We are on our way into Dutch Harbor. The winds have been blowing consistently out of the north for the duration of our trip. This creates the polynya (area of open water and thin ice) in the leeward sides of the islands and peninsula. The ice is dynamic - it flows with the wind direction much like a glacier or river flows with gravity. The ice flowing southward stacks up on the northside of the island and flows to the outside edges. At the outside edges of the islands, the ice forms ridges. The ridges are formed when two ice floes are pushed together, pushed upward and downward forming a ridge.
As we left St Matthew, we stayed in the polynya for as long as possible. Then the ridges appeared. The USCG skilled tacked around them, but still at one point we going northward to go south....
Wow! Lobsters in the Bering Sea! Who would have known that we would come across a relative to the Maine Lobster on the Healy! And Angus cattle! Actually, it is Easter Sunday, so the Coast Guard opened up the rations and found some steak and lobster for dinner. A great meal was had by all of the science and US Coast Guard crew.
This morning started out with a terrific sunrise, actually the sunrise in past couple of days has been nothing short of spectacular. Today was special. There were two sundogs equidistant from the sun. It was near zero degrees Fahrenheit with wind speeds approaching 35 knots. However, there were enough ice crystals in the air to create the sundogs.
We were within 20 miles of St Lawrence Island for most of the day. We were conducting water samples at stations going...
We were within sight of St Matthew Island yesterday. Tony Fishbach, USGS biologist with the Alaska Science Center, wanted one more shot at tagging a walrus in the polynya south of St Matthew. He had a tag that he wanted to place in the southern end of the Bering Sea Ecosystem study area. Lee Cooper, chief scientist with the science expedition, agreed to give him time to look for walrus in helicopter. It would give Dr. Cooper time to experiment with his underwater camera system that was having problems earlier in the cruise.
It had warmed up to 10F with only 25 mph winds. One of the lasers on the system refused to work when it was below zero with 45 mph winds. The underwater camera is designed to record video of the sea floor as one component of the epibenthic sampling. The camera is a...
Dr. Sue Moore, NOAA/ Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory, is conducting research with acoustic sonobouys, hydrophones, and qualitative observations of marine mammal distributions. The use of acoustic sonobouys has become a reliable tool in detecting the distinctive calls of large whales in offshore waters, such as the Bering Sea. The sonobouys are deployed over the side of the ship approximately 1-2 miles from the Healy, to minimize ship noise, as it approaches a sampling station. A hydrophone is deployed through a hole in the ice when the scientific teams are able to go out on the ice. Marine mammals have calls that are unique to each species and the animal's behavior.
The primary objectives of Dr. Moore's acoustical research in marine mammal studies: 1...
Bingo! Researcher Jim Lovvorn of the University of Wyoming saw two Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fisheri) flying low to the Northeast. I was with Dr. Lovvorn in a Bell Ranger helicopter flying on a Spectacled Eider survey south of St. Lawrence Island in the north Bering Sea on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. We were on our last transect of the night. We followed the birds for about a half-mile, until they dipped down lower to a large open lead. We lost them in the background of the open water. Even though we lost track of the two birds, our spirits were high.
Dr. Lovvorn has been conducting surveys in the north Bering Sea throughout our science expedition. Spectacled Eiders in the winter are a mystery to the scientific community. Their fall and winter distributions were unknown until it was...
Today was another incredible day aboard the USCGC Healy. The Bering Sea Ecosystem Study team of scientists and the US Coast Guard held a ‘Live from IPY!' webinar this morning. It was fantastic talking to everyone and everyone aboard the Healy enjoyed talking about his or her projects and research. I wish to say thank you to everyone who participated from around the US and to everyone on the Healy.
The participants from the Healy were Lee W. Cooper, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; USCG Captain Ted Lindstrom, Commanding Officer; Dr. Rolf Gradinger, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Clarence Pautzke, North Pacific Research Board; Sue Moore, National Marine Mammals Lab Jeff Wilson, BBC Natural History Unit, Bristol, UK; USCG LTJG...
The Healy was near sampling station, DLN3, when the opportunity presented itself to the sample the snow and ice on the ice pack. DLN3 is approximately 3 miles from the International Dateline. It was interesting to have yesterday feel like tomorrow!
Next to the Dateline!
The Healy was within 3 miles of the International Dateline southwest of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
Rolf Gradinger led a team of scientists down the gangway to the ice. Dr. Gradinger is studying the role of sea ice algae as a major food source for herbivorous plankton and benthic organisms in the eastern Bering Sea. The goals of his research are to calculate the biomass, diversity, production, and fate of ice algae in the study area south of St. Lawrence Island. Several field measurements and experiments...
These pictures are for Ms. Manning's class! I took these pictures of the sunrise and nighttime we were traveling between sampling stations. If you would like to see more pictures of from aboard the Healy, click here. The images are of the bow of ship. They are updated every two minutes.
A snowy night
A snowy night aboard the Healy
A pressure ridge in the night
A pressure ridge in the night
Dawn breaking
A sunrise in the Bering Sea south of St. Lawrence Island.
Early morning
A sunrise in the Bering Sea south of St. Lawrence Island.
I finally saw my first male walrus on Saturday! Off to the portside of the ship, we saw him just prior to reaching our first sampling station. We have been in the ice for the past couple of days. First year ice, less than a...
Listen to a short audio file of the ship breaking through the pack ice. We were in an area south of St Lawrence Island. I recorded the audio on the 02 deck near the bow. The ice was several meters thick in the ice ridges. Inside the sounds are incredible! It has the qualities like someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard, except for it is several times louder in magnitude!
Bearded seal habitat is a year-round with moving ice. They avoid shore ice and thick unbroken ice. Today we went through prime habitat for the bearded seal. Moving between stations, we encountered a series of ice ridges and thick undulations in the ice. The ship maneuvered to a ribbon of thin ice that would allow us to bypass it. The ice in the ribbon looked like a frozen river.
A ribbon of thin ice
The sea ice near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
A series of ice ridges
The sea ice near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
It was there where we passed numerous seal holes that the bearded seal uses for breathing. If the seal holes were close enough to the ship, water would overflow out of the holes. By using the fore limbs they keep their holes ice free. The...
Finally saw my first male walrus on Saturday! Off to the portside of the ship, we saw him just prior to reaching our first sampling station. We have been in the ice for the past couple of days. First year ice, less than a meter thick, moves a lot with the wind. There are leads, open patches of water that look like creeks, interspersed throughout the floes of ice. Our big lone bull out on the ice, was near a location a lead had closed. There was a lead less than 100 meters away.
Off in the Distance
Walrus on the pack ice in the Bering Sea, Alaska
The depth of the Bering Sea was approximately 80 meters when we went by the male. Walrus can dive up to 90 meters to feed on clams on the bottom. More than likely, he came up to rest on the ice when the lead closed. We have seen several...
The Healy encountered rough conditions once we left Dutch Harbor. The wind speed exceeded 35 knots, the wave swells reached 10 feet, the temperatures were in the low teens, visability was approxiamately 1 mile and. I took the measurement (below) with Seismac, a MacOSX utility, that turns your Mac into a 3-axis seismograph. The readout illustrates the motion of the Healy on the Bering Sea at 10:25am on March 14, 2008. This was after it settled down enough to feel confidant to have my laptop out! Otherwise, everything had to be secured or on the floors. Needless to say, walking through the corridors was an interesting adventure in itself, but the Coasties said that it was nothing compared to the seas in the Gulf of Alaska.
Seismac graph
Seismac, a MacOSX utility, turns your Mac into a...
The breaking day:
A beautiful morning in Dutch Harbor, Alaska
This morning we finally got to board the Healy. Standing in the pre-dawn darkness, it appeared through the mist, fog, and snow in the harbor of the Dutch Harbor. The US Coast Guard or “Coasties” are another example of great teamwork in action. Everyone had a role and knew their assignment. We have met a lot of fascinating and friendly people with the USCG.
The Healy Arrives
The Healy arriving in Dutch Harbor, Alaska
The weather was 20 mph winds, light snow (or at least it was trying to snow), about 15F and the waters in the port were relatively calm.
Discussing strategy
Lee Cooper, Clarence Pautzke, and Craig Kasemodel (left to right) at the dock in Dutch Harbor, Alaska We were debriefed upon embarking on the ship. We...
We finally left Dutch Harbor shortly after 4pm today. After watching the USCG crew load up the 28 foot skiff up the side, we set out at about 10 knots. What is that converted to miles per hour?
Tug pulling the Healy
Tug pulling the Healy away from the docks in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Tug Pulling the Healy
Coast Guard personnel debriefed the science crew. They reviewed the safety procedures and Coast Guard protocol for those (such as me!) who were unfamiliar with life on a large ship.
The Healy is a remarkable USCG polar icebreaker and research vessel. The Healy is designed to break up over 4 feet of ice continuously at a speed of 3 knots. It can operate in temperatures below -50F. The overall dimensions are 128 meters long and 25 meters wide at the beam maximum. The ship...
Today, we went on a tour of the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station farm on the University of Alaska-Fairbanks campus. Greg Finstad, Program Manager and Instructor, gave the PolarTREC teachers a quick tour of the facilities, described the history of reindeer in Alaska, and described the research of the reindeer program.
The purpose of the reindeer farm is to develop management strategies for the free-ranging reindeer herds and to study the nutritional requirements of reindeer. They are researching and trying to develop cost effective food rations for the reindeer with a mix of barley, hay, and other protein sources. Research is being conducted on the feed varieties and their affect on the meat quality and flavor.
We went out to the pastures and got to see the herds up close!...
We went to the US Army Corps of Engineers Permafrost research facility. It is located outside of Fairbanks along the banks of Goldstream Creek. Matt Strum is the chief scientist at the tunnel.
Matt Strum
Matt Strum describing an ice jam
The tunnel is a fascinating trip through time the deeper one goes into it. The record goes back in time to 40,000 years ago at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel could only go so far since they hit the bedrock. There were numerous “ice carrots” throughout the tunnel. The ice carrots are cracks in the soil that fill up with water and that have frozen over time. There are frozen microbes that are still viable. A little bit of Jurassic Park in Fairbanks! Researchers took some of the ice, thawed it out, and some bacteria came to life!
Mr. K pointing...
Farewell to Fairbanks, Alaska. It has been a privilege to meet everyone with PolarTREC and Arcus. The training has been phenomenal. The teachers with are a dynamic group of educators excited to promote polar science and research. But are ready to begin a yearly skijoring race between PolarTREC teachers???
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I knew I was approaching Dutch Harbor, Alaska when the plane dropped into the clouds and the cliffs seemingly appeared out of nowhere next to the plane. The snow-covered cliffs were so close, it felt as if one could reach out and touch the snow! Otherwise, it was a smooth ride from Anchorage. Apparently, we were fortunate that we did not have to refuel the plane in King Salmon or King Cove on our way out to Dutch. It is common to have to refuel if there are strong head winds.
I was surprised to see all of the snow in town. Dutch has as much snow as Anchorage, but then in Anchorage all of it has been melting rapidly the past several weeks. The mountains around town look inviting for the skier or snowboarder, however, I didn’t see any tracks on the hillsides – yet. Dutch Harbor is a...
Upon my return from the Fairbanks training, I decided to make a short video of my clothing for the PolarTREC expedition. I have it posted on Teacher Tube. Hopefully, it will answer questions of what I am bringing on the USCGC Healy. Click on the posted link to view the video. Enjoy!
To view the video, What to Pack for an Arctic Expedition, please visit: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e67a85fd2d73cc13cb75.
The weather in Fairbanks is unbelievable, for Fairbanks at least. Today is warm, 19F, and sunny with less than 20% cloud cover. I am enjoying the warm weather, even if I am inside. I went outside at lunch even if it was justfor a few minutes to enjoy some sunshine. We are a diverse group from all over the country - I am enjoying listening to everyone's story.
We are completing our journaling and computer training. My first assignment for PolarTREC! Yes! I have a wake-up call with the Front Desk for Northern Lights sightings. Do you know what the Northern Lights are called in the northern hemisphere?
The Limited North American Championships (LNAC) will be held in Fairbanks, AK on March 7-9, 2008. The LNAC is one of the top sled dog sprint races in world, attracting top sprint mushers worldwide. There are several classes in the LNAC: 8-dog, 6-dog, and 4-dog races as well as skijoring races. Skijoring is a winter sport where the 2-legged racers are on cross-country skis. The races will begin outside of Fairbanks. Stay tuned for more updates on the LNAC; we'll have to make time see the running of the dogs!
The month of February and March are the best months for dog sled racing fans in Alaska. The Anchorage Fur Rendezvous is a 73-year-old winter festival held in Anchorage during the last weekend of February. Fur Rondy has exciting events such as the running of the reindeer...