After two days of flying from Boston we arrived in Kugluktuk, a town of about 1,300 residents located in the Straits of the Canadian Archipelago. Here we expect to meet the icebreaker Louis S. St. Laurent, our transportation during our 30-day expedition to the Beaufort Gyre.
Joining WHOI scientists are our colleagues from the Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS, Canada), Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, (JAMSTEC), and the International Arctic Research Center (IARC, Fairbanks, USA) also arrived on the same flight. Unfortunately, one person and 14 boxes of equipment still have not arrived. This caused some concern, as the ship is expected to arrive tomorrow, August 8.
During the remainder of our first day, we made final preparations before the cruise. We also walked around the town and saw Kugluktuk’s two small hotels, the local high school, skating rink, church, and cultural center. Kugluktuk’s natural scenery on the tundra and seascape also provided a beautiful combination of the late summer colors.
