Trick of the Light
    Cool effect of the light on the P-3 Orion's window.
    This morning we had a late start because there was a minor mechanical problem with the airplane that had to be fixed last night. The crew is required to have a certain amount of rest hours. Since the mechanics were fixing our plane last night, to fit within legal hours we had to push back take off time. This gave me an extra hour of much needed sleep. I woke up and went to the weather office. When I got there Anna, she is the Kangerlussuaq weather guru, mentioned that it was Saturday. I had totally forgotten that today is considered the weekend. We will be flying six days a week if possible. Tomorrow is technically a day off but I will be participating in the GPSA Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system used to track the location or position of objects on the Earth’s surface. ramp survey which I am happy to learn about.

    Clouds and Mountains
    Clouds along the mountains in Greenland.

    The flight we took today is one of the crew's favorite flights and after going on it I now know why. Gorgeous doesn't begin to describe how amazing this place is. I planted myself in front of a window and I took as many pictures as I could. I went with the 'take as many as you can and you are bound to get some good pictures' approach. I was right. Going through all of the pictures and narrowing it down to some of my favorites took a lot of time.

    Today's journal is all about the wonders you can see when you do these missions. I now know why people come to places like Greenland. The frozen arctic is majestic. It is a place that very few get to see, but once you do you fall in love with it. Even the cold can't deter how happy I get when I see how wonderful the natural landscape is. Not many people get this chance, and every time I go up in the plane I remember how truly lucky I am to have this experience. So tonight's journal will be short and sweet. Enjoy a few more pictures. I'll include more science facts tomorrow.

    Catchment Area for Midgard Glacier
    This is the catchment area for Midgard Glacier. The mountains are new and have never been glaciated that is why they are not rounded. They look like sharks teeth.
    Fjord Greenland
    Fjord of Midgard Glacier Greenland.
    Tide Water Glacier
    This is a tide water Glacier in Greenland. Tide water glaciers terminate in salt water not on the land or in a lake.
    Bergy Bits and Ice Flows
    Bergy bits and ice flows in the water of coastal Greenland.

    Author
    Date
    Location
    Southwest Greenland
    Weather Summary
    Cloudy over Kangerlussuaq, but clear skies where we flew
    Temperature
    20 C

    Comments

    Josh Rosenthal

    Your pictures are gorgeous! When you are on the airplane does it feel like it is 20 degrees out or is it warm on the plane? Does the weather at the place that you are sleeping at look like this? What goes on in the GPS ramp survey? Where is Kangerlussuaq? How long does it take to get to Kangerlussuaq from the place that the plane departs from? Hope you are having a blast!

    Adeena Teres

    Kangerlussuaq Is the town where we are staying it is also the name for the airport. It is a small town of about 500 people. The town is here to basically support the airport. Kangerlussuaq or Kanger which is the nickname for the town is very small. It is surrounded by mountains and has both brown ground and white snow covered areas. The weather here has been warm. It's in the 30s. The weather in Kanger may be the same as where we are flying to or different, it depends on the day. For the ramp survey, once the height of the truck is accounted for, the truck is driven over the ramp in a grid pattern. After that, the truck sits for an hour as all the data is complied. Then the data can be analyzed.