou!! And Julia says huge hello. She is going to hang the Jersey cow tea towel on the wall.

Saw 'track of the giant snow bear'. It's good. The baby polar bear (Pakka) is incredibly cute and it's about this bloke who carves and is a dreamer. The cub gets caught in his dad's trap and then becomes a pet. When it eats all the meat it gets banished from the village. Then another polar bear nearly eats someone and he hesitates in killing it because he thinks it might be Pakka. So he banishes himself and makes himself survive for a year on his own so he becomes a proper hunter and doesn't endanger people any more. The polar bear helps him out during that year and he learns to hunt etc. At the end the bear goes off and has cubs and isn't tame any more and he is a hunter/carver and lives happily ever after.

Whale pictures

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Sat, 20 May 2006 05:13:00 GMT

We came in again. The ice was coming in pretty fast. But not before we saw loads more WHALES!! This is how close the beluga were. Some of them came from under the ice we were sitting on and I could see their shapes in the water like ghosts.

We saw some bowheads really close too. My crew haven't caught one yet although other crews have. The quota is 22 whales landed or struck and lost. We will hopefully get to go out once more if the current changes in time. I ate a pork chop sandwhich and a hot dog. It was scarey but the chef was Leith who is three times bigger than me and very very funny but can look quite scarey too when he wants. They couldn't believe I'd never eaten a hot dog before and not eaten a pork chop for 25 years.

I've never seen proper teamwork in action before. It is amazing. Feel like I am growing up just watching them. If someone makes a mistake or something breaks or the weather's wrong no-one gets angry. They just get on with fixing it and are always laughing. Everyone looks out for everyone else, works really hard and there's no ego stuff going on. It's so cool. And when I get things wrong no-one gets impatient - they just explain it - even if they're in a rush. All the different whaling crews are constantly on the radio talking about where the whales are and what the weather's doing. I helped saw the boat sled which broke. They said they were really glad I was there and they would miss me when I went and I am tough (ha ha HA totally unbelievable coming from them). I felt SO happy.

This is a sod house about 6 miles from Barrow. Where people still lived in the '60s. They only had seal oil for heating/lamps. The tundra grows over the top and keeps you warm(ish). Apparently one of the people here had a pet polar bear that used to pull sleds but they let it go because it kept breaking into the meat shed and eating everything.

Working hard

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Thu, 18 May 2006 04:37:00 GMT

Oh no! Look what happened to my favourite place to sit in the world!

What a mess. Big ice came in and this happened which is why you leave really quickly when it starts coming. Went out to a different bit with a scientist the other day and he explained how the movements are like watcing plate tectonics in real time. I could see the ice cap i.e. the edge of the bit which goes over the north pole, scraping against the ice I was standing on. Amazing and pretty scarey. it was rumbling and bits were falling off. We didn't stay long. Taking a breather for a few minutes now before we go back out and try to find a better spot. Whaling is hard work. Have been breaking trail and putting up tents and taking them down again and pushing boats up ice hills and trying to sleep when tent is nearly blowing away and losing at cards alot. Feel really sad the ice is melting. It's all slushy and we get wet when we come up to town now. They are getting a bit anxious about the conditions. I think this may be the last time we go out. But they've only caught 2 whales so far and are pretty worried that's not enough for the whole town.

This is an indication/warning about how my fashion sense has changed. I got given a wolf/beaver-skin hat by Billy. That's Reilly on the left. It's SO warm but not sure how it will go down in London. Gotta go we're off...

Waiting again

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Sun, 14 May 2006 02:24:00 GMT

This is my favourite place to sit in the world. I've spent hours and hours there.

The ice started to close up again so we had to come in, in the middle of the night. Here's everyone packing up in a hurry.

Got told off for trying to film - am generally recording less and less and just trying to join in. Drove a snowmachine pulling a sled over some rocky bits and pushed the boat when it got stuck. The trail is much rougher because some of the snow has melted. The whales just come up as semicircles above the water, like wheels going round and round. They don't stick their tails up. But sometimes they breach (jump) if they are playing around. Haven't seen that yet. Made another whale at the heritage Centre. This one's for Billy whose birthday it is tomorrow. They said it's much better and its an Inutuk(?) a small round one - the type they like to catch.

Found humous and organic salad in the shop. But when I came back there was some very hardcore stuff going on in the kitchen involving whale tongue and geese. I gave it my best shot. Eli thought it was very funny that he could make me scream every time he waved a goose head around.

Yes that IS a goose neck I am holding. Wonder if I've got bird flu. Am now addicted to Golden Girls from waiting for the wind to change. Not the self development I'd expected. But am developing different conversation topics... Billy was telling me how a grizzly bear bit his boat in half the other day and I said 'Oh what a pain I hate grizzlies' without thinking and carried on boiling the ice. And I now like eating caribou and it's normal for me to find whale skin in my teeth. But I have managed not to eat spam yet. Julia sends 'big hugs from Barrow at the top of the world' to everyone and especially my mum. Sang her 'she moved through the fair' she really liked it and I told her you sing it better. Some of of the Inupiat people have been telling me about their Irish ancestry because of the commercial whalers who came in the past. Some of them married and stayed.

Whales!

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Fri, 12 May 2006 06:31:00 GMT

I have just seen HUNDREDS of beluga whales swimming past the ice edge! Sorry I didn't get picture - was trying to film them. The lead (channel of water) is much much bigger now and you can see it as a dark wiggly line in the sky. They can tell if big ice is coming and about to hit the ice they're on by watching the sky too.

The whales make a 'phooo', 'phooo' noise every time they come up to breathe. This morning a HUGE bowhead whale passed by about 20 metres away. Apparently there are giant more than 100 year old ones which sound like a motor and make the ice vibrate. They are trying to catch a small bowhead. This evening it was politely suggested I come back to Barrow and have a shower. Ha ha. Was very nice to wash hair. Going back now with more propane. Barrow is melting and going all brown and slushy. I have been helping to cut bits off the ice and have to get water by hitting the mountains of multiyear ice with a pick axe and melting it in a pot. See below. Arms really hurt but it's loads of fun.

They are all being fantastically caring and keep asking me if I have cold feet. It's very important that you don't. If you start getting frostbite on your face or ears you are supposed to rub snot on it but I haven't needed to try that yet! Am still under pressure to get fatter. They chat in Inupiaq and translate some bits (forget arabic I want to learn that) and say I haven't felt real cold yet and it's much warmer now than it was in the 70's. The night shifts are so strange. I have lost all track of day and time because it's always light. Oh yes and met Carl (a giant hardcore hunter) and Craig (a whale biologist who sometimes does rescues) - they both seem pretty legendary. AND apparently if you stick a paddle in the water and hold it to your ear you can hear the whales singing! Will try it and send it if it works.

Going out again

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 9 May 2006 04:39:00 GMT

The sky's all dark with watersky and there's been east winds and apparently opening up. Going out again tonight. Think it will probably be for longer. Will try and update soon. SO excited

Audio diary 2

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 9 May 2006 02:13:00 GMT

Here's the link to the second installment.

Sound of the Ice Melting Audio 2

Podcasting! Audio diary 1

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Sat, 6 May 2006 20:21:00 GMT

OK I've had a go at working out what a podcast is so you can hear stuff. First of all I meet Julia and try on an eskimo parka with a furry hood. We are watching Titanic tonight. And Billy has brought over a copy of 'Track of the giant snow bear'. It was made in a village near here. Can't wait.

The podcast should work now. To hear the first audio diary you can click on the link below and to subscribe to the podcast click on the link on the right hand side of the page which says 'Subscribe to audio diary ICE'. Either of these means I don't clog up your inbox with big sound files. I'll send another audio diary soon.

Sound of the Ice Melting Audio 1

Incredible incredible

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Thu, 4 May 2006 01:00:00 GMT

A lead opened so we went out last night. It was pretty exciting.

This is the compass they put on the ice. If it starts moving it means the ice has become loose and you are floating off and need to be rescued.

This is the tent we all squish into. Except for those on polar bear watch. I was let off that for my first night but we had to get up really really early so not much sleep (also lots of snoring).

Today they set up the boat at the edge of the lead and waited for whales. I've never seen anywhere so beautiful. Saw a seal stick its head out of the water. Riley told me loads more about the spiritual side of the hunt. They believe the whales are reborn and some of them give themselves up voluntarily. There were prayers being said over the VHF(?) radio and people chatting to their mums. He also said things have changed a great deal since he first went out as a boy. He says the ice is much thinner. Apparently sometimes beluga whales come jumping along the lead for hours. Have ALWAYS wanted to see a beluga. Think I want to be Barrow correspondent.

Then the ice started coming in again and we had to pack up in a hurry before it hit our side and caused a pressure ridge and sort of ice-quake - very dangerous. So we came back to Barrow. I am having to listen really hard and do exactly what I'm told (new experience...) and be alert and try to notice things on the trail, in the ice and clouds and generally not be a dozy idiot which I am finding quite hard... Not really getting a chance to record anything - had to help and be ready to pack up the whole camp very quickly at any time and too scared of getting in the way. But they were kind and after we got back they said I 'did good out there... for a first timer'. Phew. A stronger north-east wind is expected Thursday so a bigger lead should open up more quickly. Here's Billy pulling the boat on the way back.

Had caribou soup for dinner. Really tired now.

Cracks in the ice

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Tue, 2 May 2006 01:14:00 GMT

We went 9.5 miles out today to check for leads and cracks. This is where it could break off when the wind changes I think. It's also probably where my minidisc recorder has gone. Oooops.

Arctic fox trail... its tracks were following polar bear tracks because it scavenges off the food the polar bear catches.

Van thinks this might be water sky - see the dark line? i.e. where the lead of water opening up is reflected in the sky. But it's a bit difficult to tell at the moment. Billy seems to think we'll probably go out tomorrow though.

Snow machine maintenance. We saw an ugruuk - think that's how you spell it - a bearded seal. It caused lots of interest because its skin is used to make boats. But it slipped off into the water.

Polar bear protection.

View from the snowmachine. I have worked out how to sit on it so you don't nearly fall off all the time and your arms stay in their sockets. Phew.

Lead opening

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Mon, 1 May 2006 17:54:00 GMT

Apparently the sky's getting dark. Am going to go and have a look. Probably off soon.

Breaking trail

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Mon, 1 May 2006 06:02:00 GMT

I went out on the sea ice for the first time. We went for about 8 miles. It was incredibly beautiful. There were huge chunks of blue striped ice and polar bear tracks! Apparently these are a couple of days old and are from a big one.

I hit the ice a couple of times with the axe and now my arms feel like they're going to fall off. Stepped into a big crack that was covered up by snow. Had to hang on pillion on the back of the snowmachine which was really hard because it was so fast and bumpy but Billy (above right) let me drive the snowmachine on the way back! The small hills behind are glacial ice which is fresh water. The crunched up bits are pressure ridges. Any flat bits are young ice a year old or something like that.

They were on polar bear watch. I was too. They told me to look for snow that was walking. Now we are just waiting for the wind to change and the lead to open.

Dancing lesson

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 19:15:00 GMT

These are my Inupiat dance teachers. Julia, Lillian, Caitlin and Jesley3. I can't spell their Inupiat names. The dances are fantastic. Some of them are about animals.

Think I am as ready as I will ever be to go out on the ice. I am wishing I had a proper compass though... and a GPS... and a helicopter... Have tied my gloves to a piece of string and put them through my coat like a three year old so I don't lose them again and am having to put up with lots of people laughing their heads off. Except Chico (below) who says it's the sign of an experienced polar explorer. Hmmm. We went and tried to listen to the ice cracking on the shore but the wind was making too much noise.

False alarm

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 02:55:00 GMT

Just found out that whale snow means the whales are close by but not necessarily that the lead is going to open. The wind has changed back. So everyone is a bit sad they can't go out because they can tell the whales are around. I am really on edge waiting. Going to go and let my camera roll on the arctic ocean for an hour to try and get a really small change in the light over a long time and to practise using the sat phone.

Whale snow

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 18:24:00 GMT

There is whale snow falling which is big fat flakes and Chico called to say the wind seems to have changed so it's coming from the east. Could all be happening any minute. Eeeeeeeek. Heard all about the little people last night from Julia and her cousin who lives in Point Hope. The little people live in the hills and aren't often seen but have sometimes helped people when they get lost in the snow. They are called Inuqulurorak. They hang around mostly in autumn when it's dark all day and apparently lived in the villages with ordinary people until there was an argument. Also heard about the role of the whaling captain's wife who has a big spiritual connection to the whale. Apparently the whale watches her quite closely and she has to behave really well if the whale is going to give itself to the people i.e. get caught. Someone who has prophetic dreams has dreamt that Kaleak crew are going to get a whale this year. She dreamt they did last year and they did.

Polar bear tracks!

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 23:09:00 GMT

Chico took this one sometime recently. How cool is that.

Good night

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:16:00 GMT

Pressure ridge

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:12:00 GMT

This is what happens when the wind is blowing from the west and pushes the ice cap on shore.

Barrow's only husky dog team

goodnightjohnboy@hotmail.com (Ice Fairy) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:07:00 GMT