The Arctic can seem like a frozen planet, a world away from anything green. Photo copyright Wesley Larson.

3/18/2015 3:05:14 PM

Whiteout on the Tundra

Contributor:
Wesley Larson

A number of different challenges are inherent to working in the Arctic. For such a uniform landscape, it's always impressive to see how quickly things can change on Alaska's North Slope. It's probably one of the more dynamically static places in the world, if that makes any sense. 

I always have a hard time describing what it's like to do research on the slope. With endless white and impossibly distant horizons in all directions, it can feel like you are eking out an existence on a frozen planet, millions of miles from anything green.

At times, the wind and weather will ramp up, and your world suddenly becomes limited to whatever sits a couple feet around you. Everything else is lost in a blowing haze of white.

A few days ago, BJ Kirschhoffer and I decided to head out on our snowmobiles to set up a monitoring camera on a polar bear den roughly eight miles from camp. It was a windy, cloudy day; with the sun hardly ever lifting into the upper half of the sky, the light was flat and without shadows. We had visibility of about 500 yards, but the sky perfectly matched the snow, and the light hid all the features of the snow and ice.

When you ride a snowmobile on a day like that, it quickly becomes difficult to determine where the ground is and where the sky ends. Every bump you hit feels like it might be a cliff leading you off the edge of the world, and riding gradually turns into what feels like flying. Without the sensation of the ground beneath your machine, it's difficult to know which way is up. It's one of the strangest things I have ever experienced.

As you can probably imagine, we rely heavily on our equipment on "white out" days. With limited visibility, and no landmarks to determine your direction, you start to put a lot of faith in your GPS. If we were to get turned around and head north rather than south, we'd probably need to brush up on our Russian. Putting that kind of trust into technology is a little daunting, but makes for an interesting day.

All of the preparation and planning that we need to do just to stay safe for a couple weeks in the Arctic gives me that much more respect for creatures like polar bears. A pregnant or nursing female polar bear does not need to download GPS points in order to find the right spot to den or hunt seals. She doesn't rely on expensive arctic clothing to stay warm, and she definitely does not need a snowmobile to get around.

While we seem to be in constant struggle to overcome the elements, polar bears and other wildlife have evolved to perfectly exist within their ecological framework. That kind of submission to, and ultimately coexistence with, a natural environment is something that is incredibly beautiful and infinitely valuable. When we just take a minute to pay attention to some of these more subtle lessons that are constantly offered up in nature, we go can a long way to improve the way we see and use the planet. 

During a whiteout on the tundra, it's hard to see where land ends and sky begins. Photo copyright Wesley Larson

Polar bear researcher Wesley Larson under the northern lights.