Seasons and Biomes Day3

The International Arctic Research Center web site That's our classroom, with all the windows on the top floor.	Dr. Martin Jeffries, an Arctic scientist, showed us data that shows how glaciers of the world are losing mass. The ice is melting faster than it's growing each year. The shrinking glaciers are on result of increasing temperatures world wide.
We learned about what's happening to Greenland's gigantic ice sheet. The edges of the ice sheet are melting. The warmer air holds more moisture, making more snow which falls in the middle of Greenland, making the central areas higher.	The participants has many questions about global climate change.
Cheryl can her daughter Mimi live in a native village of White Mountain, south of Nome, Alaska. Cheryl is a bush teacher. She has a class of 8 elementary age Inuit children.	Mimi's boots were hand made by a neighbor who got the seal skin to make them from family members who hunt.
Sven from Norway, Britta from Greenland, and Nicomas from South Dakota, USA discuss the changes they have observed in their homelands.	Greg from Michigan shows where his home is on the map.
We are driving into Fairbanks to visit the frozen river and learn how to observe ice break up in the spring time. This restaurant is called 'Wolf Run Dessert and Dinner House".	The large white area in the foreground is the Chena River. These are the tallest buildings in Fairbanks.

Mary has decided to move to Alaska and this will be her new home. Or maybe that's just an ice sculpture.
Beautiful downtown Fairbanks in March.	The snow does not melt at -10 degrees F. The cold snow feels dry underfoot, and crunches with every step.
Only in Alaska. This doorway entrance has been closed because of ice.	Look through the window and you can see why... the doorway is filled by a giant icicle reaching from ceiling to the floor! It's about 20 inches in diameter.
Teachers use an infrared thermometer to measure surface temperatures. Checking to see who has the coldest hands!	GLOBE Alumnus, Adele from Cameroon,Africa (right) has had a hard time getting used to the cold. Matt, from Virginia USA, and Tomas from the Czech Republic are checking out gifts they bought for friends and family back home.
Back to the university of Alaska....	Guillermo from Argentina talks about the culture and geography of his country. We learned about the biome that each of the GLOBE Alumni students came from.
A grand reception at the Museum of the North (website)	The Chancellor of the University of Alaska address the teachers, students and scientists at a reception in the beautiful lobby of the Museum of the North. He congratulated the group on their important work to increase understanding of the Earth's polar environments.
Friends.	The Museum of the North displays artwork and cultural objects depicting life in the northern climes.

A stone oil lamp used in about 500 A.D.
This quilt was called "Floating Down". It reminded one of frazil ice floating haphazardly in the surface waters of a lake.	A horse made of tree branches.

GLOBE Alumni students at the entrance to the Ice Sculpture Park.	[ Ice Art web site ]
	The telephone actually works!
Dr. Samantha Langley in front of an incredible sculpture of a sled dog team and musher. This sculpture was done in honor of the famous Susan Butcher who won the Iditarod dog sled race four times.	A broken arm - too warm for the sculptures? No! The temperature was -16 degrees this evening. Sadly, some of the beautiful sculptures have been damaged by vandalism.


To record fall icing and spring ice break up, scientists take pictures up-river, across the river, and down-river to record a complete view of the river. At the time of icing and break up the pictures need to be taken every day. On the left there is the beginning of a crosscountry skiing competition, on the frozen river.