Hello, Jackson Osborn here again. We made it back from the Arctic in one piece. We held out for ideal flying weather but unfortunately the inclement weather decided to hold out longer. I made the journey back to Colorado on October 22nd and Janet Intrieri (NOAA) decided to stay in Kaparuk for a few more days in the hopes of catching a break and the chance of getting airborne. Although we did not manage to get any more flights in, we did learn some valuable lessons from this experience and gained some insight into working with the MiniFlux system. This insight will transfer to future deployments of this system.
For me, personally, this was a truly unique experience. I was able to travel to somewhere I have never thought of going, participate in meaningful research, and deploy an instrument that can aid in the understanding of our environment and the dynamics thereof. I look forward to future work with the MiniFlux system. I had to opportunity to see the Arcitc Ocean from Oliktok Point, which can be seen below. The weather in the two pictures was pretty standard for most of the time we were up there.
Janet Intrieri (NOAA) and myself (Jackson Osborn) set our sights on the Arctic Ocean from Oliktok Point, AK.
The Arctic Ocean as seen from Oliktok Point, AK.
Working with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Seahunter flight crew was also valuable, in that we were able to gain insight into the flight operations of unmanned aircraft. A group photo can be seen below of Janet Intrieri (NOAA), myself, and the Seahunter flight ops crew (ACUASI). The flight crew was very knowledgeable when it came to flying unmanned aircraft. There is quite a bit of planning and logistics involved for deciding to fly or not on a day to day basis, it was interesting to see this in person and in real-time.
Left to Right: Jackson Osborn, CIRES/NOAA; Janet Intrieri, NOAA; Matt Westhoff, ACUASI; Andrew Wentworth, ACUASI; Justin Humphrey, ACUASI; Joncy Walden, ACUASI; Greg Foscue, ACUASI.
Below is a picture of the North Slope from my flight back to Anchorage. It was nice to see the sun and blue sky again but notice the fog for days. This is what prevented us from getting any flights in.
The North Slope from the flight back to Anchorage, AK.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity and would like to thank all of those involved. There were many people/organizations involved that came together to make this a possibility. I am looking forward to what the future holds!
