INTRO:

The Europa Focus Group is a collaboration of scientists who study Jupiter's moon, Europa. This ice-covered world may be one of the few places in our solar system other than Earth that has a water ocean, and liquid water is believed to be one of the key factors in the development of life. Astrobiologists and other scientists eager to learn more about Europa recently headed to Alaska's North Slope.

The scientists studied the regions unique terrain, providing insight for future missions to the icy landscape of Europa. Flying in small aircraft to study geographical features, driving snowmobiles over glacial terrain, digging bore holes to get a glimpse of ice history -- all the activities pursued by these hardy adventurers may someday be duplicated on the surface of Europa by robotic spacecraft.

Matt Pruis, a research scientist with NorthWest Research Associates in Seattle, Washington, attended the North Slope conference and kept a journal of the events.

Whaling camps being set up by the Iñupiat native people were visible on our approach into Barrows airport. They place their camps by the "flaw lead," a region along the shoreline where pack ice has been blown away from the shore fast ice. The original settlement of native people is believed to have occurred around 800 A.D. Since that time there has been continuous settlement of this land, making it one of North Americas richest regions in cultural and ethnic history.

When we stepped off the plane in Barrow, we were greeted with a blast of 9 F (-13 C) Arctic air. A light snowfall was blowing horizontally across the runway. Crossing the tarmac over to a small metal building to retrieve our luggage, one of my colleagues said blithely, "Well, it looks and feels as if we have come to the ends of the Earth." Cinching up my coat a little further, I thought to myself, "and it is good to be here."

Were staying at the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), which is located at a complex that was once a Navy facility known as NARL (Naval Arctic Research Laboratory). After checking in to the bunkhouse, we headed for our safety briefing and an overview of the planned workshop activities.

There are many dangers associated with working in this challenging locale, but the greatest danger is from being inattentive around moving machinery. In other words, getting run over by a snowmobile. The other major dangers on the ice pack are getting separated from shore (if the ice breaks away from the shoreline), twisting ankles on the broken and fractured sea ice, and finally, polar bears.

Someone asked how often a dangerous encounter occurs with polar bears. The answer was, "Not very often." Usually the bears just do their own thing and don't pay much attention to people. But a few years ago a bear ripped the large metal doors off the refrigerated ice core locker in the BASC compound. The locker previously had been used to store "mikiaq," or Bowhead whale meat fermented in blood, and the lingering aroma had probably attracted the bear.

Only one person has had a fatal run-in with a polar bear in this area over the past six years. Its unlikely that we will even see a polar bear on this trip. Still, a polar bear was spotted in the BASC complex last Sunday evening, so it is best not to be caught unaware!

The facilities we will use and the areas we will visit over the next couple of days are on native lands. The Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation has given all of us "scientific use permits" to explore and take some limited samples of the nearby sea ice and Arctic terrain. It is only with their assistance that we are able to have this workshop. Some of the elders have graciously agreed to share with us their experiences and insights of sea ice.

We plan to have multiple excursions to the near-shore ice, an aerial over-flight of the pack ice, and visits to some permafrost and frozen freshwater lakes. Hopefully, time permitting; we also will be able to visit the Native Heritage Museum. We are very much at the mercy of the weather conditions, however, and will need to keep flexible. Presentations on recent Europa research will be squeezed into the schedule whenever there is down time.

Ive decided to read "Farthest North" by Fridtjof Nansen for this trip. This book is a classic tale of Arctic adventure set in the late nineteenth century, but it is also the scientific basis for many of the theories still used to describe ice motion and thermodynamics.

Over the past couple of years, I have been developing and describing large-scale sea ice models. It continues to amaze me that Nansens work, completed 110 years ago, is still used to describe the drift of ice in the open ocean. It indicates the quality of the work.

Describing the long departure from his home village, Nansen opened a chapter of his book with a poem:

"So travel I north to the gloomy abode

That the sun never shines on -

There is no day."

Since Im traveling at a different time of year, I am having the opposite experience there seems to be no night. It is now 11:30PM, and there has not been any appreciable change in the brightness outside. After reading a few more pages of Nansens exploits, I will head off to sleep and hopefully be well rested for tomorrows explorations!

*fast ice: sea ice that remains attached (fast) to the coast. May be formed in situ from seawater or by the freezing of pack ice to the shore. Fast ice typically reaches its maximum development at the end of March or beginning of April.

Editors Note: This story is presented in cooperation with Astrobiology Magazine, a web-based publication sponsored by the NASA astrobiology program.