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June 22, 2018
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Arctic Change

Making Camp in the Arctic

The first field report of the season
By George Divoky

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Cooper 2014
An aerial view of Cooper Island from 2014. Image Credit: George Divoky

Great to be back on Cooper island after two intense weeks of preparation in Seattle and Utqiaġvik. Arriving on the island begins an even more intense period as I need to turn the 8-by-12 foot cabin from the overwinter storage shed it has been for the past nine months into a place where I can sleep, cook, process data–and eventually even relax.

A low-level aerial shot of camp from just east, circa 2012. Image Credit: George Divoky

Concurrently, I have been setting up my power sources (solar and wind generators powering a battery bank) and communications (satellite phone, inReach and VHF radio) that keep the camp running and connected to the outside world. While the large snowdrift that currently surrounds my cabin impedes my accomplishing these tasks, it does provide my drinking water for the first half of the summer. Throughout the day I have been shoveling snow into any available container as the island has no fresh water and I need to melt as much snow as possible before it disappears.

All of the required logistics chores need to be balanced with the daily fieldwork. Since my arrival three days ago, conditions for censusing the colony and retrieving geolocators have been excellent with clear skies and little wind. While visiting all nest sites to determine who survived the winter and who is breeding with whom is the highest priority, I also need to retrieve the geolocators that I put on 25 birds at the end of the 2017 breeding season. Catching the birds in their nest cases has gone well this year with nine of the units retrieved in the past two days.

These light-sensitive data loggers record the time of sunrise and sunset each day allows me to determine their location for the nine months they have been away from the colony. We have deployed geolocators since 2011 and this year’s data is extremely important since the Bering Sea ice, where guillemots typically winter, did not form this past year. The effect of this unprecedented event on guillemot movements and distribution will be one of this summer’s most important findings.

guillemot2012
Black Guillemots in 2012. Image Credit: George Divoky

I will know the size of this year’s breeding population in about a week and, since many of the females have had low colony attendance in the last few days and are likely offshore building up reserves for egg laying, the first clutches should be appearing within the next 4-5 days.

Looking forward to sharing what is promising to be a most interesting and important field season.


This field 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

Arctic Sea Ice a Major Determinant in Mandt’s Black Guillemot Movement and Distribution During Non-Breeding Season by George Divoky, David Douglas, and Iain Stenhouse

He’s Watching the World Melt by John D. Sutter

SENtinels of the SEa Ice – SENSEI on ResearchGate

The Sensei Blog


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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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