WOW! What a day.  Twenty-four hours flying (Newcastle – Amsterdam – Seattle – Alaska) an overnight stay in Anchorage and then a quick flight to Bethel for our last night in civilization. Finally, we woke this morning for the day we had all been dreaming of for a very long time…TUNDRA DAY!  After breakfast we made our way to the boat dock where our float planes were waiting to take us to our final destination, I was more excited than my kids at Christmas. I sat in the tiny plane with my headphones and mouthpiece on and my stomach like a washing machine on spin cycle, I had the biggest smile on my face – we all did.  The take off was ultra smooth, we glided off the water into the air and within minutes were flying over the amazing Alaskan tundra, so vast, so wide, so incredibly beautiful. The aerial view of the landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen, a swirl of greens; emerald, olive, jade, sage, all mixed up together and penetrated by hundreds of shiny black pools far as the eye could see. The flight was utterly breathtaking and after 40 minutes our campsite came in to view. It was situated on a peninsula by a huge lake surrounded by total wilderness. I could see yurts for camp kitchen, camp dinner room/meeting room and the lab and a few sleeping tents had already been set up. We were ready for business.  Landing was as smooth as takeoff; we slid onto the lake and were met with excited shouting and waving from other participants on the riverbank.  I stepped off the plane and straight into the lake (waders already on for the flight), and within minutes was back on dry land, at our home for the next two weeks, science central!  Tomorrow we will discuss our research project ideas, investigate the landscape and make plans for our climate change research contributions.  However, today we will take in our surroundings, deal with the jet lag and the nine-hour time difference and discover the relentless appetite of the Arctic mosquito.

 

– Polaris Project student Kelly Turner, Northumbria University, UK