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Polar Gateways Arctic Circle Sunrise 2008 Conference at the Top of the WorldThe Polar Gateways conference was hosted during January 23-29, 2008, the first week of polar sunrise at Barrow, Alaska, at the new Barrow Arctic Research Center of the Barrow Arctic Science consortium (BASC). The dawn week of polar day, the highly variable low temperatures, and the ice-covered shore tundra and adjacent sea ice conditions provided an appropriate locale for a conference dedicated in the spirit of the International Polar and Heliophysical Years 2007-2009 to the educational exploration of polar and icy world science of Earth and the solar system. The many scientific, educational, and cultural interactions with the local community of four thousand residents, sixty percent native Inupiat Eskimo, further provided an unforgettable experience of what life might be someday be like on other remote polar and icy worlds to be explored and eventually inhabited. Over one hundred active participants, more than half participating remotely, contributed science presentations and educational activities during this unique circumpolar and very "green" conference. Most remote contributions came via videoconference from the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) at Kisuna, Sweden, the EISCAT Svalbard Radar Facility at Spitzbergen, Norway, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Arizona. A few contributors participated via teleconference, including one from the Polar Geophysical Institute at Apatity in Russia. These active contributions spanned up to thirteen time zones (Alaska to Russia) at various tirnes during the conference. Primary videoconferencing support between Barrow and other sites was ably provided by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and local operators at each remote site collectively made this conference possible. Science presentations spanned the solar system from the polar Sun and heliospheric environment to Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Kuiper Belt, and the solar wind termination shock now crossed by both Voyager spacecraft. Barrow participants experienced look and feel of icy worlds like Europa by going "on the ice" during snowmobile expeditions to the near-shore sea ice and Point Barrow. Extensive educational outreach activities were conducted with the local Barrow township and North Slope Borough communities, partly through several interviews with local host Earl Finkler on Barrow's KBRW Radio, and through the NASA Digital Learning Network (DLN) "live from the top of the world" at Barrow. The Goddard robotic rover "Nunuq of the North" became a local celebrity. The complete science program and photo library, eventually also including video recordings of all main presentations, will be available at the new polargateways2008.gsfc.nasa.gov web site (old version: polargateways2008.org) with links to educational materials from the conference already accessible at sunearthday.nasa.gov/polarsunrise.
Document ID
20090006705
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Cooper, John F.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kauristie, Kirsti
(Finnish Meteorological Inst. Helsinki, Finland)
Weatherwax, Allan T.
(Siena Coll. Londonville, NY, United States)
Sandahl, Ingrid
(Swedish Inst. of Space Physics Kiruna, Sweden)
Ostgaard, Nikolai
(Bergen Univ. Norway)
Sheehan, Glenn W.
(Barrow Arctic Science Consortium Barrow, AK, United States)
Smith, Roger W.
(Alaska Univ. Fairbanks, AK, United States)
Lewis, Elaine M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Cline, Troy D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Haines-Stiles, Geoff
(Haines-Stiles (Geoffrey) Productions Morristown, NJ, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
December 13, 2008
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2008 American Geophysical Union Meeting
Location: San Francisco, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 13, 2008
End Date: December 21, 2008
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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