Polar Bear Swim

Hey All,

Well it is 2:30am on August 30th. We leave the final ice station in about
10 hours. I have the 3am ice observation so I am still up. We tried to do
a flight along the flight of a satellite track but bad weather limited this.
However we were very close by and we have data for a flow that is
representative of the region. It was miserable yesterday and today with 20
knot winds (which is like 40km/hr or so, and below freezing. I was out on
the ice for most of the day today and then did this short flight.

Today I did something I normally wouldn't do, I swam in the Arctic Ocean. A
bunch of us scientists went in to the water and then quickly climbed back
out. We did this one at a time, with a rope and had a safety diver nearby.
It wasn't graceful or particularly fun, but I'm glad I did it, even wore my
Canada toque.

Only a few more days and this first cruise is over, then the second one
begins.

Justin

Scared Another Bear

Well I'm coming to the end of another bear watch (for the weather station).
the 0130 to 0430 shift (actually two shifts), there was a polar bear when I
came up at 1:30 and we had to frighten him off from the weather station
using three flashbang flares. Have not seen him since.

We did two more flights of airborne sea ice thickness measurements (bringing
us up to 10 total). Later today we will finish the current ice station and
maybe have another one starting sunday. I'm not sure at all. I am quite
tired but had a fairly relaxed day, just long with little sleep. Today
should be okay again, potentially another helicopter flight.

This first cruise is almost coming to an end. Most of the scientists on
board will depart and new ones will come on on September 2nd/3rd.

This cruise has been interesting in the fact that we have been sampling from
2000m below the water to my airborne measurements and everywhere in between.
Measurements such as conductivity, temperature, turbulence, biological
sampling of the ocean floor, and the water column, as well as radar
satellite imagery, and even a team of divers going under the ice to take
measurements of light.

Well my replacement is here

Have a good

Justin

82N 31E

Hey All, so yesterday started out as a dismal day, just like August 25th.
but had some surprises.
We came across a polarbear with two cubs with her and they came right up to
the boat (close enough enough for my little camera to get some pictures).

Then in the afternoon we arrived at the mooring site and it was not foggy,
overcast but still not foggy. A quick test flight was done to make sure we
could go up to the height we need and this was the case so we did two quick
flights, one before and one after supper. Got lots of data and got to go to
82N, not my northernmost point but it was for everyoneone else in the
helicopter (pretty cool), and it will likely be the farthest north anyone on
this trip gets.

Then after getting back from the helicopter, the oceanographers recovered a
buoy successfully. After this and a little bit of chocolate with the pilots
and other heli team (on getting to 82N) I went out on the ice at midnight
with Sebastian and Steve to set up the weather station. It was a really
beautiful night, with some really nice light. This of course meant that we
had to setup a watch over the night and so I was then up from 0230 until
0500 this morning watching the weather station, making sure no bears came. I
am up again (at 730 am, having gotten about 3 hours sleep. We have a full
day today and so no rest for the wicked.

Well have a good day, I know I'll be a zombie later.

Justin

Steaming

Well today is a day of cruising to another sight. We are going to recover
some oceanographic moorings (instruments deployed in the ocean). However
we've had to smash through a lot of ice and go quite aways south. This did
mean that we could look at some of the data and catch up on entering notes,
and on sleep.
I was caught up on most of my processing/data but still had a bit to do.
Today we saw something like 3 polar bears from the ship and 7 seals.
We also saw a large rock on some ice (I think it was glacial ice and some
rock from a cliff or something. A few scientists got to go off the boat to
the ice to collect pieces of the rock. Also since the helicopter pilot was
the first to really notice it, he got to go too. I asked him to bring me
back a piece. So mom, you will have a piece of rock from both the bottom of
the ocean and unbelievably a rock that was floating around on a piece of ice
in the ocean, no just going to the beach in Longyearbyen (though I may still
grab you rocks from there too).

Well I don't have a lot to report.

Justin

Curious Bear

Well our bear visitor from the 23rd came back yesterday (24th). He didn't
venture close this time at all. The night of the 23rd we posted a bear watch
on the ship to guard the weather station we put up on the ice. No one on
the watch saw the bear at all that night, then the next day we went back on
the floe to do some more work. I joined after lunch and sure enough the
bear decided to walk near the far far end of the floe. We all stopped work
and went on the ship until we were sure that he was just passing by. This
time he seemed to have no interest in the ship unlike the previous day.

We have all been working really long days lately (I worked 19 hours on the
23rd and about 14 hours yesterday). We've been trying to do more helicopter
EM measurements but fog limits us. Yesterday I got to go along with the
helicopter to check for icing before our EM flight. This was nice as the
pilot could fly as he wanted to and I guess decided to show me a thing or
two as I was staring at the ice through the side window as though it was the
bottom of the helicopter. We did a couple of fast steep turns and some
others as well. Quite nice, a little disconcerting the first time but then
it was okay.

Today we are steaming East to go to some moorings that need to be recovered
and redeployed. However there is a fair bit of ice (as the amount of sleep
I got last night is a testament too). Lance is not an ice breaking ship,
just ice strengthened, so they try to stick to the open water between the
floes, or at least the thin parts (from what they can judge) on the floe.

Well I need to go. It is 6am so it is quiet still and I am going to shower
(it's been awhile) and do laundry.

Justin

On Ice Station

Hey Everyone,

Well if you'll remember before leaving Longyearbyen, everyone had shooting
training and polar bear training. Well yesterday was our second on ice
station and the first day I have been within 400m of a wild polar bear.
Yes, that is correct there was a polar bear on the flow with us. At first
he was heading towards the ship, out polar bear guard persons noticed him as
early as was possible and we all collected. After he walked towards the
ship for awhile it seemed to lose interest in that and decided to come
investigate us. I will admit it was a bit freaky to have this bear coming
towards us. We fired off several flashbangs which had a great effect and he
ran off. Then the ship kept track of him while he walked away. We
continued our measurements. It was interesting to see him and to see his
curiousity. In the morning we had noticed several seals in the water and
even when we were working, which is likely what drew him close, that and the
smell of us and the ship.

We set out a weather station, did some drilling of ice thickness and took
some ice cores.
No flying yesterday but hopefully today.

Otherwise things look good.

Justin

81.33N 22.36E

Hello everyone,

Another EM bird flight today, two actually with mixed results. Good EM data
but the new laser scanner on our bird is causing some frustration for me.
Oh well.

Things on the boat are going quite well. The cruise has finished with the
open water stations (and Mom I even have a stone from 400 or 500m below the
ocean surface for you, since you asked).

Our group does ice observations every 3 hours from the bridge of the ship,
noting the amount/type of ice, the size of the floes and general
meteorological (weather) parameters. Then I am also doing the EM bird
flights, setting up a high quality GPS station on the ship while we fly and
maybe on the ice once we start doing ice stations (which I will also do).
Ice stations involve us going out on the boat, either using the stepway from
the ship or using a small zodiac or the helicopter to go onto the ice. We
take measurements of ice thickness by drilling, EM induction measurements of
ice thickness, snow depth and other properties, and light transmission
through the ice, as well as some other variables.

Things on the boat are okay, I am getting quite used to sleeping in a loud,
bright environment, though I still need earplugs to sleep. My roommate for
the cruise works very different hours than I (often anyways) but this works
out well so far.

So now our ship will continue heading north, and we will keep flying. I am
hoping to do some trouble shooting tonight and tomorrow to get the bird and
laser scanner working better together.

So far I have seen one polar bear (from the helicopter). The risk here
seems much higher as everytime anyone goes on the ice there is a designated
polar bear watcher (this was also the case on the CCGS Larsen) but here
everyone on the science team has had gun/polar bear training.

tonight we had a fancy meal with wine and reindeer (which is delicious).
Will do a bit more processing tonight and then maybe shower/shave and go to
sleep.