Being the assistant operator

Yes, there is some work required being the assistant operator.  Though now with the sun up it doesn't quite feel like work with all the beauty of the barrens around me.  I'll give you a general overview of a typical week in Alert (for me at least) :

We (the operator and I ) go up to the lab usually three times a week: Monday, Wednsday, and Friday.  In the track truck it's about a 20 - 30  minute drive depending how bad the snow drifts are on the road (which is not plowed, hence the need for tracks and 4 wheel drive).  Once we get to the "TX site" we plug the truck in to keep the motor warm, and walk the next kilometre to the lab.  This sometimes includes pulling sleds full of sample cases to and from the lab, which I think is the only reason I have not become 200 pounds with the all-you-can-eat meals everyday.



Mondays: I usually think of Monday as 'filter day' because all the filters I put on the week before need to be changed.  This includes the Hi-Vol filter, POPs/Toxics filter, PS-1 filters, ozone etc.. most of which are outdoors.  I'd be kidding myself if I told you I knew everything these filters are being tested for.  But in general, they are looking for stuff such as toxic metals, soot, POPs, and many other chemicals that have made their way up to the arctic. 

To the right is the Hi-Vol filter apparatus, which is located about 500 metres west of the lab.  The walk was a bit spooky when it was complete darkness, especially since when I would turn the pump back on the porch light would turn off and it was just me and my headlamp.  At the bottom right of the picture is the air intake, and the box on the left is where I change the filter.   The picture below is the POPs/Toxics apparatus, which is at the top of the lab's tower, and requires many trips up and down the couple flights of stairs.  Field blanks are taken about once a month for most of the filter systems to be able to measure the contamination from shipping and handling.

Me getting ready for the hike to change the Hi-Vol filter in the dark months

Tuesdays & Thursdays: We usually don't go to the lab on these days, but work in the office that is on the station.  I am in charge of the well being of Captain Nom Nom and SharkBait, the GAW lab's goldfish that have been living in Alert for about ten years. . While I'm not tending to their needs (which takes a whole 10 seconds a day, except for when the tank is crying to be cleaned), I am handling the shipping of all the sample boxes from the week before, which requires making shipping carfs, packing them into tri walls, (similar to putting a giant puzzle together) and strapping them together.   Other duties on these days include backing up and converting files from the lab's computer on the office computer, doing weekly checks on the trucks, getting the tracks greased, and any other miscellanious jobs that come up. 

Wednesday: 'Flask day' This is the day that both the operator and I take our weekly air flasking samples that come from all over the globe.  We are filling flasks for places like Japan, Australia, California, Germany, and France that are being tested for greenhouse gases and other pollutants.  To be able to take the flasks the wind has to be strong enough and cannot be coming from the north or else they will be effected by the emmissions from the base.
Left: Japanese flask.  Right: Scripps flask, from California.  Bottom: Flasks being taken for NOAA ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US)

Friday: Off to the lab again.  I don't have a special name for this day since I just do my daily lab tasks and then we are off again.   These tasks include checking the ozone level, a PSAP filter change which collects the particulate matter in the atmosphere (like black carbon) , tank pressure checks, taking inventories, shoveling, tidying etc.  Whenever their is enough fresh snow I go outside with Matt (the operator) to take snow samples which are being tested for mercury. (It's not actually warm enough out to wear just a sweater, but the shoulder gloves needed to take the samples don't fit over a parka unfortunately)

The view from the truck on the drive back from the lab: (the multi coloured buildings in the distance is the station with the frozen Arctic Ocean behind it)
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