This is not an Abbott and Costello skit, but we do need to be sure our bases our covered when we head into the field. After dinner we start our discussion of what we are doing the next day, and the discussion picks up again the next morning after breakfast to reconfirm the decisions. Usually there are about 3 teams per day heading in different areas of the Linne Valley, and these planning meetings help to decide where the teams are going, what they will be doing, and who is in each group. On any given day there may be a few team members who do not go into the field, and they use the day to get caught on their research, work with samples and data, wash clothes, and rest their feet. As you know there are ten projects going on simultaneously along with the projects of the two PI's and not all these projects are located in one small location. Some of the projects are at the Lake Linne, Lake Kongress, Linne glacier 5km away from the south end of the lake, some are in the surrounding cirques and moraines, and some are in the stream between the glacier and lake. Usually what happens is that students with similar projects will work together, and those who do not need to gather samples for their research on a particular day will work with those that do. It truly is a team effort in getting all the tasks done.
Kristen's research has been collecting data at the Linne Glacier at the end of the valley every other day, and Jesse and Anthony both need samples from that area too. Leo and Steve are gathering data around the cirques and they usually work together. Others need sediment cores and therefore have been working together at the lake to get the cores. Today I spent the day with Jesse, Al, Anthony, and Dave looking for ice core moraines around Lake Kongress. Jesse wants to sample the ice cores at different intervals to establish a temperature record. Looking for ice core moraines is not quite like looking for a needle in a haystack since the overlying moraine gives away some hints of underlying ice. In a previous journal entry it mentioned that ice core moraine is approximately 90% ice, and has loose overlying moraine on the surface. To find and get to one of these we look for fresh moraines that may appear slightly damp and has some slumping at the surface. After he takes his samples he will melt them down here in Kapp Linne, preserve them in refrigeration until getting back to his lab at Northern Arizona University where he run different types of isotopic tests on the samples. We are looking forward to Jesse's results since they may provide clues for timing of the Little Ice Age in the Linne Valley.
Near the Lake Kongress Al is digging through the moraine looking for Little Ice Age ice.
Buried below the loose moraine was solid ice dating back hundreds of years
Using a chisel Al chips away at the ice. He and Jesse found the ice to brittle to sample.
We continue communicating with each team at the top of every hour to establish that everything is okay, where they are located, and what they are doing. At the end of the day we all gather at the boats for our ride across the lake and 5km hike back to Isfjord Radio.
Lake Kongress is behind Missy and Lake Linne is to the left. The scenery is exquisite up here!
Task of the day: How long does it take for ice to melt? Make a hypothesis and test it! Be sure to clean up the puddle afterwards!