Water

Guest

The pictures of you two in the water measuring depth fascinated me. I thought it would be much deeper....with too much current to traverse....and far too cold. Do you have special protective gear for this entire trip? For getting in the freezing water?

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 64

Hello John,
Yes, we have the bright orange and black survival suits, lovingly referred to as our tele-tubby suits, to use where and when needed. These have been provided to us by UNIS. They are very heavy and fully insulated and totally waterproof even when we are in the river. There is only a small opening for the face, and even this can be covered. It is like a really heavy and bulky wetsuit of layers of neoprene and vinyls. The muck boots are attached and these suits are all one piece. Not comfortable if you don't need them but very comfortable when you do! If one were to fall in the water or in a crevasse, or under an avalanche in one of these suits, they would keep you alive for 24 hours until you could be rescued. At least you would not freeze and the rest would depend on your other injuries.

The area we are working at right now is above the lake at the lower end of the glacial stream and is not what I would consider a raging river. Its depth fluctuates, depending on the weather and what is happening on the glacier that feeds it. It gets deeper in areas and braids out into shallower areas before feeding into the lake. The area that was selected for taking the velocity measurements was determined due to its relatively narrow distance from bank to bank, and its depth that still makes it possible to actually get in with the instruments.

The water coming off the glacier this time of year is about 3-4 degrees Celsius, so it isn't freezing, but is close to it! It can sure turn your hands icy cold in a hurry!

We measure what is happening in LinneElva (Linne River) to help us better understand the entire system and to provide both quantitative and qualitative data for the record. This information, along with lake, valley, glacier, sediment, water, and weather data is necessary if one is to understand the bigger system of which these are all a part. It is awesome to study all of this as a system and attempt to understand the constructive and destructive power of the geological processes of rocks, water, and ice!

Guest

Just to satisfy my curousity, in some photos you look very uncomfortable - cold. In others the weather doesn't seem to be a major factor. Did you bring enough cold and wet weather gear? Or, are you up there wishing yoiu had brought more?

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 64

There are times when we are very cold, especially working on and around the water and on the glacier. For the most part we are well prepared and carry spares of everything like gloves, socks, long johns, etc. in our packs at all times. Also, we always have our rain gear which is gortex and does a great job.

We dress in layers. Even in the cold it gets hot as you hike over rough and steep terrain. We take off layers as needed because if you get too sweaty you get chilled when you stop moving around. When we stop, we put layers back on. This goes on over and over throughout the day!

A lot of staying warm is keeping properly fueled. One burns a lot of energy in the field by working hard, but also just through the process of keeping warm. We always carry chocolate, in one form or another, and usually have sandwiches in our packs. It is important to eat, even if you don't feel hungry, because your body can lose its ability to maintain heat rather quickly and you can get in trouble before you realize what is happening. We watch for signs in each other and tend to them immediately.

It would be much worse if we were here during the dark winter months, which is why we are here now! It really is tolerable, though sometimes uncomfortable and on occasion even pleasant! Thanks for your question!