Latitude: 61 59.70Longitude: 17 618.76
"I really like that ice but if I can't have that then how about over there, before the ridge?" Katrin Iken, polar marine biologist from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was on the Bridge at sunrise looking for ice. Katrin's criteria for ice hunting is a nice flat surface for working, thick enough to support us but not too thick for drilling the ice cores that she needs to conduct her research. By 10am we were suited up in our MSD900s and kneeling on a patch that was "just right."
Taking leave from the "mud team", I have temporarily joined Dr. Iken's team of Arctic ecologists. As a group, they are working to gather samples and make observations that will help them to better understand the ecosystem here as a whole. Her primary research interests involve understanding the connections between the organisms in the various trophic, or energy, levels. She is trying to make scientific connections between the organisms to create a complete picture of how they interact with each other, constructing a food web. She learns about the resident organisms in the Bering Sea home by gathering samples in many different ways. From the surface producers to the benthic consumers, Katrin wants to find the answer to the ecological question "Who Eats Who?"
Katrin's team is seemingly everywhere at all times but today they were on the ice. I was there with them. We were busy. First things first, drill some holes. You've seen this before.
Three holes in the ice served as stations for gathering three different kinds of samples.
Station One: The Dunk Tank
Here is a video of me taking water samples with the water-sampler. First, you open the top and bottom doors of the chamber. Then, you lower the bottle into the hole in the ice. After lowering it 5 meters under the ice, you send down a weight that releases the doors, trapping the water sample inside. Finally, you pull it up. You've got water! Five casts later you have enough water to work with. Back in the lab, changes in the water will be monitored for the presence of chlorophyll. Some samples will be analyzed for what kinds of microscopic organisms are living in there.
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Station Two:
Video GamesJared set to work getting video of life under the ice. By placing a camera in one spot and then leaving it for an hour he is able to record what goes on when no one is messing about under the ice with nets and bottles. This way the organisms come to him. The team can take a look to see what feeds on the ice algae and what else goes on in this well-lit zone. Hopefully he caught some krill on tape!
Station Three: Sediment Sensation
Meanwhile, Katrin and Patrick were using some major muscle to lower sediment traps into the water. These traps were to stay on the ice for 5 hours, collecting samples long after we were finished. The objective of these drops is to collect particles falling out of the water column. Looking at the bodies of animals that fall down as well as their fecal pellets (poop) can tell the biologists a lot about how these animals act while they are alive.
Once the work at the stations was complete, there was more drilling to be done. This time, the goal was to extract a core that could be kept rather than just get through the ice.
Ice cores can reveal all sorts of information about the environment. Locking up information about climate, organisms and atmospheric conditions, these cores are an essential piece of the ecology team's research. Once we had cores, we set about making holes in them and slicing them up. The holes were for taking the temperature of the cores.
Are these cores sick? No about -6º C to 2º C , these cores show how temperature changes throughout the layers from seawater to surface. Surface temperatures are much colder, as the seawater keeps the lower layers warm. The temperature conditions at each level affect what kinds of organisms exist in each.
Temperatures recorded, we then began slicing cores. Each slice had to be carefully put in a Ziploc bag that was labeled with the origin on the core.
Check out the video of me slicing a core into samples sections that are headed back to the lab. Once inside, the team will begin melting the pieces to conduct tests on what organic material can be found inside.
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All work and no play would make for a dull science team and crew so the afternoon meant "Ice Liberty" for anyone who wanted to head out to the ice to play. Once the sleds of equipment had been safely stowed, the kickball came out- well, sort, of. Playing kickball is much more challenging in steel-toed rubber boots, a mustang suit and lots of snow. With a "bear watch" and a rescue swimmer on watch, this was no ordinary game.
We ended in a tie and headed to the Mess Hall for dinner.
Adventures from behind the scenes in the Mess Hall tomorrow. Stay tuned...
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