Day 4 Summary - Audio Conference

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Day 4 Questions

1) What is a cold lab?
A lab where the ambient temperature is maintained below 0 C.
2) How cold is it?
It ranges from 0 C to 40 C.
3) Do you work in the lab all day?
No, it is too cold. We have equipment that allows us to look at samples while on the outside of the cold lab.
4) Can you explain brine and brine pores?
Brine is basically a salt solution, a brine pore is a small pocket in the ice that contains brine.
5) How do plants and animals live in the ice without freezing?
If they become totally encased they usually die, but if they are inside a brine pore where the liquid is not frozen they can survive.
6) Does the ice change in any way if the temperature goes from 0 F to 40 F?
Yes, the ice goes through many expansions and contractions as the temperature fluctuates.
7) What do you with the results of your research?
We analyze our data to make sure there are no mistakes, then we share it with other colleagues by submitting our results to a journal that everyone reads.
8) How heavy is the ice core?
It depends on the length and density of the ice, but any where from a few pounds to 10 pounds.
9) How many ice cores do you bring in a day and are they always the same size?
I have done as little as 3 all the way up to 50.
10) How many layers in a core?
It depends on the conditions under which the ice was formed.
11) Does new ice get to the bottom of the ice?
Yes, actually ice grows down from the bottom.
12) Approximately how many animals live in the bottom of one ice core?
There are about 1000 animals per milliliter.
13) Do you have pictures or slides of these animals?
Yes, there are some posted on the web site.
14) How many types and specimens of algae are there in a core?
It depends on the core, where it was taken and what time of year it was collected.
15) Are these living ice inhabitants ever used for anything such as dye, medicine, or fertilizer ?
I don’t know of any industrial use.
16) Are peices of sea ice used for anything traditionally?
17) What happens if oil, gas or other contaminants are spilled on the ice?
There are big problems when contaminants get stuck beneath the ice because it saturates the layer where all the life is.
18) Do you use other transportation besides snowmachines? Which model do you use?
We usually use snow machines, but sometimes we use ice breaking ships or helicopters. The machines used in Barrow are Skandics.
19) Is there now or was there any radioactive fallout from Russia in the ice?
There is some evidence of pollutants that do move around the arctic, Russian fallout specifically I don’t know.
20) Do you have ice worms?
21) What is the largest animal found living in the ice?
Frozen beluga whales.
22) Do you ever find any large animals or fish frozen in the ice?
Arctic cod have been found frozen in the ice.
23) How far below the ice is the ocean bottom?
It depends on how close to shore the ice is and where you are on the ocean.
24) Is the sea floor rocky, sandy, mountainous, flat?
Near Barrow it is normally either muddy or gravelly.
25) Does ice ever form from the bottom up?
Ice grows down, but if it is close to the bottom it will freeze to the bottom.