As the northernmost inhabited city in the United States, Barrow is a unique and critical location for conducting climate research at high-latitudes.

On August 16, U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lindsey Graham visited the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) on a bi-partisan trip to examine the effects of climate change in cold latitudes. During their five-hour visit in Barrow, they talked with community members and observed numerous Arctic research facilities in the area, including the ACRF site. In support of the visit, ACRF communications staff prepared two posters describing the various ACRF sites and ARM research underway at the NSA; these were displayed along with other materials during the group’s lunch break. Their visit ended with a helicopter tour over the area. A few days later, Arden Bement, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other NSF representatives associated with Arctic science issues also visited Barrow.

These visits occurred just a few days before the Swedish research icebreaker, Oden, docked in Barrow to obtain supplies, change crews, and conduct general ship maintenance. More than 100 scientists and crew members came and went through Barrow during the Oden visit. The ACRF Site Manager for NSA gave a briefing about ACRF to visiting Swedish dignitaries, including the Swedish ambassador to the Arctic Council. This latest series of visits caps a flurry of attention at the NSA in recent months, starting in March a visit by Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, a May visit by reporters from the British Broadcasting Company (see last article in this issue), and an early August visit by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.