08-13-05: Sea Ice and Rocky Night |
( Log In ) Log In is for TREC Teachers & Researchers only
08-13-05: Sea Ice and Rocky Night |
Ute_Kaden |
Aug 15 2005, 06:54 PM
Post
#1
|
TREC Teacher Group: TREC Team Posts: 203 Joined: 27-April 05 Member No.: 10 |
Sea Ice and Rocky Night
8-13-05 2005/08/13 21:51:01 UTC Longitude: 152 30.503 W Latitude: 77 28.587 N Fog Sea Ice and Rocky Night When I woke up this morning a rain-splattered porthole greeted me and clinging fog made for a bad visibility. The air temperature has dropped below 3 Celsius and it seems that the light rain will turn into snow. Healy is charging through the ice Last evening the earthquakes started. Vibrations were running through the ship in different time intervals and a rumbling sound could be heard. This was a clear indication that we were running into thicker ice. The ship shuddered and I was holding on to my sleepingbag thinking of TITANIC and icebergs. No alarm was sounded, so I went back to sleep. It wasn’t a restful night. The sea ice is about 1.5-2 m thick I am sitting in the science lab and the vibrations continued throughout the day. Paul Henkart, our seismic programmer, explaining the geophysics data we collect to me ensures me, that this is what an earthquake feels like. I guess I have to get use to it, more ice still to come. Paul Hankart explains the seismic data collection We are going north and the sea ice around us has become both more concentrated and thicker. The ice floes are about 1-1.5 meters thick at the moment and leads are still visible. Word for today: Lead: Any fracture or passageway through ice which is navigable by surface vessels. I other words open waterways in the middle of the ice covered ocean. An old pressure ridge and a lead in the background floating next to Healy Sea Ice - What is it? Don Perovich is the chief scientist of our Sea Ice research group and Bruce Elder, Thomas Grenfell and Jeremy Harbeck are our ice men working with him. Don Perovich with gear for measuring ice properties is going up to the bridge to install it Bruce and Jeremy discussing data They study properties of the sea ice. It is tradition on the ship that the leading scientists give a science talk to the crew. Don Perovich started our lecture series on Wednesday and spoke about sea ice research. Don is talking about sea ice research He stated that the ice cover is a good indicator for the ongoing global changes. These changes include •Warming temperature •Sea ice melting •Greenland melting •Glaciers shrinking •Permafrost thawing •More freshwater runoff •Earlier breakup •Changing vegetation •Modified migration Don is talking about climate change The consequences are disrupted wildlife migration patterns, altered fish stocks, modified agricultural zones, and increased Hurricanes. These changes have impacted the subsistence live style of Native residents and may also have significant impacts on the oil industry, tourism, and shipping routes. Crew is listening to Don’s presentation about sea ice Yesterday, our ice men went out on the ice by raft to measure the reflective properties of the ice (Albedo). I find their research fascinating and important. The coast guard watched out for polar bears and our ice men returned safely with lots of data to analyze. Ice men on their way to collect data on the ice More science is going on the ship today: Geophysics people are discussing sub bottom ocean floor data. Martin Jacobsson & Dennis Darby retrieving core Reidar Lovlie explains core sediments to David Hassiley Mess deck -Some times people need to eat Best regards, Ute |
NSF Acknowledgment & Disclaimer | Time is now: 23rd April 2024 - 07:06 AM |