Larry Hinzman from the International Arctic Research Centre was presenting a lecture about Alaska's water, which truth be told, I wasn't supposed to be attending. Officially, this was a lecture for undergraduates/postgraduates and professors of hydrological processes, and I felt slightly awkward when the 'signing in' register reached me. Subtle moves on my part were required and I think I handled the situation pretty well!
The lecture was actually very useful and informative, providing me information not just on hydrological processes, but permafrost phenomena. According to a study, there is a forecast of higher intensified precipitation events for Alaska in the next 100 years and it's intense rain that causes what are known in the field as retrogressive thaw slumps (basically like a landslide.) So, what all that means is that Alaska should expect more 'landslide-like' events throughout the next century which could potentially pose threats to engineering, particularly roads, railways, and buildings.
The big mid-day event that everyone was talking about at the hostel was the 'Value Village' Half Price Sale. With time to spare, I headed down there. The shop looks like a charity shop, but only bigger. Books are not ordered alphabetically or by type, so 'History of Alaska' could be placed next to 'How to care for your cat'. There are electrical assessories scattered here and there, along with odd household items, but the clothing really does dominate the store. Some clothes at a pretty reasonable price. In need of a couple more pairs of socks, I hunted for the best value ($2.99 each is not bad) and so I made my purchase.
Incidentally, I apologise for the lack of photos so far, but as you can imagine today's itenary didn't offer many photo stops. Having said this, after my Dad asked me about the roofs of buildings here in Alaska on Skype last night, I decided to conduct a study on them on the way back from downtown to the hostel.
It seems that Alaska has adopted two roofing systems. In areas that expect high snow fall, the roofs have to be sloped at a considerable angle so the snow slides off. But here in Fairbanks, the city doesn't typically have astronomically high snow fall, and so roofs are either flat concrete, or angled very shallow. I've found this 'flat' system nearly everywhere so far on my travels around Alaska and it differs a lot to the UK.
As to the the actual materials, metal is most often used, especially on recently constructed housing. But for the older, smaller housing, it's a tar/gravel based roof with advanced sealants and adhesives. (I have been doing my research.) I was lucky to find the two together. Metal on the left; tar/gravel on the right.
So now you know! The final event on my itenary today was another lecture, but a completely different topic; not even permafrost related! Kellie Tilton, from Library Sciences, was going to give a talk on the art of researching, and as my whole career probably will involve some research of a varying degree, I thought I'd pop along. On the way to the Bunnel Building, where the presentation was going to take place, I saw a man holding three posters for the forthcoming Fairbanks Mayor Election. Three posters for three separate people, which I thought quite odd, but he was obviously demonstrating his neutrality!
Just outside the lecture theatre was a stack of free books and hundreds of free National Geographic Magazines. Well, I would like to add to my 500+ collection, but getting them home would prove quite difficult. But I'm currently investigating postage possibilities!
The lecture, to be perfectly honest, was very painful in places, as I didn't think it was suitable for the target audience. Too many "yays" and "woos" for me, and an over-use on the word "awesome". From doing public speaking for many years now, I know one of the most important things to consider is audience. Critical though I am, I was quite interested in the statistic that 42% of books in libraries are never took down from the shelf, except by librarians. That's just under half of the library. I left, taking advantage of free biscuits, and proceeded back to the hostel.
Such an interesting blog. No, I did not know. I found out from your post that many areas of northern England have been flooded. I spend most of my time with business assignment writing uk and get a lot of help. and I also like such an informative blog. Thanks for the share.
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