NO. 9 MARINE INVERTEBRATES, ALASKA MacGINITIE 5 



Dr. Marian H. Pettibone, research associate at the U. S. National 

 Museum; Howard Feder, research assistant at Point Barrow from 

 July 1949 until June 1950; and Gail Grodhaus, who came in July 1950 

 and stayed through September. 



Mrs. MacGinitie and I spent three months at the Point during 1948, 

 from July 10 to October 10, and a second period from June 30, 1949, 

 to August 14, 1950. The contract for the first period was made by 

 the California Institute of Technology with the Office of Naval Re- 

 search, that of the second by the Johns Hopkins University. During 

 the second period the writer also served as Scientific Director of the 

 Laboratory. 



EQUIPMENT 



The Navy and the Office of Naval Research were generous regard- 

 ing equipment. For two months during the summer of 1948 an Eskimo 

 boat, with two boatmen, was rented, but in 1949 a 36-foot boat named 

 the Ivik, meaning "walrus" (pi. 3, fig. i), was furnished by the Navy 

 and sent to the base by BAREX. This was equipped with a 25-hp. 

 diesel engine, which was later changed to a gasoline engine. It was 

 a seaworthy craft and the best imaginable for the purpose. Before 

 it was taken to Point Barrow it was sent to the Kerckhoff Marine 

 Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology, where it was 

 equipped with winch, mast, boom, and other accessories, including a 

 canvas hood. In the spring of 1950 the latter was replaced by a 

 suitable cabin. In addition to cabin space and space in the stern, there 

 is an open working space of approximately 10 by 14 feet (pi. 4, fig. i). 

 A 5-hp. outboard motor and a skiff were carried for safety in the 

 event of breakdown or jamming in ice. 



A meter wheel, dredges, towing nets, and other necessary gear, 

 were part of the equipment. A set of Kohl hydrometers was pur- 

 chased for use in determining the salinity of the water. One binocular 

 microscope was furnished in 1948 and another in 1949. All necessary 

 glassware, specimen bottles, and other laboratory equipment were 

 procured. 



PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL FEATURES 

 CLIMATE AND VEGETATION 



Some of the statistical information about weather contained in this 

 discussion was taken from reports of the U. S. Weather Bureau 

 offices at Point Barrow and Fairbanks. 



The most interesting and perhaps the least known feature of the 



