Polar Sunrise: A Primary Source Activity
Polar Sunrise: A Primary Source Activity
"The Polar Gateways Arctic Circle Sunrise conference gave our team the perfect opportunity to capture the environment and the research that is only possible in Barrow Alaska. During the conference our team with the help of Andrew Quinn, videographer with Passport to Knowledge, captured the science and feel for the unique environment. Troy Cline, a member of our own Sun Earth Connection Education Forum Team, used the opportunity to do additional interviews in podcast form. Jay Friedlander with the Visualization Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center had his camera equipment ready at all times to capture some of the most memorable photos. Finally, through the expertise of William Benson and the team with Crewstone Inc. in Hampton Virginia, our videos where edited to capture the experience that we are now sharing with educators, students and the general public."
Elaine Lewis
Senior Science and Curriculum Coordinator
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Video Cast
- Harry Brower Jr.
- Wildlife Manager, North Slope Borough, Barrow, Alaska
Harry collects traditional knowledge for wildlife management in the Barrow region. He is an Inupiaq whaling captain.
- John Cooper
- Space Physicist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
John was chairperson for the Polar Gateways Arctic Circle Sunrise 2008 conference at Barrow on behalf of the ICESTAR/IHY team for the International Polar Year 2007-2009. He is a member of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer team for the ongoing Cassini mission exploration of Saturn and its moons after participating in past investigations by Pioneer 11 at Saturn and by Voyager 2 at Uranus.
- Dale Cruikshank
- Planetary Astronomer, NASA AMES Research Center
Dale specializes in telescopic spectroscopic measurements of composition on surfaces of icy worlds in the outer solar system. He was awarded the Kuiper Prize by the American Astronomical Association in 2006 and is a member of the science team for the New Horizons mission now enroute to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
- Earl Finkler
- Radio Announcer/Amateur Astronomer
Earl hosts weekday morning “snow-machine rush hour” interviews on KBRW Public Radio in Barrow with community members, notable visitors, and interesting people around the world. He is an enthusiastic amateur astronomer and supported the Polar Gateways conference through personal participation, radio interviews with the scientists, and reports to the local newspaper, the Arctic Sounder.
- Richard Glenn
- President of the Board of Directors, Barrow Alaska Science Consortium
Richard represents the Barrow and North Slope Inupiaq communities as a member of the Ilisagvik College Board of Trustees, United States Arctic Research Commission, Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, and Native American Science Education Commission. His professional background includes work as a petroleum geologist and expert on Arctic permafrost and sea ice. He is also a Barrow whaling co-captain and member of a local native dance group.
- Kevin Hand
- Planetary Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Kevin is carrying out laboratory investigations related to astrobiology at JPL after diverse work on geology and marine biology at Stanford University, the SETI Institute, and Princeton University. He consulted with film director James Cameron on the 3D IMAX movie Aliens of the Deep and has been on an expedition to Antarctica and on a deep sea submersible to a hydrothermal vent system.
- Jonathan Nichols
- Planetary Scientist, Boston University
Jonathan is a research associate at the Center for Space Physiscs of Boston University. He investigates the processes that cause auroras on Jupiter and Saturn.
- Crawford Pakotak
- Whaling Captain
Appears in topics Two, Three and Six.
- Glenn Sheehan
- Executive Director, Barrow Arctic Science Consortium
Glenn manages on-site operations of BASC and hosted the Polar Gateways conference. He is Advisor for the Utqiagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC) Science Center, Curator for the Iñupiat Heritage Center, and also has many years of experience as an Arctic anthropologist and archeologist.
- Laura Thomas
- Arctic Archeologist, Barrow Arctic Science Consortium
Laura is Field and Lab Director for the Nuvuk Archaeology Project, the excavation of the ancient Inupiaq village of Nuvuk at Point Barrow. She and BASC colleague Anne Jenson have been identifying and protecting old burial sites from rapid erosion by the Chukchi and Beaufort seas adjacent to the Nuvuk site.
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Fast Fact
Primary Source: Information and resources that provide first-hand accounts of the events, practices, or conditions you are researching.
