Update

Only 4 days left in Alaska, here is a little of what I have been up to.

Inigok field camp

 Landing strip

 Prior to the installation of the white domes (see above), the kitchen and office spaces were wall tents draped over these frames. 

 The view from camp. At 10:00 pm.

 Caribou!

 Ikpikpuk river, from the helicopter.

 The Arctic Ocean.

 Tidal marshes of the Arctic Ocean. 

 Data collection to determine vegetation composition. 

 Measuring vegetation height.

 Average flora height is about 15 centimeters and most of the plant cover is non-vascular, such as the sphagnum moss pictured above. 

Thermokarst, or the sudden melting of the permafrost,  led to this exposed tussock wetland. Over time, the bare ground will re-vegetate, but melting of the permafrost is occurring at an ever increasing rate due to climate change.