Pt. Barrow's Gloomy Future: Naval Arctic Lab to Cease Research Activities.

The article presents information related to the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL). NARL, the only arctic lab of its kind outside the Soviet Arctic, faces an indefinite period of no-research status. Perched on the northernmost tip of Alaska, NARL grew out of the U.S. Navy's realization in 1946 that it knew very little about the arctic environment. It provided 2000ha of land at Point Barrow, Alaska, to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to set up an arctic lab. But now the Navy recognizes that most of its own research needs can be satisfied using more transient and cheaper facilities than NARL. NARL continues to hang in a limbo from which it cannot escape until the U.S. Congress passes the Alaska lands bill or some unforeseen event keeps the lab open. INSET: Supreme Court Squelches Faculty Unions.