4 April 2013 Greenland!

Journal

Willy and I made it safe and sound to Greenland. We arrived after the Operation IceBridge team had departed for the day, mapping the Jakobshavn glacier, one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world. I was hoping to see it, but with wind gusts over 35 mph and the P-3B Orion getting tossed around, maybe I’m glad I didn’t fly today. Here’s a video from NASA showing where the Jakobshavn is and how far it has retreated.

NASA video of Jakobshavn

While we’re waiting for the IceBridge team to return, here are some pictures:

Willy going to Greenland — Willy getting ready to fly to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.

Willy and I in Kangerlussuaq with the Watson River valley behind us. The Watson river flows out of the Russell Glacier with terminates about 20 km from where we are standing.

Willy in Kanger — Flying 10,000 km to get to Greenland was nothing for Willy. He’s ready to get airborne again tomorrow!

Very large, river-rounded boulders sit high above the Watson River, washed down here from far inland during some ancient flood.

The KISS – Kanger International Science Support building, where I’m staying. The building was used as housing when Kangerlussuaq was a US air base – now it’s a dorm and office space for scientists who spend part of their year in Greenland.

http://youtu.be/ZKchtumctN0

Question

Clair Patterson, an Iowa farm boy despite his name, used data from Greenland ice cores to show that levels of lead in the atmosphere were much, much higher in modern times than they were in ancient times. Where did he discover most of the lead was coming from?

Operation IceBridge is flying over the polar regions to bridge the gap between what two satellites?

If you are hoping for more physics questions … you won’t be disappointed in the weeks ahead :-)