Arctic Tern Sundial Photos

Northernmost Web cam coming soon

This pathway artwork was created in Barrow, Alaska in July 1999 by Jim Mason, the founder of the Terrestrial Map project. The sundial tracks the Tern on its 25,000 mile migration using changes in solar noon elevation angle throughout the year. The sundial is mounted on the roof of "Joe-the-Waterman's" house looking out over the Beaufort Sea.

Everyday at solar noon, the shadow castor on the right lays a shadow across the double helix shape on the left. There are 10 different sites along the journey written along each arc so you can read off where the bird is. The two small horizontal bars at the top and bottom are the shadow marks for the winter and summer solstice respectively.

Each arc on the shadowboard represents one direction of the migration. The left arc is the Arctic to Antarctica. The right arc is Antarctica to the Arctic. Therefore you read the Tern clock in a clockwise circle throughout the year. The separation between each place name represents about 9 days in the journey. This will make sense when you look at the detail shots below.

Other Photos (I suggest you go in order)

-Front View
-Horizontal View off roof (future webcam view)
-Vertical View off roof (future webcam view)
-Joe's House from ground
-Bird on Top
-Jim with Shadowboard
-Sideview on deck
-Top Detail
-MidTop Detail
-MidBottom Detail
-BottomDetail
-Antarctica arrowboard
-Castor and Shadowboard Lineup