Journal Entry

Svalbard REU 2014, High Arctic Change

I'm looking forward to sharing this wonderful group of scientists and our research with you tomorrow. Can't wait!

Join us tomorrow to meet all of the REU Svalbard students!Join us tomorrow to meet all of the REU Svalbard students!

Teaser

It's been a long day out in the boats on the fjord. Here is something to pique your interest for tomorrow. It is a picture of what I would call my "work station " on the boat.

My workstation on the boatMy workstation on the boat

From left to right:

  • Hand held GPS unit to find waypoints for instrument placement

  • Hand held radio to communicate with our two other boats

  • Flares

  • Flare gun (to scare off polar bears)

  • Waterproof notebook for recording GPS coordinates, time and depth of instrument placement and measurements

  • Water bottle

  • Binoculars

  • Boat GPS unit to mark lat/long of measurements

In the bow of the boat you can see our instruments and winch. Off the bow you can see lots of ice!

Until tomorrow!

Comments

Sat, 08/09/2014 - 12:04

Stephanie

Your bird water bottle made the trip too i see. How can a notebook be waterproof?

Sat, 08/09/2014 - 12:17

Peggy McNeal

Yep- so you can really tell I am here. They sell waterproof notebooks at REI/outdoor stores. They are called Rite in the Rain. The pen writes in the rain too and also upside down. Pretty slick.

Sat, 08/09/2014 - 18:30

Bill

I saw an article today, where climate scientists reacted to the discovery that methane deposits under the Arctic ocean are leaking, and methane is reaching the surface. Does your team have the opportunity to observe anything regarding this with their research? What will happen in the research community to study this further? Are there any thoughts about how conclusive the existing data is, with regard to quantity of methane and projected impact?

Sun, 08/10/2014 - 14:17

Lucy

Peggy,
That webinar was just so very satisfying. Thank you for all the preparation that I know went into it. Kean the Dad and I watched with my sister and brother-in-law on a big screen, but I was just too timid to comment, among all those savvy users, to let you know how much I appreciated it. This goes to Julie and Ross, too, who were so impressive in their steady responses to questions. I could not be happier that my son has found his way to all of you.

Sun, 08/10/2014 - 20:01

Peggy McNeal

Thank you, Lucy. I am so glad that you enjoyed it. Julie and Ross did a great job keeping up with the questions. It all went so fast for me with the questions flying in, that I will need to watch the event once it is archived to really catch it all. You didn't need to comment, I knew that you were out there. Everyone's participation, both during the webinar and on my journal pages makes it really fun for me. So thanks, for coming along with us!

Sun, 08/10/2014 - 20:20

Peggy McNeal

Bill,Wow. I am familiar with the release of methane from permafrost in the Arctic and the concerns with its release because methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Permafrost (a permanently frozen ground layer) contains much organic matter and when it thaws bacteria break it down producing methane gas. An informative discussion can be found here:
http://www.wunderground.com/resources/climate/melting_permafrost.asp
However, I was not aware of leaking methane deposits from the Arctic Ocean until I googled it just now and came up with the very recent articles that you must be referring to. They talk about methane plumes actually spotted bubbling up from the Arctic ocean floor.
I am going to pass your questions along to Julie and Ross and ask them to comment on the data and impact. So check back soon.

Thu, 08/14/2014 - 09:44

Peggy McNeal

Hey, I'm getting back to you after consulting with Dr. Brigham-Grette. OK, methane has been seeping out of the Arctic Ocean since the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. Awareness of this, however is new. The lack of data over a long period casts uncertainty over the extent of the threat. It is an area needing further research. I hope this helps.

Sun, 08/17/2014 - 06:50

Bill

Thanks for the response! That makes sense.