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June 20, 2018
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Arctic Change

Cooper Island’s 44th Field Season Underway

Summer is coming, eventually
By Jenny Woodman

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6.20 gjd arrival
George Divoky’s 2018 arrival on Cooper Island for his 44th field season. Image Credit: Craig George

June 19, 2018, after several weather-related delays, Search and Rescue pilots transported George and his gear to Cooper Island. His cabin is packed floor to ceiling with supplies stored over the winter, and he arrived with 800 pounds of equipment to support his 44th season studying Arctic seabirds.

While the Arctic has experienced back-to-back record-breaking years of warming, Utqiaġvik and North Slope of Alaska encountered unusually cold weather and snowfall this spring. According to George, he hasn’t seen conditions like this since the 1970s.

archive
The most recent image of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) Barrow Observatory show snow accumulation in the middle of June 2018. Image Credit: NOAA ESRL

He predicts the late snowmelt will make this season particularly difficult for his Black Guillemots, who are already struggling to adapt to an ecosystem imperiled by climate change.

The delayed breeding season means the parents will have to fly farther to reach retreating sea ice in order find food that is ideal for guillemot chicks.

The longer distance means the parents expend more energy, which is a precious commodity for seabirds. In Far from Land, Michael Brooke writes, “Natural selection will favour individuals which do not imperil their own long-term chances of survival by recklessly over-investing in any single year’s offspring.” Brooke adds that it is better to forgo a single year’s offspring in the hopes of future generations of potential chicks, because seabirds like albatross and guillemots tend to lay small clutches of eggs. The Cooper Island birds typically lay two eggs each year.

Based on previous year’s data collected via geolocators George uses to track the birds, he thinks they’ve been in Nuvuk for the last month. Also known as Point Barrow, this headland is about nine miles east of Utqiaġvik. The guillemots are waiting for the snow to melt, George says.

“Snowmelt at NOAA’s Barrow Observatory typically occurs about a week before egg laying,”  George noted on social media. “Female guillemots don’t ovulate until snowmelt allows access to the nest cavity.”

2018 Jun 19_GJD and cabin from air
George waves goodbye from Cooper Island on June 19. Image Credit: Craig George

Once George sets up camp — which is no small feat alone in freezing temperatures — he’ll be sending us regular updates via satellite, which we will be sharing here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest news and Arctic insights.


This story is part of an ongoing series titled Arctic Change centered around George Divoky’s 44th field season studying Black Guillemots, sea ice, and climate change on a remote Arctic island off the coast of Alaska. To donate and support Divoky’s work on Cooper Island, visit the Friends of Cooper Island.


Read More

NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) Global Monitoring Division, Barrow, Alaska Observatory

Looking For Signs of Global Warming, They’re All Around You by Seth Borenstein

Trying To Stay Optimistic In A Seabird Colony That Is Half Full – When It Is Really Half Empty by George Divoky

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The Darkness of August
Arctic Change

The Darkness of August

A Cooper Island Field Report
By George Divoky

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Loss of Sea Ice Takes Its Toll on Seabirds
Arctic Change

Loss of Sea Ice Takes Its Toll on Seabirds

A Cooper Island Field Report
By George Divoky

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Mourning a Lost Relationship–My Half-Century Association with Sea Ice
Arctic Change

Mourning a Lost Relationship–My Half-Century Association with Sea Ice

By George Divoky

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