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Point Hope area as seen from out on the sea ice beyond the point. |
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The North Pole. I suppose that the best way to think of the North Pole is to consider a single point on the sea bed under the Arctic Ocean where all the Earth's lines of longitude converge. It is the one point in the Northern Hemisphere around which our planet turns, and its position now is marked by a titanium flag that was recently placed on the ocean floor by the Russian Federation.
Above the North Pole and that Russian flag we have 4261 meters of salt water and a layer of sea ice that varies in thickness from 1 to 3 meters depending on the time of year and the temperatures of the air above it and the water beneath it. The Arctic ice cap moves relative to the sea floor. The moving ice provides no permanent foundation for a research station of even a camera or a flag. The ice that was on the ocean’s surface above the North Pole when I was there on July 25, 2008 has since moved on to somewhere south. Indeed, this ice had shifted several miles before we left the vicinity of the North Pole later in the day on the 25 of July. Early polar explorers had a difficult time reaching the North Pole in part because of the moving target. The ice could move faster than they could move. Expeditions lasted years as they wandered on the shifting pack ice. The location of the Pole had to be calculated using the height of the sun, and it had to confirmed mathematically many times as the explorers approached 90 degrees North. When explorers stopped for their calculations, the ice still moved them along so that their calculated position would no longer be correct. Our journey took only a few days, and confirmation of our arrival at the North Pole required no sextant or calculator. We arrived at the Pole on an ice breaker, and our position at 90 degrees North Latitude was confirmed by GPS. There is a prediction that global warming will melt the north polar ice during this century. There was even a suggestion that the Pole might thaw this summer, which was not true at the end of July. You can see other panoramas from our Polar expedition on the gigapan.org web site. |
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Kiana, a pretty little Alaskan village at the confluence of the Kobuk and Squirrel Rivers, was actually behind me, up a rather steep hill. This quiet panorama nicely shows the cold, vast emptiness of the newly frozen rivers that provide food, transportation and recreation to the folks in the village. |
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A long shot of Kotzebue from the hill above town. |
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Murmansk is above the Arctic Circle, but its enjoys some warming by the Gulf Stream. Thus this panorama has trees and green grass and flowers and no signs of Arctic tundra the like of which surrounds me at home in Kotzebue Alaska.
On this late July day, the temperature was downright hot. In this panorama you can see some of the folks of Murmansk taking advantage of the warm summer sunshine. |
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Kotzebue Alaska as viewed from the hill above town. Stitched from 27 hand held frames shot in portrait orientation. Note the occasional "shivering artifact". Have fun searching for the third dog sled team. |
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Early on a July morning these amazing animals lumbered out of the fog on the starboard side of the I/B 50 Years of Victory. The bears didn't pay much attention to us or to our ship. Momma Bear did look briefly in our direction when her arrival was announced on our intercom. Apparently satisfied that her family was safe, they resumed their slow walk across our bow, and they finally disappeared into the fog on our port side.
Polar Bears are an endangered species. Their fur is valued for its warmth and translucent white appearance. Russian laws forbid the hunting of Polar Bears. Alas, the United States does allow Polar Bear hunting. The mother and her cubs would be in particular danger in some parts of Alaska. The environment is also stressing Polar Bear populations. Polar bears live on the thick Arctic ice. In the far north, seals are preferred Polar Bear food as they pop up out of breathing holes in the ice. It is an energy-efficient way for Polar Bears hunt. With warming of the seas, receding sea ice will change this way of hunting, driving changes in bear behavior or possibly contributing to the loss of the world's Polar Bears. See how many Polar Bears you can find here. This panorama, taken in late July, has a variety of ice shapes to admire, as well as melt pools and the fracture lines in the ice that were made by the ice breaker. Please take some extra time to admire the cold emptiness of the High Arctic. And maybe wonder at the lives of these beautiful creatures and maybe even consider what the world would be like without sea ice and Polar Bears. |
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These family housing units for the Maniilaq Health Center are literally on the edge of town. Beyond is the vast Arctic tundra, which in winter is a formidable, snowy, treeless, windswept wilderness. On this particular day, I saw a moose on one of the snow banks by the building on the left. You can see his escort out of town on gigapan.org. Just look for Moose on the Loose. |
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The Alaskan village of Selawik is built on a wetland on the river near Selawik Lake. It is far removed from Kotzebue and the coast, and fuel for heating or generating electricity is very expensive here. Every gallon must be shipped in.
Here we see the windfarm that supplies some of Selawik's energy without the cost of burning fossil fuel. Wind is plentiful up here on the Arctic Circle, and these wind generators are usually moving, cranking out watts that came to town on the wind. This panorama was photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro. |
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No matter how much fun it was to explore these arctic islands, eventually the helicopter would return to take us back to the ship. Some of us were more anxious to get warm and dry than were others.
Here are some of the passengers of the 50 Years of Victory on the beach awaiting the incoming helicopter. From here we are headed to the waters off the west coast of Novaya Zemlya for an encounter with a shadow of the moon. This panorama was photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro, |