Today we started out with experiments in the Watson River. Our goal was to determine the discharge rate of the water flowing down from the glacier, in cubic kilometers per year.
The bridge over the north channel of the Watson River
We first began our experiment by dropping a weighted bottle, suspended by a cord of fixed length, down into the river from the bridge and measuring the time it took for the cord to become taut as the bottle was carried downstream.
The view from the bridge of the north channel of the Watson River
We then used the Pythagorean Theorem and other math to calculate the river’s speed, then the discharge and finally the sediment load carried by the river. (Note from Lynn: this activity will be posted in the resources section soon.)
Student collecting data to calculate the velocity of the Watson River.
Josefine and Nuka recording the experiments for the video.
Later in the day, we Skyped with Andreas Beck Mikkelsen from Copenhagen University, who gave us a short lesson on glacial sediment in the Watson. He shared with us some results from his own research on sediments in the river. After the Skype session the groups had a couple of hours to work on various projects.
At night we enjoyed a lovely traditional Danish dinner. We all played Danish “troll tag” as well, and shared Danish candies.
The Danes prepared a delicious meal for the U.S. and Greenlandic students and teachers.
Clockwise from the top: Leverpostej med Rødbeder, Karrysild, Salami med remulade og ristet løg, Frikadeller med rødkål, and Hamburgerryg med italiensk salat.
The Danes treated the U.S. and Greenlandic students and teachers to a traditional meal and songs.
Students played troll tag (Ståtrold) in which It is the Troll. Anyone tagged is frozen in place until another runner crawls through their legs.
Words of the Day!
Nuan (GL), Sjov (DK), Fun (US)
Qasuvunga (GL), Jeg er Træt (DK), I’m tired (US)
Kuuk (GL), Flod (DK), River (US)
We took weather measurements in the morning today (10:00AM), from the bridge over the Watson River.
Wind speed was 5.8 meters/second.
The temperature was 13.4°C.
The relative humidity was at 35%, barometric pressure was at 29.65 in Hg, and the dew point was -2.4°C.