Bill Schmoker: "The second polar bear of the cruise came along soon after the first was spotted. It appeared to be a very well-fed individual!" Aboard the USCGC Healy at the Mendelev Rise in the Arctic Ocean. 76.58°, -173.27°. Photo by Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC 2015), Courtesy of ARCUS.
Note: This update was transcribed through communications using WhatsApp from the ship to ARCUS. Latitude 81degrees 38.25 north; Longitude 109 degrees 49.21 east Air temp -0.9c; Water temp +3.2c Air…
Instagram post from MOSAiC expedition showing the start of sea ice.
Note: This update was transcribed through communications using WhatsApp from the ship to ARCUS. Latitude 81 degrees 31.9 minutes north Longitude 94 degrees 38.6 minutes east Water temperature -0.4C…
Chart showing location of Akademik Fedorov
Today is the equinox. Here on the icebreaker Federov, we traveled across multiple time zones in one day. That makes things more complicated. But if we had stayed in one spot, we would have…
MOSAiC School and educators getting ready to set sail on first leg of MOSAiC expedition. Photo from MOSAiC Instragram, 2019.
And, they are off! Katie Gavenus is on her way North with the #MOSAiCExpedition. She can't post journals too often due to the access to the limited ship communications. Instead, we are sharing a…
Father, daughter, and a drawing in front of a rabbit hutch
Some Easy Ways to Learn More About MOSAiC None of us really know exactly how easily I'll be able to send e-mails from the ship. The most recent updates sound good, so I am hopeful. But just in case…
Two people wearing big red snowsuits
This Time Tomorrow It is one day until departure and we all are scrambling around to finalize preparations. Dozens of giant shipping containers ('conexes') have arrived from science labs around the…
Yellow birch leaves in a pool of water
Where Exactly Is The Arctic? Birch leaves float in a small pool in the boreal forest of Tromso. The plane coming into Tromso skirted close to the tops of the mountain as we dropped into the…
Sea ice begins to form on the Arctic Ocean. The first stages of freezing ocean water is called frazil ice.
What Does Sea Ice Smell Like? Frazil ice forms on the Arctic Ocean as temperatures drop. Photo by Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC 2015), Courtesy of ARCUS. "It smells like fall," I exclaimed to a…
Wild Alaskan sockeye salmon
My First PolarTREC Journal Fireweed is a common site here in Southcentral Alaska, and often grows in fields. It is also one of the first plants to grow after a disturbance, and is often found in…