Sea Ice retreat

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

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

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

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.