FLYING OVER SEA ICE, A VIEW FROM ABOVE

Ice can be seen now on the Arctic Ocean off of the northern shore of Barrow and Browerville, but I've been told by Inupiaq people that it's not the ice that they're waiting for.  What we're seeing now is a freezing of the top layer of water on the ocean, but the ice that will increase the chances of spring whaling being successful are the icebergs that extend far into the ocean that are blown into shore by strong winds from the north.  Last year the icebergs were sparse and consequently, so was the whaling, 3 being harvested when 22 were allowed.  The fall whaling is done on the ice if it is stable or on open water if the ice and icebergs have retreated.  It's always hoped that one of these two conditions occur while the whales are migrating past back to the west.  

When flying to Kaktovik and back in mid-November, I could see ice on the ocean and believe that it might be the surface ice that's present here in the Barrow area.  Kaktovik is an hour east of Barrow by plane, further east of Prudhoe Bay and is on an island close to Canada.  The residents there told me that there were no polar bears in town--that most of them had gone out on the sea ice to hunt.  I'm wondering if their weight can be supported on the thin freshly frozen surface ice or if icebergs have blown in further east.  I'll have to work on finding out the answers to these questions.

Below are some photos taken of the flights from Barrow to Nuiqsut to Prudhoe Bay to Kaktovik and back with some views of the ocean and the ice.  I love how the pilot pulled the nose of the plane up in the high winds...very fun.

Sign on the door inside the small terminal building in Nuiqsut = )  

Landing at home, sweet home = )