Safe from the Kuparuk River mosquitoes.
I’ve been blogging for ScientificAmerican.com’s Expeditions blog from Toolik. Here are the posts that are up so far:
Science, pipelines and bears: A reporter goes to Alaska’s Toolik Field Station
It just dawned on me that in two days I’ll be on my way to one of the most remote places on Earth: Toolik Field Station, an environmental research station on the North Slope of Alaska. To get there, I have to fly almost 17 hours from Vienna to Fairbanks (and that doesn’t include layover times), and then travel by van some 12 hours north on rough roads. Once there, I will have to endure swarms of mosquitoes and infrequent bathing opportunities. A box of crucial items (sleeping bag, fleece, rain pants) that I sent ahead of me may have gotten lost in the mail—a nearly unthinkable eventuality.
Alaskan science on the solstice: Doing research where the sun never sets
I packed my flashlight. That’s really stupid. I’m above the Arctic Circle near summer solstice. The sun never sets. Never. It’s like when my friend packed her umbrella to go to the Sahara.
Adventures in Alaskan science: How I escaped from a thermokarst
I was nearly eaten by a thermokarst. I just stepped in and, before I knew it, I was sucked in up to the top of my big rubber boot.
There are also more posts on the way.
– Chelsea Wald
