You are browsing the archive for Arctic sea ice. climate change Archives - Page 2 of 9 - The Field.
August 15, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 53
…things were quite different today. Basically no floe left. Instead just a collection of small pieces of ice. Fractured remnants of our home for the past 6.5 weeks. Little memories of Met City, the Transect, the Fortress, and all of the rest. Now all gone. What impeccable timing!
August 14, 2020
White killer whale spotted in Southeast
“There was a collective gasp from everybody on the bow,” Hayes said. They continued to watch the white orca swim with its pod — a family group including three or four others, their color a typical dairy-cow black-and-white. Having studied killer whales during her undergraduate work in British Columbia, Hayes knew they were witnessing something special. “There have only been about eight white killer whales ever recorded in the world,” she said…
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 52
The decision to pull things back on board was a good one, as the floe is becoming increasingly unstable. I felt the movement myself as I jumped from one chunk to the next. We can no longer operate or realistically move equipment on the ice any more.
August 13, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 51
Wow? The end of an era. This highly successful relationship we’ve had with the MOSAiC ice floe is now starting to come to an end. It feels strange to me. I’ve actually been in a pretty bad mood because of it. Done too soon.
August 12, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 50
Captain Wunderlich asked if he could join me on the ice today… perhaps to get some fresh air. So he joined Jackson Osborn and me on our daily walk-about around to our different stations. I decided to show him some of the other great areas on our floe as well. For me, the central part of the Fortress, now the desert scene, is the greatest place to go.
August 11, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 49
On the far side of the floe is a chunk of old ice, riddled with stones everywhere. I have no idea how there could be so many embedded in the ice. Then the transect loops back around to the First Year Ice side, where the ice is generally thinner and the coastline has eroded significantly over time leading to an ever-evolving interface with the open water. On that side there are some fantastic drainage channels…. Basically rivers that drain a complex network of ponds further inland.
August 10, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 48
Strange ice crystal formations everywhere, glistening in the sun. Standing there and looking out across the surface I felt like I was in the slickrock of the Utah desert. They have similarly eroded and curved surfaces, with layers and sculptured forms that only nature can create.
August 9, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 47
It’s getting hard to keep track as there have been so many bears lately. Visits in the evening-to-early-morning going into last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Then here again last night (Monday). And this morning at 4:30 am.
August 8, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 46
The real highlight of the evening for me was the group photo time prior to the festivities. We set up a line of flags, the 20 flags of MOSAiC nations, all strung next to each other. This was placed just beyond a scenic melt pond. In front of that pond we put the big MOSAiC flag, held tight on some boards.
August 7, 2020
Postcards from a (formerly) frozen icebreaker: Part 45
Today is not Sunday. Nor was yesterday. But we’ve spent both mornings onboard the ship like on a typical Sunday because we’ve had a polar bear around the area. First thing yesterday morning there was an announcement over the intercom about a bear on the port side. As is typically the case, people run for their cameras and head out to the decks.
