Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/24/2009 - 09:49
Forums
Ocean, Atmosphere, Sea Ice, and Snowpack Interactions

Mrs. Wilkening,

The kids are really enjoying all of the videos and blogs. Looks like it is really cold there!!

After watching the Vernal eqinox video some of the kids wondered about the water. It seemed to freeze immediately after it was poured on the desk legs. Why didn't the water in the jug freeze?

Period 6 wanted to know what was under the snow: water or land? Also, how deep is the snow?

Periods 1 and 2 wondered if you had seen any of the effects from the volcano that erupted near Anchorage over the weekend. Very timely as they are studying volcanoes right now!

All is well here. Can't wait to hear back from you.

7th grade science Wilson

Tue, 03/24/2009 - 18:07

Betsy Wilkening

Hi Wilson 7th Grade Science Students! It's great to hear from you!!I am getting used to the cold!!! In the afternoon when we are out sampling snow in the sun, I'm tempted to lie down and take a nap. It would probably be the last thing I did though since the temperatures are still around -25 degrees C.
The water in the jug did not freeze immediately because there was such a large volume of it. It takes a while for the heat transfer (remember heat is transferred from something hot to something cold). The heat from the water jug has to be transferred to the surroundings and it takes some time for that to occur from the water jug. If we had left it out there for I'm guessing about 6 hours it would probably be frozen. If I get the time, maybe I'll give it a try. The smaller amount of water we poured into our holes froze very quickly. We also made a slurry or paste out of the powder snow and water to freeze the Pyrex dishes onto the desktops.
Under the snow where we are sampling is land. There is actually some spots where you can see that the dirt has been kicked up. I understand that back behind our huts where we are living is a lagoon. It all looks the same when covered in snow. Yesterday at lunch I asked the stupid question of the day. Steve was commenting about all of the polar regions he worked in. He was telling us about Antarctica and mentioned the elevation of the location he was working there. I asked, "What is the elevation here?" Then it dawned on me that it was a stupid question because the ocean is just across the road from us. It is easy to forget about it when it is frozen. The snow where we have been working in is about 40 cm deep. Today we were out on the sea ice that was 20 cm deep and had only been formed about 1 week ago. I'll see if I can post a video later where Roy, our guide, drilled into the sea ice with a hand drill.
The only effects from the volcano up here have been cancelled flights. Some people have been very frustrated because they wanted to get home. It looks like they may be flying out of Barrow tonight and the Anchorage airport is once again open. If you go to the AVO website it will give the latest activity.
Adios from the Great White NorthMrs. Wilkening