26 June, 1998

TEA Journal

Day 27

FRIDAY

6/26

The Alaska coast is in sight and we are still crunching a little bit of rotten ice that poses no problems to our progress or maneuvers. Anchor detail set at about 9:00 AM and the anchor dropped a half-hour later. We are about 2 miles offshore from Barrow. I can see all the buildings and talked for a few minutes with OPS (Operations Officer, LCDR Bill Rall) about the location of the boat ramp in Barrow. There is a bit of ice between the ship and beach but not enough to get in the way of the landing craft. The last thing to be packed is the computer and with it my journal comes to an end. I'll probably do a section on being back in Barrow and how the end of the cruise feels but it will be from school and not from the ship. It will be good to get back to my apartment, run with some of the kids, drive big red, and sleep in my own bed!!

It is still a bummer to know that AWS 98 has come to an end but that does not mean an end to the pursuit of science and knowledge of the Arctic. Many positive endeavors have been cultivated during the duration of this cruise. Without a doubt, one of the most positive aspects of TEA is that it enables links to be cultivated between classroom teachers such as myself and research scientists. From this network can grow projects and information swaps that will be limited only by the willingness of the people to parcticipate. Allowing this network to grow and flourish during the summer is very positive and ensures that the individuals will have time to reflect, sort out, and better define just what types of projects they would like to undertake. To try and do this during the school year is nearly impossible due to the level of busy within the classroom once the school year begins.

So as I shut this laptop and prepare to pack it away I need to thank some folks for making this the great experience that it has been:

- the U.S. Coast Guard and especially the men and women of the Polar Sea. Your level of professionalism and dedication to scientific inquiry is greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten.

- Captain Jeffery Garrett (CO), Commander Terrence Julich (XO), LCDR Bill Rall (OPS), LCDR Doug Russell (EO), CWO2 Art Lelis, and LTJG Chris Dabbieri (MSO) for making science the focus of this cruise and doing everything they could to make sure the science team could do their work.

- Terry Tucker, Bill Bosworth, and Bob Whritner for being excellent teachers and mentors in all aspects of ice research and for making sure that our evening PI meetings stayed on track!

- Dr. Lisa Clough for her great work as chief scientist and always being ready to flash a big smile and a good belly laugh! Laura, her sidekick and grad student has a great teacher and is learning well!

- Dr. Tish Yager for the private tutorial on carbon and always making time to listen.

- Pete, Tara, and Behzad for being around with the right words and thoughts at the right times.

- Greg, Kevin, Beardo, SBC Boys, Jay, Bodie, Evans, Stormer, and Michael, for being absolute "top shelf" stock.

- Hutch, Sean, Chris, Angela, Drew, Nate, and of course "Kenny" (MST's) for all their great work and allowing us to invade their space for the month of June.

- LCDR Dave Swatland and the men of the AVDET for their patience and "can do" attitude about their "planes".

- Renee Crain of ARCUS for staying in touch, taking care of more lose ends than I'll ever know about, and never telling me to stuff a sock in it when I whined!

- Aaron Putnam, JoAnne Putnam, and Dave Putnam. Aaron for having the curiosity and maturity to get involved in this project and being a self-starter. JoAnne and Dave for trusting me, listening to what was being said, and their ability to see beyond the present.

- Dr. Debra Meese for working with me the past two years in all aspects of arctic science and being so dedicated to the integration of research and classroom investigations.

- Wendy Warnick (ARCUS), Stephanie Shipp (TEA Coordinator), and Wayne Sukow (NSF) for allowing me to go to the Arctic a second time and doing all the things necessary to make it happen.

- Lance for being a great guy with the absolute niftiest toy (ROV) I have ever seen!

- David, Melissa, Cindy, Anna, Hugh for being fun people to get to know and work with.

- Will Ambrose for his no-nonsense ways, dedication to science, and the time he took to check out Barrow and the part of the world I call home!

I know somewhere in this list I have forgotten or overlooked people that contributed to the success of this research experience. I apologize for that and please know my thanks extend to everybody connected to this project. I will try to reply to all questions and inquiries concerning this experience and the TEA program. My e-mail address is at the beginning of this page. Please send questions my way and for those I can't answer I will attempt to connect you with someone that can. Thank you for your interest!

MEET THE COASTIES

For any member of the science team on Polar Sea, it becomes apparent early on that the person to see about anything at anytime is CWO2 Art Lelis. Most everybody on the ship is helpful and will do their level best to fix whatever the problem might be, but with Art it's just different. I guess the thing that makes him the "go to guy" is that he always stays on the trail of the solution until the proper fix is found. The bottom line is that once Art is brought in, it's just a matter of time until things are up and running.

Originally from Hayward, CA., Art has been in the Coast Guard 20 years and currently lives in Seattle. His job on the ship is to look after all aspects of the production, transport, and consumption of electricity. This includes both main propulsion and ships service power. This also means that Art works in all spaces, all decks, and knows the interior spaces of the ship better than anyone else. He gave me a tour of the engineering spaces during this cruise and he is truly a walking encyclopedia on all the parts and pieces of this amazing vessel.

When he takes time away from his shipboard duties he enjoys the games of golf and baseball. He is a Giants fan so hopefully golf is the more fulfilling pastime. His two daughters, Jasmine and Corinne live in Texas and he enjoys the time that he is able to spend with them.

Art has a sincere interest in the science projects and activities that go on aboard Polar Sea. When not standing the Engineering Officer watch in Main Control he can be found on the fantail helping sieve the bottom cores and searching for little bottom dwelling critters. If the CTD is on it's way down he is either on the casting deck or in the dry lab watching the data read out. When the box core is being prepared for a drop he is in the middle of the mix and should something appear not quite right, he is making sure it gets fixed.