BARROW, Alaska -- Before beginning his daily patrols along the North Slope recently, Coast Guard Lt. Jake Smith examined Arctic shore maps at the Coast Guard's temporary helicopter hangar here in America's northernmost city.

Smith and his crew reviewed the latest locations of marine mammal sightings and local Inupiat hunting camps. Coast Guard pilots have been directed to avoid flying too close to the hunting sites because the helicopter noise scares caribou, a mainstay of subsistence hunters in the north.

They also keep a safe distance from herds of walruses that haul themselves onto shore along the Chukchi Sea coastline. Loud noises have been known to cause walrus stampedes, with the massive older animals crushing small babies as they hurry into the sea.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Gann monitors the forward looking infrared system on a helicopter, zeroing in on walruses on an ice floe. The system can see 10 miles in any direction from the helicopter. Photo by Margaret Hobson.

The patrols are part of Arctic Shield 2012, an unprecedented four-month monitoring and enforcement operation launched this summer by the Coast Guard to lay the groundwork for future national security patrols, search-and-rescue support and pollution control efforts along Alaska's northern shores.

The interagency program is designed to keep an eye on activity along Alaska's northern coast, assess the Coast Guard's future needs, and reach out to local communities and Native groups in the Arctic.

The operation comes at a time when the polar ice cap is melting at a record pace and Royal Dutch Shell PLC is hoping to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. With more ships traveling through the open waters, the Coast Guard expects it will need far more personnel and resources in future years to oversee the increased shipping traffic, resource extraction projects and tourist cruises.

Smith and his crew usually operate out of Kodiak. But this summer the Coast Guard is rotating its MH-60 helicopter pilots into Barrow for three-week stints to familiarize them with Arctic conditions.

The Coast Guard has stationed two MH-60 helicopters in Barrow to respond to problems in the region. Weather permitting, the helicopters can be in the air within 30 minutes of a distress call. To limit noise in the local communities, the crews are instructed to fly at 3,000 feet within 3 miles of the Alaska coastline. All restrictions are off if a crisis arises.

During the morning patrol, scattered ice floes begin within 14 miles of shore and increase in density as the helicopter travels 45 miles north of Barrow. Although the sea ice was slow to clear the Chukchi and western Beaufort seas in early summer, the ice melt has accelerated at a breakneck pace in August. The Coast Guard team said it has recently traveled 90 miles north of Barrow without encountering solid ice pack.

So far, the Coast Guard's operations have been routine. Earlier this summer, the helicopter team was called on to help the North Slope Bureau Search and Rescue team find a hiker stranded in the Brooks Range.

Otherwise, it has watched tugboats and barges slowly steam through open waters. The crew regularly sees groups of walruses resting on large ice floes and bowhead whales spouting water into the air. But crew members are disappointed that they've yet to encounter polar bears.

Practicing for spill recovery

The helicopter patrols are just one part of the Coast Guard's increased operations in the North this summer. Weeks earlier, the Coast Guard cutter Sycamore sailed near Barrow's shores to test its Spilled Oil Recovery System (SORS) equipment in the Arctic waters.

Forty-five miles north of Barrow, the ice floes become denser. But Coast Guard pilots say they've seen no solid ice despite flying 90 miles from shore. Photo by Margaret Hobson.

Although the exercise did not involve spilling oil into the waters, the test allowed crew members to deploy the cutter's built-in spill recovery gear to simulate the process of concentrating an oily sheen on the frigid waters, skimming the oil and water and pumping the mixture into a storage tanker. Coast Guard officials said the Arctic test run of the equipment came off without a hitch.

Meanwhile, top Coast Guard officials recently came to Barrow to watch a demonstration of amphibious evacuation craft that could be used to assist in search-and-rescue operations in the Arctic's icy waters and along its slushy shores. Currently, no North Slope communities have deepwater ports, forcing the Coast Guard to rely on helicopters to handle water rescue operations. But helicopters can't fly in severe weather.

Seeking to fill that gap, the Coast Guard is taking a hard look at evacuation craft built to rescue survivors on disabled ships or oil rigs and bring them to shore. Two companies -- Arktos Developments of British Columbia and Tyler Rentals/Amphib Alaska of Ketchikan -- hauled their vehicles to Barrow in hopes of selling equipment to the federal government.

Learning as they go

Coast Guard officials say their time in the North has provided some unexpected lessons.

To keep its communications towers clear of potential obstructions in downtown Barrow, the Coast Guard team located antennas and the physical operations at the base of the peninsula leading to Barrow Point. After all, the site had good access to town and a clear line of sight to helicopters and other vessels.

Arktos Developments demonstrates its amphibious rescue vehicle on an ice floe in the Alaskan Arctic. Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard.

However, that site is near a small hunting camp halfway up the peninsula, a location called Picnic, which residents regularly use for duck hunting.

"The first time it happened, the sound of live ammunition was a little jarring," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Jenell Webster, who supervises the Coast Guard's communications operations. "We're likely to look for another spot next year, but it's not something we'd have thought about beforehand."

For the Coast Guard crew, life in Barrow has been something of a culture shock. Three days after Smith's crew came to town, the region was hit by an early August snowstorm.

Away from family and friends for three weeks, the pilots face food prices that are far higher than in Kodiak. In Barrow, a gallon of milk costs $10, a loaf of bread runs $5.75 and a 12-roll package of paper towels is $35.75.

The Coast Guard crew has also made strong connections with the community, taking part in Coast Guard outreach programs at the Barrow youth center, senior residences and public schools.

They've learned that operating smoothly in Barrow requires becoming part of the community. As Lt. Michael Patterson, Coast Guard public affairs officer in Barrow, explained: "Something you learn very quickly in Barrow is we're all up here on our own, so we have to work together."