Today has been another extraordinary day, so much so that I'm not sure if I can capture the excitement of the day in written word. We have been on station since last night - deploying the CTD and multi nets. During today's lunch one of the co-lead scientists approached me and said "Sandi, I need you to be ready to go on the ice". WOW! Ten minutes later I was suited and on deck. Going onto the ice is a pretty big deal. Mustang suits and hard hats are required, and for small groups transport is via a metal cage lowered from the helicopter deck. There were polar bear watches, and orange cones marked the safety perimeter so we would be less likely to fall through thin ice into the water. Other than that, we were free to explore within the designated area.
Here are some impressions of my time on the ice:
The top layer/loose ice is gravelly, although it does stick together to make an Arctic snowball.
If the loose ice is scraped away, the beautiful blue ice is visible.
Skins of new ice were forming on the tops of the melt ponds.
The Healy appeared to be massive from an on-ice perspective.
We are at a depth of about 2600 meters. There's a LOT of water under there.
I was on ice that likely hadn't seen human footprints prior to our group.
Although there was no life visible from a top-of-the-ice perspective, I could envision all of the tiny copepods, jellys, and other organisms in the Arctic waters below us.
Teaching is amazing in itself, but being a teacher has allowed me to explore some very cool opportunities.
Here I am all suited up and standing on Arctic ice.
I am standing on Arctic ice with the seafloor about 2600 meters below.
This is the cage transporting half of the group from the ship to the ice.
A cage is lowered and raised from the helicopter deck to transport small groups to the ice and back.
Question and Answer
Mystery Photo: Can you identify the object in this image?
Can you guess identity of the object shown?
Answer From Last Q: I'm still hoping to hear thoughts on the 24-hour daylight. It was bright and sunny at 2:30 this morning!
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