Alaska Metrology & Calibration Services Sita Schwartz Cal Lab Editor
This editor recently networked up with business owner, Clinton Schirard, out of Anchorage, Alaska. His situation is unique in that he operates a mobile unit in an especially extreme environment. How many cal labs can say the melting of an iceroad dictates their schedule? Last year, we featured an article that proposed a mobile flow testing unit in another extreme environment, the arid desert, but in theory only. Here, we get the details of a working mobile calibration unit operating in another extreme, arid environment—on the North Slope of Alaska.
Living in Alaska
what makes Alaska so unique. “Summer is a marked relief” when it comes and “everything is so green and alive, it’s like a night and day difference.” This unique environment reflects upon the native villages that exist on the North Slope. Vehicles are able to drive right up along the frozen rivers to gain access to remote villages. Each village is exclusive to itself: some are well-kept and the people friendly and warm, while another village might be run down and the people not so nice. Each village might also have a specific place, such as a landmark or church, which sets it apart from another village. The oil industry creates land locked operational sites named after drilling activities. Access is limited to air travel and private roads. Human activity revolves around the oil industry, whether they are tourists traveling through, or providers of a service supporting the industry. Even the native people are not isolated from the industry, as they are affected one way or another.
The environment on the North Slope is unique to say the least. At a latitude of 70°19’00N, daylight can be anywhere from 2 hours long during November to 24 hours long from mid-May through July. Temperatures can be as high as 60° F in the summer and -50° F in the winter. Wind chills can get down to -100° F during a blizzard. Precipitation is minimal, with an average of 5 inches a year. The physical environment, the native people and animals, and the oil industry set Alaska apart from any other experience. The brutally cold environment is so extreme, ”it is like being on another planet” says Clinton Schirard, owner of Alaska Metrology & Calibration Services (AMCS). The cold and miserable climate of somewhere within the contiguous states is totally unlike the cold of the North Slope. For Clinton, this extreme is
Side view of the 45' mobile calibration lab.
Jan • Feb • Mar 2012
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Cal Lab: The International Journal of Metrology