2010 Mission
2010 Mission

Mission Plan
Mission Plan

Law of the Sea
Law of the Sea

Continental Shelf
Continental
Shelf

U.S. Coast Guard Healy
USCGC
Healy

Canadian CG <em>Louis S. St-Laurent</em>
CCGS
Louis S. St-Laurent

Healy's Science Team
Healy's Science Team

Teachers on the Healy
Teachers

Hourly Photos from Healy’s Aloft Con
Hourly Photos from Healy’s Aloft Conn

USCG Logs
USCG Logs

Photos of the day
Photos of the Day

Sep 05 Log
Sep 05 Log

Aug 29 Log
Aug 29 Log

Aug 28 Log
Aug 28 Log

Aug 25 Log
Aug 25 Log

Aug 24 Log
Aug 24 Log

Aug 23 Log
Aug 23 Log

Aug 22 Part 2 Log
Aug 22b Log

Aug 22 Part 1 Log
Aug 22a Log

Aug 21 Log
Aug 21 Log

Aug 20 Log
Aug 20 Log

Aug 18 Log
Aug 18 Log

Aug 17 Log
Aug 17 Log

Aug 11 Log
Aug 11 Log

Aug 08 Log
Aug 08 Log

Aug 07 Log
Aug 07 Log

Aug 06 Log
Aug 06 Log

Aug 04 Log
Aug 04 Log

Aug 03 Log
Aug 03 Log

Photo Log
Photo Log

Photo & Video Log

This page contains photos and videos taken during the 2010 Extended Continental Shelf survey. Click on any image to view a larger version and additional information. Click on the leading link to go the referring page.

Images

Planned tracklines for the 2010 U.S.-Canada Extended Continental Shelf survey. "EEZ" stands for Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends from a nation's coastline out 200 nautical miles (or to a maritime boundary with another nation). nm, nautical miles; km, kilometers.

2010 MIssion
Planned tracklines for the 2010 U.S.-Canada Extended Continental Shelf survey.
Hi-res pdf.
Credit: USGS

 

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Louis S. St. Laurent (left) follows the US Coast Guard vessel Healy

2010 MIssion
The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Louis S. St. Laurent (left) follows the US Coast Guard vessel Healyboundary with another nation).
Credit: Natural Resources Canada

US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy and the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent side by side.

2010 MIssion
US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy and the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent side by side. Credit: USGS

The Coast Guard Cutter<em>Healy</em>(WAGB - 20) is United States' newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker.

MIssion Plan
The Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB - 20) is United States' newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker.
Credit: USCG

TThe continental shelf off Los Angeles, California, varies in width. The widest area of shelf in this image extends about 12 nautical miles (nm) from the shore to the shelf break, where the water depth is about 100 m.

Continental Shelf
The continental shelf off Los Angeles, California, varies in width. Credit: ECS

General shape of continental shelf, slope, and rise.

Continental Shelf
General shape of continental shelf, slope, and rise. Credit: ECS

A country may use the sediment thickness formula or the bathymetric formula to define the outer limits of its continental shelf.

Continental Shelf
A country may use the sediment thickness formula or the bathymetric formula to define the outer limits of its continental shelf. Credit: ECS

The continental shelf off Los Angeles, California

Continental Shelf
A country may use either constraint line to define the outer limits of its continental shelf.
Credit: ECS

The Coast Guard Cutter<em>Healy</em>(WAGB - 20) is United States' newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker.

USCGC Healy
The Coast Guard CutterHealy(WAGB - 20) is United States' newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker.
Credit: USCG

Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent

CCGS oLuis S.
St-Laurent
Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent.
Credit: CCGS

Crew members on board the Louis S. St-Laurent lower equipment into the water

CCGS Louis S.
St-Laurent
Crew members on board the Louis S. St. Laurent lower equipment into the water.
Credit: Natural Resources Canada

 

Bald eagle perched on a crab pot in Dutch Harbor.

Jul 31 Photo of the Day
Bald eagle perched on a crab pot in Dutch Harbor.
Credit: MK2 Chris Schumacher, USCGC Healy.

>Some of <em>Healy’s </em>crew enjoy a flag football game in Unalaska. Left to right: SN Bethany Hildebrand, ET2 Jeremy Gainey, SK1 Mark Morgan, and MK2 Chris Schumacher.

Jul 31 Photo of the Day
Some of Healy’s crew enjoy a flag football game in Unalaska.
Credit:Jean Dominguez.

Nice catch! Left to right: CDR John Reeves, DC3 Matthew Yosting, DC2 Montarno Mandrie, and ET2 Jeremy Gainey (with the ball).

Jul 31 Photo of the Day
Nice catch! Credit: Jean Dominguez.

Captain William Rall about to carry the ball in for a touchdown. In hot pursuit are (left to right) CDR John Reeves, MK2 Chris Schumacher, and SK1 Mark Morgan.

Jul 31 Photo of the Day
Captain William Rall about to carry the ball in for a touchdown. Credit: Jean Dominguez.

Andy Stevenson (second from right) has sailed out of Dutch Harbor many times on U.S. Geological Survey research cruises. He gave us an informal walking tour of Unalaska. Left to right: Pablo Clemente-Colón (National Ice Center), Caroline Singler (NOAA Teacher at Sea), Andy, and Jerry Hyman (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency).

Aug 01 Photo of the Day
Left to right: Pablo Clemente-Colón, Caroline Singler, Andy, and Jerry Hyman.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Nearly at the top of Mount Ballyhoo, with a partial view of Dutch Harbor below. My legs ached for days, especially going down <em>Healy’s </em>steep ladders, but it was worth it!

Aug 01 Photo of the Day
Nearly at the top of Mount Ballyhoo, with a partial view of Dutch Harbor below.
Credit: USGS

Unalaska is full of bald eagles. Here’s one perched on the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension, built in 1825.

Aug 01 Photo of the Day
Unalaska is full of bald eagles. Here’s one perched on the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension, built in 1825. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Fireweed in Dutch Harbor.

Aug 01 Photo of the Day
Fireweed in Dutch Harbor.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter <em>Healy</em> is sailing north through the Bering Sea, headed for the Bering Strait. Ship icon shows the vessel’s approximate location as I write (Tuesday morning, August 3). We’ll be much farther north by the time you read this!

Aug 03 Log
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy is sailing north through the Bering Sea, headed for the Bering Strait. Credit: Graphic by Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Healy docked in Dutch Harbor. The fog in the background is typical, and occasionally so thick that flights from Anchorage have to turn around and go back without landing.

Aug 03 Log
Healy docked in Dutch Harbor. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Russia Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension, built in 1825 in Unalaska. If you look closely, you can see a bald eagle perched on the righthand steeple.

Aug 03 Log
Russia Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension, built in 1825 in Unalaska. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Dwarf dogwood, Amaknak Island.

Aug 03 Log
Dwarf dogwood, Amaknak Island. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

A few of us took a hike up Mount Ballyhoo on Amaknak Island. Here near the top is Peter Triezenberg, U.S. Geological Survey geologist who will be processing gravity data and chirp seismic-reflection data during the mission.

Aug 03 Log
A few of us took a hike up Mount Ballyhoo on Amaknak Island. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Andy Stevenson, U.S. Geological Survey geologist who will help lead seafloor-sampling operations, enjoys the view from aft of the bridge as we depart Dutch Harbor.

Aug 03 Log
Andy Stevenson, U.S. Geological Survey geologist enjoys the view from aft of the bridge as we depart Dutch Harbor.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Many of us gathered aft of the bridge for good views of the departure from Dutch Harbor. Here are mission chief scientist Brian Edwards (left; U.S. Geological Survey) and ice expert Pablo Clemente-Colón (Senior Science Advisor, Naval/National Ice Center).

Aug 03 Log
Many of us gathered aft of the bridge for good views of the departure from Dutch Harbor.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Yours truly, standing on the flying bridge as we sail north from Dutch Harbor on August 2, 2010.

Aug 03 Log
Yours truly, standing on the flying bridge as we sail north from Dutch Harbor on August 2, 2010. Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea/ECS Project.

Coast Guard crew on the foc’s’le “strike the lines belowdecks” (put the mooring lines into a storage area below the deck) as <em>Healy</em> heads for the passage that will take her into the Bering Sea.

Aug 03 Log
Coast Guard crew on the foc’s’le “strike the lines belowdecks” as Healy heads for the passage that will take her into the Bering Sea. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

CConning officer Nick Custer (in doorway, monitoring the ship’s position as it moves away from the dock in Dutch Harbor) calls commands to helmsman Dierdre Gray (far right), who repeats and executes each command. Only two or three atchstanders are required when the ship is underway, but the bridge is busy with additional personnel during arrivals and departures.

Aug 03 Log
Conning officer Nick Custer calls commands to helmsman Dierdre Gray, who repeats and executes each command.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

 

 

Coast Guard celebrates 220 years of service.

Aug 04 Log
Coast Guard celebrates 220 years of service. Credit: USCG

Around 0530 I joined ET2 Jeremy Gainey (center), ENS Nick Custer (right), and IT1 Miguel Uribarri (not shown) to help tend the pig. I enjoyed passing the time with them, hearing about where they came from, what brought them to the Coast Guard, and, of course, how to barbecue a pig.

Aug 04 Log
Around 0530 I joined ET2 Jeremy Gainey, ENS Nick Custer, and IT1 Miguel Uribarri to help tend the pig. Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS/ECS Project.

Miguel looks on as Jeremy bastes the roasting pig.

Aug 04 Log
Thirty minutes later Miguel takes a turn.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

DISCLAIMER: We’re not in the ice yet. This aerial photo of Healy, shot during a previous mission, shows the location of the helo deck, marked by an “X” through a circle and a square. The barbecue was forward of the “X,” just outside the hangar door.

Aug 04 Log
DISCLAIMER: We’re not in the ice yet...
Credit: ECS

Thirty minutes later Miguel takes a turn. It’s still early in the morning, but the pig already looks delicious.

Aug 04 Log
Miguel looks on as Jeremy bastes the roasting pig. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Just a few of the dishes on offer during tonight’s “birthday” dinner: roast pork, stuffing, baked beans, and cole slaw. (Note: Ordinarily we use china plates and stainless steel utensils, but tonight we used disposables to give the mess crew a break.

Aug 04 Log
Just a few of the dishes on offer during tonight’s “birthday” dinner... Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

At 1600 hours, Healy entered the Bering Strait. Later this evening, she will cross the Arctic Circle.

Aug 04 Log
At 1600 hours, Healy entered the Bering Strait. Later this evening, she will cross the Arctic Circle. Credit: Graphic modified by Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS

 

Sea ice sunrise.

Aug 06 Log
Sea ice sunrise. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Pablo Clemente-Colón (right) and MST1 Josh Miller, discuss the ice.

Aug 06 Log
Pablo Clemente-Colón (right) and MST1 Josh Miller discuss the ice. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Water flows off a piece of ice pushed aside by <em>Healy’s</em> hull.

Aug 06 Log
Water flows off a piece of ice pushed aside by Healy’s hull. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

In addition to its deep blue color, a well-defined meltwater-drainage pattern marks this floe as multi-year ice, according to the <em>Observers Guide to Sea Ice</em>.

Aug 06 Log
In addition to its deep blue color, a well-defined meltwater-drainage pattern marks this floe as multi-year ice. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Pieces of multi-year ice off <em>Healy’s</em> port side.

Aug 06 Log
Pieces of multi-year ice off Healy’s port side. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

A piece of thin, dark nilas (top) and thicker “young” ice (below).

Aug 06 Log
A piece of thin, dark nilas (top) and thicker “young” ice (below).
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

A piece of multi-year ice, its surface browned by algae.

Aug 06 Log
A piece of multi-year ice, its surface browned by algae.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Seen through the mist, a large floe dark with algae looked like a ship in the distance.

Aug 06 Log
Seen through the mist, a large floe dark with algae looked like a ship in the distance. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Pieces of multi-year ice off <em>Healy’s</em> port side.

Aug 06 Log
SAR image on a monitor on the bridge. MST1 Josh Miller points to the band of ice that Healy passed through this morning.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

<em>Healy’s</em> tracklines overlaid on sea-ice concentration map from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) carried on the NASA Aqua satellite. Colors correspond to the percent of sea surface covered with ice, also known as sea-ice concentration (see scale).

Aug 06 Log
Healy’s tracklines overlaid on sea-ice concentration map.
Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

 

 

The dark bands cutting diagonally across the image are ice gouges, furrows gouged into the sediment of the seafloor by thick pieces of ice. This image was formed from acoustic backscatter data, one of three types of data collected by <em>Healy’s</em> multibeam echosounder, described below. The width of the swath is approximately 180 m.

Aug 07 Log
The dark bands cutting diagonally across the image are ice gouges, furrows gouged into the sediment of the seafloor by thick pieces of ice. Click here for a high resolution image.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Here is the ship’s position at the time we saw the ice gouges. (We have come considerably farther east and north since then.)

Aug 07 Log
Here is the ship’s position at the time we saw the ice gouges. Click here for a high resolution image.
Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Ship using multibeam echosounder to map a swath of seafloor.

Aug 07 Log
Ship using multibeam echosounder to map a swath of seafloor.
Credit:Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Swaths of multibeam bathymetric data compiled on the ship’s Map Server. The swath collected during this mission trends east-southeast and has a dark line (the ship’s track) down the middle. The other data swaths were collected during earlier missions. The data are color-coded; in this view, orange tones indicate shallower water and green tones, deeper water. Note how the swaths widen with increasing depth. One of the swaths trending north-northeast in this view widens from about 1.5 km at 500-m water depth to about 6 km at 1,500-m water depth.

Aug 07 Log
Swaths of multibeam bathymetric data compiled on the ship’s Map Server. Click here for a high resolution image.
Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Monitors in the computer lab displaying multibeam data: bathymetry on top monitor, reflectors from the water column in upper half of bottom monitor, and acoustic backscatter in lower half of bottom monitor. (Additional information is displayed in a narrow column on the left in the bottom monitor.)

Aug 07 Log
Monitors in the computer lab displaying multibeam data. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Although Steve likes to call this an alien landing site, the pockmarks are probably the result of hydrocarbon seeps on the seafloor. This image is from the Chukchi Plateau, about 130 km east of the U.S.-Russia border. (Data collected during previous <em>Healy </em>missions HLY0302, HLY0703, and HLY0905.)

Aug 07 Log
Although Steve likes to call this an alien landing site, the pockmarks are probably the result of hydrocarbon seeps on the seafloor.
Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Sand waves on the seafloor along the Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge, about 500 km south of the North Pole. The largest sand waves in this view measure nearly 1 km from crest to crest, indicating unusually strong water flows for this depth (about 2,000 m). Data collected during previous <em>Healy </em>mission HLY0503.

Aug 07 Log
Sand waves on the seafloor along the Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge, about 500 km south of the North Pole.
Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Submarine slumping on the seafloor about 185 km southwest of the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates Washington State (U.S.) from Vancouver Island (Canada). Data collected during a <em>Healy</em> transit, HLY06TI.

Aug 07 Log
Submarine slumping on the seafloor about 185 km SW of the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

More ice gouges imaged in multibeam backscatter data; lighter areas indicate stronger echoes. The width of the swath is about 180 m.

Aug 07 Log
More ice gouges imaged in multibeam backscatter data; lighter areas indicate stronger echoes. The width of the swath is about 180 m. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

 

 

We’ve been running our mapping systems since we left Dutch Harbor, but at about 1800 hrs (Alaska Daylight Time) on August 7, we began our “official” mapping, in the Beaufort Sea off the northwest corner of Canada. Click image for larger view.

Aug 08 Log
We’ve been running our mapping systems since we left Dutch Harbor, but at about 1800 hrs (Alaska Daylight Time) on August 7, we began our “official” mapping, in the Beaufort Sea off the northwest corner of Canada.
Credit: Graphic by Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project; modified from map by Natural Resources Canada, 2008, North Circumpolar Region, in Atlas of Canada.

Spray from a wave breaking against <em>Healy’s</em> bow.

Aug 08 Log
Spray from a wave breaking against Healy’s bow.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

View from <em>Healy’s</em> Aloft Conn (a high bridge used for steering during icebreaking) as she pushes into a high concentration of ice at 0007 hrs Alaska Daylight Time on August 8.

Aug 08 Log
View from Healy’s Aloft Conn (a high bridge used for steering during icebreaking) as she pushes into a high concentration of ice at 0007 hrs Alaska Daylight Time on August 8. Credit:Photo taken by Healy’s Aloft Conn camera (hourly shots posted on the Web).

Shot taken by the Aloft Conn cam at 0010 hr shows a patch of dark water and ice fragments in front of <em>Healy’s </em>bow as she backs up along the track she has just broken to try pushing through on a slightly different route.

Aug 08 Log
Shot taken by the Aloft Conn cam at 0010 hr shows a patch of dark water and ice fragments in front of Healy’s bow as she backs up along the track she has just broken to try pushing through on a slightly different route. Credit: Photo taken by Healy’s Aloft Conn camera (hourly shots posted on the Web).

<em>Healy</em> breaks ice with the help of an “ice knife” that projects downward from the hull about 55 ft behind her bow. (Photograph of a model of <em>Healy</em> displayed near the bridge.)

Aug 08 Log
Healy breaks ice with the help of an “ice knife” that projects downward from the hull about 55 ft behind her bow. (Photograph of a model of Healy displayed near the bridge.) Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The ship’s track along the first “line” of our mapping mission. Guess where the ship encountered closely packed ice!

Aug 08 Log
The ship’s track along the first “line” of our mapping mission. Guess where the ship encountered closely packed ice!
Credit:Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Icebreaking is hard on the multibeam bathymetric data. This image shows a section of bathymetric data collected along our first trackline before we hit the concentrated ice.

Aug 08 Log
cebreaking is hard on the multibeam bathymetric data. This image shows a section of bathymetric data collected along our first trackline before we hit the concentrated ice. Credit:Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

This image shows a section of bathymetric data collected along the same trackline after we ran into the ice. Note the gaps in the data collected in heavy ice.

Aug 08 Log
This image shows a section of bathymetric data collected along the same trackline after we ran into the ice. Note the gaps in the data collected in heavy ice.
Credit:Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Polar bear! The fourth to be spotted on the trip, and the first that could be seen easily with the naked eye. We saw this one shortly after noon (Alaska Daylight Time) while we were stopped for a few hours to collect CTD (conductivity/ temperature/depth) data and water samples.

Aug 09 Photo of the Day
Polar bear! The fourth to be spotted on the trip, and the first that could be seen easily with the naked eye. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

A watchstander on the bridge called LTJG Chris Skapin in the Aft Con (a room for controlling the ship from the stern) to find out if the stern was in contact with the ice. Apparently bears have been known to climb up onto vessels. This bear did not come much closer than about 100 yards.

Aug 09 Photo of the Day
A watchstander on the bridge called LTJG Chris Skapin in the Aft Con to find out if the stern was in contact with the ice. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

The bear made its way slowly toward the ship, jumping across narrow leads and wading into the water to swim across wide ones. It stopped every once in a while to look up and sniff the air.

Aug 09 Photo of the Day
The bear made its way slowly toward the ship, jumping across narrow leads and wading into the water to swim across wide ones.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Community observer Ralph Kaleak estimated the bear’s length at 6-7 feet and its weight at 400+ pounds. Gradually it wandered out of sight beyond our stern.

Aug 09 Photo of the Day
Community Observer Ralph Kaleak estimated the bear’s length at 6-7 feet and its weight at 400+ pounds. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Chief Scientist Brian Edwards always has a ready smile, but he had extra reason to be gleeful on August 11. By the end of our first sampling day (actually by about 6 a.m. the next morning), he was batting 1000, having recovered core samples of the seafloor on three out of three tries: a gravity core followed by two piston cores.

Aug 11 Log
Chief Scientist Brian Edwards always has a ready smile, but he had extra reason to be gleeful on August 11.
Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS/ECS Project.

Coring sites labeled on a screenshot from our Map Server. We collected a gravity core and a piston core in the same spot—the flank of a small hill at about 2,550-m water depth—to compare the results from the two corers.

Aug 11 Log
Coring sites labeled on a screenshot from our Map Server. Credit: Healy Map Server/Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

This seismic-reflection profile (the same type of data being collected by the Canadian Coast Guard Ship <em>Louis S. St-Laurent</em> during this joint mission) shows a cross-sectional view of the general areas where we collected a gravity core and two piston cores. (This seismic section does not run exactly through our sites, but through similar structures nearby.) The first two cores were collected atop a diapiric structure, where the layers of sediment have domed upward and formed a small hill on the seafloor.

Aug 11 Log
This seismic-reflection profile shows a cross-sectional view of the general areas where we collected a gravity core and two piston cores. Click here for a high resolution image.
Credit: Multichannel seismic-reflection data from USGS cruise conducted in 1977.

A closer view of the small hill where we collected the first gravity core and piston core. We ran over the area several times to pick a sampling site and then stayed on station for several hours.

Aug 11 Log
A closer view of the small hill where we collected the first gravity core and piston core. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

My roommate, USGS Engineering Technician Jenny White, begins rigging the gravity corer for our first sampling attempt.

Aug 11 Log
My roommate, USGS Engineering Technician Jenny White, begins rigging the gravity corer for our first sampling attempt. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

USGS Engineering Technician Pete Dal Ferro slides a plastic core liner into the metal core barrel. The core liner will encase the sediment sample and help keep it intact as it is removed from the core barrel, packaged for storage, and, ultimately, split open for study at our shore-based laboratories.

Aug 11 Log
USGS Engineering Technician Pete Dal Ferro slides a plastic core liner into the metal core barrel. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Several of us stand on the flight deck, ready to take photographs as the gravity corer is deployed off <em>Healy’s </em>stern. Left to right: Caroline Singler (NOAA Teacher at Sea), Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC teacher), Jerry Hyman (Branch Chief, National Geospatial-intelligence Agency), and Captain Michel Bourdeau (Canadian Coast Guard).

Aug 11 Log
Several of us stand on the flight deck, ready to take photographs as the gravity corer is deployed off Healy’s stern. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

The gravity corer relies on a weight at the top to drive the barrel into the sediment. In this photo, the weight, with a 10-ft barrel attached, is cradled in the blue “bucket,” which has been moved to the end of a specially built track. The bucket will be rotated 90° so that the core barrel points straight down, then the corer will be winched out of the bucket, into the water, and down to the seafloor. Standing by (right to left) are Pete, Jenny, and Coast Guard Marine Science Technician MST3 Marshal Chaidez.

Aug 11 Log
The gravity corer relies on a weight at the top to drive the barrel into the sediment. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Marshal uses hand signals to communicate with MST3 Daniel Purse in the Aft Conn (a control room overlooking the stern), who winches the corer into the water at about 1430 hrs (Pacific Daylight Time). The core will take 30 to 45 minutes to reach the seafloor and about the same time to come back up.

Aug 11 Log
Marshal uses hand signals to communicate with MST3 Daniel Purse in the Aft Conn, who winches the corer into the water at about 1430 hrs (Pacific Daylight Time). Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

We’ve got core! The gravity corer is back on deck and Pete is using a vice grip to pull out the core catcher. Chief Scientist Brian Edwards prepares materials for packaging sediment samples from the core.

Aug 11 Log
We’ve got core! The gravity corer is back on deck and Pete is using a vice grip to pull out the core catcher.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Jenny holds a clean core catcher. This device attaches to the bottom of the core barrel with its metal teeth pointing upward. The teeth are pushed open by sediment entering the core barrel as it penetrates the seafloor. When the core barrel is pulled back out, the sediment inside the barrel presses the teeth down and together, so they hold the sediment in place.

Aug 11 Log
Jenny holds a clean core catcher.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Brian (left) and Andy Stevenson (USGS geologist co-leading the sampling effort) collect a sample of sediment from the core cutter (metal piece attached to the bottom of the core barrel, with a sharp edge that helps the barrel cut into the sediment). The muddy sediment felt gritty with silt and contained small angular rock fragments.

Aug 11 Log
Brian (left) and Andy Stevenson collect a sample of sediment from the core cutter. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

My roommate, USGS Engineering Technician Jenny White, begins rigging the gravity corer for our first sampling attempt.

Aug 11 Log
Next we deployed a piston corer at the same site. Credit: Fritz Heide, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Marshal signals to MST2 Owen Dicks in the Aft Conn as Owen winches the piston corer into the water.

Aug 11 Log
Marshal signals to MST2 Owen Dicks in the Aft Conn as Owen winches the piston corer into the water.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Recovery of the piston corer was complicated by a small group of ice floes that drifted past the ship around 2100 hrs.

Aug 11 Log
Recovery of the piston corer was complicated by a small group of ice floes that drifted past the ship around 2100 hrs. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

The piston corer, which hit bottom at about 2,550-m water depth, came back with gas hydrate in the core cutter at the bottom of the core barrel. Gas hydrate looks like water ice but is actually made up of water cages that enclose gas molecules, usually methane. Gas hydrate is stable at relatively low temperatures and moderate pressures like those beneath the seafloor at the coring site.

Aug 11 Log
The piston corer, which hit bottom at about 2,550-m water depth, came back with gas hydrate in the core cutter at the bottom of the core barrel. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Brian pulls the chunk of gas hydrate out of the core cutter. Later he put a piece of it onto a lab table, where it gently bubbled as the hydrate dissociated into water and gas (probably methane).

Aug 11 Log
Brian pulls the chunk of gas hydrate out of the core cutter. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Andy fits a cutting device onto the plastic core liner of the piston core, which has been pulled partway out of the metal core barrel. The core liner with sediment inside is cut into sections for ease of storage and transfer. Back onshore at a USGS lab in Menlo Park, California, the core sections will be logged, then split longitudinally down the middle; one half will be studied, the other half stored in a refrigerated archive.

Aug 11 Log
Andy fits a cutting device onto the plastic core liner of the piston core, which has been pulled partway out of the metal core barrel. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Under Brian's direction, Caroline Singler (NOAA Teacher at Sea) records information about the first piston core and the sediment samples and core sections into which it was divided.

Aug 11 Log
Under Brian’s direction, Caroline Singler records information about the first piston core and the sediment samples and core sections into which it was divided.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

My roommate, USGS Engineering Technician Jenny White, begins rigging the gravity corer for our first sampling attempt.

Aug 11 Log
The sun set at about 0025 hrs on August 12, while we were transiting to our second piston core site.
Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

On the bridge: Officer of the Deck ENS Emily Kehrt (right) and Break-in Officer of the Deck Nick Custer were on watch when we collected our first piston core. They kept the ship over one spot for several hours while the piston corer was deployed from the stern, winched to the seafloor and back, and re-secured on the deck—a challenging task, especially in the nearly 20-knot winds and 4 to 5-ft swells that prevailed on Wednesday night.

Aug 11 Log
On the bridge: Officer of the Deck ENS Emily Kehrt (right) and Break-in Officer of the Deck ENS Nick Custer were on watch when we collected our first piston core. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

After supervising his crew through each coring run, Captain Bill Rall came down to the deck to view the cores and discuss ways to improve operations.

Aug 11 Log
After supervising his crew through each coring run, Captain Bill Rall came down to the deck to view the cores and discuss ways to improve operations. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

>Another success! The second piston core came back on deck at about 0420 hours Pacific Daylight Time on August 12. No gas hydrate in this one; the muddy sediment was dense and stiff. Left to right: Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC teacher), Andy, and Brian prepare to cut the core into sections.

Aug 11 LogAnother success! The second piston core came back on deck at about 0420 hours Pacific Daylight Time on August 12.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Andy and Brian are pretty happy about the day’s successful coring!

Aug 11 Log
Andy and Brian are pretty happy about the day’s successful coring! Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

We’ve been breaking ice ahead of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship <em>Louis S. St-Laurent </em>(<em>Louis</em>) since Friday morning to give her a clear path for towing her seismic-reflection gear, but we didn’t get a good look at her until today. Here she is in the early afternoon, emerging from the thinning fog.

Aug 14 Photo of the Day
Here is Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent (Louis) in the early afternoon, emerging from the thinning fog. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

The sun comes out just after <em>Healy</em> has made a turn onto a new trackline. As <em>Louis</em> turns to follow us, we get a good view of her port side. Just forward of the white stripe, you can see white bubbles foaming along <em>Louis’s</em> hull.

Aug 14 Photo of the Day
The sun comes out just after Healy has made a turn onto a new trackline.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

I took this photo shortly after 1300 hrs on August 14. The sun was relatively high in the sky, and so I could fit the whole bow in one frame. You can see the faint colors of the rainbow, with red on the outside and indigo on the inside.

Aug 15 Photo of the Day
took this photo shortly after 1300 hrs on August 14. The sun was relatively high in the sky, and so I could fit the whole bow in one frame.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Another fogbow appeared in the late evening. I shot this photo at about 2015 hrs on August 14. The sun was lower in the sky, and the fogbow was higher; I couldn’t fit the whole arc in one frame. Here are views of the left side&hellip

Aug 15 Photo of the Day
Another fogbow appeared in the late evening. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

TThe right side of the evening fogbow.

Aug 15 Photo of the Day
…and the right side.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

The ASB was lowered by crane from <em>Healy’s </em>02 deck to a spot level with the 01 deck, where the crew—a coxswain (the driver), crewman, small-boat engineer, and additional Coasties learning these positions—climbed aboard.

Aug 16 Photo of the Day
The ASB was lowered by crane from Healy’s 02 deck to a spot level with the 01 deck, where the crew climbed aboard.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Which way is forward? This is a view of the bow (lower left), which hinges out and down to form a ramp from the boat onto the beach.

Aug 16 Photo of the Day
Which way is forward? This is a view of the bow (lower left), which hinges out and down to form a ramp from the boat onto the beach.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Soon the ASB was headed for Barrow, where <em>Louis’s</em> new crewman was waiting. A smaller boat was sent to Barrow later that evening to pick up the fuel filters that had just arrived on a flight from Anchorage.

Aug 16 Photo of the Day
Soon the ASB was headed for Barrow, where Louis’s new crewman was waiting.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Screenshot of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) image from the Radarsat-2 satellite, collected August 17, 2010. The bright band around the edge of the ice pack is a rim of densely packed ice.

Aug 17 LogScreenshot of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) image from the Radarsat-2 satellite, collected August 17, 2010.
Credit: Erin Clark, Canadian Ice Service.

Close-packed floes at the edge of the ice pack, photographed at 1121hrs PDT on August 17.

Aug 17 Log
Close-packed floes at the edge of the ice pack, photographed at 1121hrs PDT on August 17. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

In close-packed ice at the outer edge of the ice pack, at 1143 hrs, Pacific Daylight Time.

Aug 17 Log
In close-packed ice at the outer edge of the ice pack, at 1143 hrs, Pacific Daylight Time. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Farther into the ice pack, at around 1300 hrs, the ice concentration had decreased to about 4 tenths (that is, about 4 tenths of the sea surface was covered with ice).

Aug 17 Log
Farther into the ice pack, at around 1300 hrs, the ice concentration had decreased to about 4 tenths. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Winds have pushed ice floes into a densely packed zone at the outer edge of the ice pack. Photo taken at 1148 hrs (Pacific Daylight Time) at approximate latitude 73°26’, longitude -150°50’.

Aug 17 Photo of the Day
Winds have pushed ice floes into a densely packed zone at the outer edge of the ice pack. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

 

 

 

Tablet computer used to record sea-ice observations in the program ICEggs. An onlooker remarked that it looked like an Etch-a-Sketch, and Canadian ice specialist Erin Clark said, “ If you shake it hard enough, everything really does disappear.” Don’t shake it!

Aug 18 Log
Tablet computer used to record sea-ice observations in the program ICEggs.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Erin watches as Josh enters ice observations into the ICEggs program used by Erin’s agency, Canadian Ice Service.

Aug 18 Log
Erin watches as Josh enters ice observations into the ICEggs program used by Erin’s agency, Canadian Ice Service.
Credit:Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Highly simplified diagrams illustrating how flat surfaces, such as new ice or a calm sea surface reflect most of the microwaves away from the SAR sensor.

Highly simplified diagram illustrating how flat surfaces, such as new ice or a calm sea surface, reflect most of the microwaves away from the SAR sensor.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Highly simplified diagrams illustrating how irregular surfaces, typical of multi-year ice, reflect many beams back to the sensor.

Highly simplified diagram illustrating how irregular surfaces, typical of multi-year ice (bottom), reflect many beams back to the sensor.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Screenshot of SAR (synthetic aperture radar) image from the Radarsat-2 satellite, collected August 19, 2010. Multi-year floes with irregular topography return much of the microbeam energy back to the SAR sensor, making them appear bright in SAR images. Courtesy of Erin Clark, Canadian Ice Service.

Aug 18 Log
Screenshot of SAR (synthetic aperture radar) image from the Radarsat-2 satellite, collected August 19, 2010.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

MODIS image collected August 16, 2010. During daylight hours where clouds are thin or absent, these visible-light images provide a good view of the ice.

Aug 18 Log
MODIS image collected August 16, 2010. During daylight hours where clouds are thin or absent, these visible-light images provide a good view of the ice.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

DMSP visible-light image collected at about 0924 hrs (Pacific Daylight Time) on August 16, 2010. Cloud cover is absent and sea ice visible in the righthand two-thirds of the image.

Aug 18 Log
DMSP visible-light image collected at about 0924 hrs (Pacific Daylight Time) on August 16, 2010. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Sea-ice concentration map from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) for August 16, 2010. Concentration (C) expressed as percentage of sea surface covered by ice.

Aug 18 Log
Sea-ice concentration map from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) for August 16, 2010. Click here for a high resolution image.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Louis’s helicopter lifts off from Healy’s deck at 1343 hrs on Tuesday, August 17, during a transfer of personnel.

Aug 20 Log
Louis’s helicopter lifts off from Healy’s deck at 1343 hrs on Tuesday, August 17, during a transfer of personnel.
Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS.

Ice chart produced by Bruno Barrette during helicopter reconnaissance on August 17, 2010. Scale bar at bottom of figure represents 28.30 nautical miles. The description of ice conditions is recorded in the “egg format” (left side of chart).

Aug 20 Log
Ice chart produced by Bruno Barrette during helicopter reconnaissance on August 17, 2010. S. Click here for a high resolution image. Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS/ECS Project.

Another heli recco: Josh (left) and Erin (walking toward viewer, right) on <em>Healy’s </em>flight deck after flying a helicopter reconnaissance today (August 20).

Aug 20 Log
Another heli recco: Josh (left) and Erin (walking toward viewer, right) on Healy’s flight deck after flying a helicopter reconnaissance today (August 20). Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS/ECS Project.

 

Every Saturday night, Healy’s Morale Committee sponsors a Bingo fundraiser. BM2 Gerry “Banana” McCann is tonight’s caller.

Aug 21 Photo of the Day
Every Saturday night, Healy’s Morale Committee sponsors a Bingo fundraiser. BM2 Gerry “Banana” McCann is tonight’s caller. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

After some prize swapping, ET2 Jeremy Gainey is the proud owner of a Sponge Bob fishing pole.

Aug 21 Photo of the Day
After some prize swapping, ET2 Jeremy Gainey is the proud owner of a Sponge Bob fishing pole. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

Gainey said he was going to catch a halibut, but he seems to be reeling in SN Beth Hildebrand.

Aug 21 Photo of the Day
Gainey said he was going to catch a halibut, but he seems to be reeling in SN Beth Hildebrand. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

 

MST1 Lee Brittle (right) steadies the frame of the CTD rosette as MST3 Marshal Chaidez begins detaching the mesh bags containing Styrofoam cups. Once the bags are removed, the frame will be placed onto the pallet and brought into the bay from which this photo was taken.

Aug 21 Log
MST1 Lee Brittle (right) steadies the frame of the CTD rosette as MST3 Marshal Chaidez begins detaching the mesh bags containing Styrofoam cups. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

As good as Christmas: Marshal opens the first bag of cups in the Main Lab.

Aug 21 Log
As good as Christmas: Marshal opens the first bag of cups in the Main Lab. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

It worked! Shrunken Styrofoam cups cover the lab table. Following the advice of cup-shrinking veteran Mary McGann (a paleontologist back home in the USGS office in Menlo Park, California), we had put a paper towel into each cup, to help the cups keep their shape and to prevent them from nesting inside one another.

Aug 21 Log
It worked! Shrunken Styrofoam cups cover the lab table.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

>Chief scientist Brian Edwards (left) and University of South Florida (USF) research associate Sherwood Liu carefully remove the soggy paper towels from the shrunken cups

Aug 21 Log
Chief scientist Brian Edwards (left) and University of South Florida (USF) research associate Sherwood Liu carefully remove the soggy paper towels from the shrunken cups. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Soon the cups have been rinsed in fresh water and laid out to dry. (There are something like 85 cups here—I lost count.)

Aug 21 Log
Soon the cups have been rinsed in fresh water and laid out to dry.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

We used cups of two different sizes, as illustrated by the unshrunken cups in the back, 16-ounce on the left and 8-ounce on the right. Most of the cups in this view started out at the 16-ounce size, but if you look carefully, you can spot a few made from 8-ounce cups.

Aug 21 Log
We used cups of two different sizes, as illustrated by the unshrunken cups in the back, 16-ounce on the left and 8-ounce on the right.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Before long, the cups were being claimed by their happy owners —such as CDR John Reeves…

Aug 21 Log
Before long, the cups were being claimed by their happy owners —such as CDR John Reeves… Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

LTJG Chris Skapin…

Aug 21 Log
LTJG Chris Skapin…
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

…and chief scientist Brian Edwards.

Aug 21 Log
…and chief scientist Brian Edwards. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

USF graduate student Mark Patsavas sent two cups of the same size (16-oz) to different depths, one on today’s cast to 3,750 m (left) and one on an August 19 cast to 1,000 m (center). Full-size cup on the right.

Aug 21 Log
USF graduate student Mark Patsavas sent two cups of the same size (16-oz) to different depth. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

A closeup view of Mark’s cups, with full-size cup on the right for scale. Although the lefthand cup went nearly 4 times as deep as the cup in the center, it did not shrink 4 times as much. We speculate that at a certain depth, all the air has been pressed out of the Styrofoam and no further shrinking takes place as the cup keeps going down. (We are too far north to access the Internet to check on this hypothesis!).

Aug 21 Log
A closeup view of Mark’s cups, with full-size cup on the right for scale. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

NOAA Teacher at Sea Caroline Singler puts on an exposure suit.

Aug 22a Log
NOAA Teacher at Sea Caroline Singler puts on an exposure suit. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Erin (right) helps Holly (facing camera) strap on a personal flotation device.

Aug 22a Log
Erin (right) helps Holly (facing camera) strap on a personal flotation device. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Bill’s ready to go.

Aug 22a Log
Bill’s ready to go. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

And so is Caroline.

Aug 22a Log
And so is Caroline. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Time to board the helicopter.

Aug 22a Log
Time to board the helicopter. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The passengers are strapped in and ready to fly.

Aug 22a Log
The passengers are strapped in and ready to fly. Credit: IT1 Miguel Uribarri, USCG.

They’re off!

Aug 22a Log
They’re off! Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

Louis is stuck on an ice floe beneath her port bow. When ice-breaking, Louis pushes her bow up onto the ice and then crushes down through it. The bubbles from her bubbler system (visible along the hull forward of the white stripe) help move the broken pieces away from the ship. This time, Louis rode up on a tough ice floe that did not break.

Aug 22b Log
Louis is stuck on an ice floe beneath her port bow.
Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS.

So near and yet so far. <em>Louis</em> is just a few meters away from clear water, but the ice floe under her port bow won’t give way. Moving forward, <em>Louis</em> simply pushes the floe in front of her.

Aug 22b Log
So near and yet so far. Louis is just a few meters away from clear water, but the ice floe under her port bow won’t give way.
Credit: Frame from video by Brian Edwards, USGS.

The afternoon’s tracklines record a goofy dance between the ships, as <em>Healy</em> tries to help free <em>Louis</em> by breaking ice around her. <em>Louis</em> was stopped by the ice at 1343 hrs PDT.

Aug 22b Log
The afternoon’s tracklines record a goofy dance between the ships, as Healy tries to help free Louis by breaking ice around her. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

<em>Louis</em> and <em>Healy’s</em> dance in the ice brought the ships much nearer to one another than usual, giving people on each ship close-up views of the other.

Aug 22b Log
Louis and Healy’s dance in the ice brought the ships much nearer to one another than usual, giving people on each ship close-up views of the other.
Credit: Brian Edwards, USGS.

The visitors from <em>Healy</em> took advantage of the opportunity to photograph their ship across the ice.

Aug 22b Log
The visitors from Healy took advantage of the opportunity to photograph their ship across the ice.
Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

Close-up view of <em>Healy’s</em> main deck; the stern is to the right. Looking back at <em>Louis</em> are (right to left) USGS marine technicians Pete Dal Ferro and Jenny White, and seismic technician Jamison Etter, visiting from <em>Louis</em>.

Aug 22b Log
Close-up view of Healy’s main deck; the stern is to the right.
Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

At about 1530 hrs, <em>Louis’s</em> crew was pulling in the seismic gear. First the pneumatic sound sources…

Aug 22b Log
At about 1530 hrs, Louis’s crew was pulling in the seismic gear. Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

…and then the lead-in cable (yellow) and hydrophone streamer (blue). Once the gear was on deck, <em>Louis’s</em> crew was able to maneuver her out of the ice.

Aug 22b Log
…and then the lead-in cable (yellow) and hydrophone streamer (blue). Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

Peter Triezenberg (USGS) and I saw the helicopter from <em>Louis </em>return to <em>Healy </em>a little after 1600 hrs, thanks to a video feed from the flight deck to the Computer Lab, where we monitor data coming in from <em>Healy’s </em>mapping systems.

Aug 22b Log
Peter Triezenberg (USGS) and I saw the helicopter from Louis return to Healy a little after 1600 hrs. Credit: Frame from video shot by Peter Triezenberg, USGS.

 

 

 

24-bottle CTD rosette about to be lowered into the water. (From a CTD cast on August 9, 2010.)

Aug 23 Log
24-bottle CTD rosette about to be lowered into the water. (From a CTD cast on August 9, 2010.) Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Package of CTD electronics and sensors (arrow) is mounted below a ring of water-collecting bottles.

Aug 23 LogPackage of CTD electronics and sensors (arrow) is mounted below a ring of water-collecting bottles.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Plot of data collected by the CTD package as it was lowered to about 3,750-m water depth on August 21. In addition to conductivity, temperature, and depth, this CTD package recorded dissolved oxygen and fluorescence (a measure of chlorophyll activity).

Aug 23 Log
Plot of data collected by the CTD package as it was lowered to about 3,750-m water depth on August 21. Credit: Dale Chayes, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

Expanded view of the top 600 m of the water column, in which the trends are more complicated than in deeper water. Steve Roberts (National Center for Atmospheric Research) says that he sees profiles like this year after year in the Arctic.

Aug 23 Log
Expanded view of the top 600 m of the water column, in which the trends are more complicated than in deeper water. Credit: Dale Chayes, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

Plot of speed of sound versus water depth calculated from data collected during the August 21 CTD cast. Sound speed increases with increasing water temperature, increasing salinity, and increasing depth.

Aug 23 Log
Plot of speed of sound versus water depth calculated from data collected during the August 21 CTD cast. Credit: Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Expendable bathythermograph (XBT) probe (a faulty one that was never launched). As this torpedo-shaped probe falls through the water, a thermistor in the tip continuously measures temperature. The thin wire that passes data back to the ship is barely visible on the left.

Aug 23 Log
Expendable bathythermo-graph (XBT) probe (a faulty one that was never launched). Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

MST3 Daniel Purse prepares to launch an XBT off <em>Healy’s </em>stern. The black wire connects the launcher to a computer in the Aft Conn, a control room overlooking the stern of the ship.

Aug 23 Log
MST3 Daniel Purse prepares to launch an XBT off Healy’s stern. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The probe is in the water and falling toward the seafloor. A thin wire (not visible in this photo) connects the probe to the launcher. With his left hand, Dan holds the connecting wire away from the railing while he watches MST3 Marshal Chaidez in the Aft Conn for the signal that the probe has reached the seafloor. At Marshal’s signal, Dan will snap the connecting wire and bring the launcher back inside the ship. The probe stays on the seafloor.

Aug 23 Log
The probe is in the water and falling toward the seafloor. A thin wire (not visible in this photo) connects the probe to the launcher.
Credit Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

This photo was taken at local midnight, just before 0300 PDT on August 23, the first day of our trip on which the sun did not set. Taken at approx latitude 78°42’N, longitude 147°50’W.

Aug 23 Photo of the Day
This photo was taken at local midnight, just before 0300 PDT on August 23, the first day of our trip on which the sun did not set. Credit: Jerry Hyman, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

<em>Healy’s</em> decks are numbered from the Main Deck, which is about 15 ft above the waterline and includes the mess, the Main Lab, and the fantail (from which we deploy corers and other instruments). Decks below the Main Deck are numbered 1, 2, and so on; decks above the Main Deck are numbered 01, 02, and so on. Credit: University of New Hampshire/National Oceanic and Atmospheric.

Aug 24 LogHealy’s decks are numbered from the Main Deck, which is about 15 ft above the waterline and includes the mess, the Main Lab, and the fantail (from which we deploy corers and other instruments). Credit: USGS/ECS Project.

It’s a steep climb from the bridge to the Aloft Conn, up three vertical ladders (one for each deck). Here’s a view looking up the topmost ladder and through the hatch in the floor of the Aloft Conn.

Aug 24 Log
It’s a steep climb from the bridge to the Aloft Conn, up three vertical ladders (one for each deck). Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

ENS Sinks points to a dark area on the radar screen that could be either open water or a smooth ice floe just ahead of the ship. Note also the lines of blips that are likely pressure ridges.

Aug 24 Log
ENS Sinks points to a dark area on the radar screen that could be either open water or a smooth ice floe just ahead of the ship. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The dark area on the radar screen was an ice floe with a flat, smooth surface.

Aug 24 Log
The dark area on the radar screen was an ice floe with a flat, smooth surface. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

ENS Sinks checks a monitor as he drives <em>Healy</em> through the ice.

Aug 24 Log
ENS Sinks checks a monitor as he drives Healy through the ice. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

ENS McNair between radio communications. In the lower left is a grate she placed over the hole in the deck used to enter the Aloft Conn.

Aug 24 Log
ENS McNair between radio communications. In the lower left is a grate she placed over the hole in the deck used to enter the Aloft Conn.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Canadian Liaison Captain Michel Bourdeau (Canadian Coast Guard) compares the view out the window with information on the radar screen.

Aug 24 Log
Canadian Liaison Captain Michel Bourdeau (Canadian Coast Guard) compares the view out the window with information on the radar screen. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

A fogbow appears as the fog thins.

Aug 24 Log
A fogbow appears as the fog thins. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Polar bear tracks on an ice floe.

Aug 24 Log
Polar bear tracks on an ice floe. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Helen enjoys the views and the company in the Aloft Conn.

Aug 24 Log
Helen enjoys the views and the company in the Aloft Conn.
Credit: ENS Holly McNair, U.S. Coast Guard.

 

This photo was taken at local midnight, just before 0300 PDT on August 23, the first day of our trip on which the sun did not set. Taken at approx latitude 78°42’N, longitude 147°50’W.

Aug 25 Photo of the Day
Sun dogs. These bright spots on either side of the sun are caused by refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The rosette we use for deep casts carries 24 12-liter Niskin bottles. The bottles have caps at both ends and are sent down open. As the rosette ascends, an operator sends signals down the winch wire (an armored electrical cable) to close the bottles at selected depths, thus collecting water samples from throughout the water column.

Aug 25 Log
The rosette we use for deep casts carries 24 12-liter Niskin bottles. The bottles have caps at both ends and are sent down open.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

USGS geochemist Chris DuFore measures the alkalinity of a seawater sample.

Aug 25 Log
USGS geochemist Chris DuFore measures the alkalinity of a seawater sample. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Sherwood Liu checks on the Multiparameter Inorganic Carbon Analyzer, or MICA (the assembly of boxes, tubes, and wires on the floor).

Aug 25 Log
Sherwood Liu checks on the Multiparameter Inorganic Carbon Analyzer, or MICA (the assembly of boxes, tubes, and wires on the floor). Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Mark Patsavas uses a benchtop spectrometer to measure carbonate ion (CO<sub>3</sub><sup>2-</sup>) concentration in a seawater sample from <em>Healy’s</em> flow-through system.

Aug 25 Log
Mark Patsavas uses a benchtop spectrometer to measure carbonate ion (CO32-) concentration in a seawater sample from Healy’s flow-through system. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Several subsamples of water were collected from each Niskin bottle. First, Chris collected water for studies of isotopes (atoms of the same element but with a different number of neutrons, which gives them different atomic weights). These samples will be refrigerated and shipped to the USGS laboratory in St. Petersburg, Florida, for analysis.

Aug 25 Log
Several subsamples of water were collected from each Niskin bottle.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Next, Mark collected two subsamples from each bottle. He will use the benchtop spectrometers onboard <em>Healy</em> to measure the pH of one sample and the CO<sub>3</sub><sup>2-</sup> concentration of the other.

Aug 25 Log
Next, Mark collected two subsamples from each bottle. He will use the benchtop spectrometers onboard Healy to measure the pH of one sample and the CO32- concentration of the other.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Sherwood collected subsamples of water for measurement of total dissolved inorganic carbon. These samples will be refrigerated and sent back to the USGS lab in St. Petersburg for analysis.

Aug 25 Log
Sherwood collected subsamples of water for measurement of total dissolved inorganic carbon. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

NOAA Teacher at Sea Caroline Singler collected subsamples for measuring total alkalinity onboard <em>Healy</em>

Aug 25 Log
NOAA Teacher at Sea Caroline Singler collected subsamples for measuring total alkalinity onboard Healy.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

PolarTREC teacher Bill Schmoker collected water from each of the Niskin bottles and transferred it to small bottles that will be frozen and shipped to the St. Petersburg lab. These samples will be analyzed for nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

Aug 25 LogPolarTREC teacher Bill Schmoker collected water from each of the Niskin bottles and transferred it to small bottles that will be frozen and shipped to the St. Petersburg lab. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Chris collected the last set of subsamples, which will be frozen and sent to St. Petersburg for analysis of total organic carbon.

Aug 25 Log
Chris collected the last set of subsamples, which will be frozen and sent to St. Petersburg for analysis of total organic carbon. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Happy water samplers (left to right): Chris, Bill, Mark, Caroline, and Sherwood. The geochemists were particularly pleased to have the teachers’ help, which reduced subsampling time by a couple of hours.

Aug 25 Log
Happy water samplers (left to right): Chris, Bill, Mark, Caroline, and Sherwood. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Guess what we’re cooking! Jerry Hyman (National Geospatial-Information Agency) spreads olive oil on pizza crusts before baking them for a few minutes.

Aug 28 Log
Guess what we’re cooking! Jerry Hyman spreads olive oil on pizza crusts before baking them for a few minutes. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Ship’s Pizza Technicians (SPTs) Jerry Hyman (right) and Captain Michel Bourdeau (Canadian Coast Guard) man the ovens in what Captain Bourdeau called the “engine room.” They baked the crusts before toppings were added, then baked the pizzas and moved them into warming ovens to keep them piping hot.

Aug 28 Log
Ship’s Pizza Technicians (SPTs) Jerry Hyman (right) and Captain Michel Bourdeau (Canadian Coast Guard) man the ovens in what Captain Bourdeau called the “engine room.”
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The assembly line: Starting at back right, Erin Clark (Canadian Ice Service) spreads tomato sauce and some crushed garlic on each crust. Next up is Jenny White (USGS marine technician), who adds mozzarella cheese. Pete Dal Ferro (USGS marine technician) puts on the toppings, and Chris DuFore (USGS geochemist) adds spices.

Aug 28 Log
The assembly line: Starting at back right, Erin Clark (Canadian Ice Service) spreads tomato sauce and some crushed garlic on each crust.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Caroline Singler (NOAA Teacher at Sea) begins mixing the cake batter.

Aug 28 Log
Caroline Singler (NOAA Teacher at Sea) begins mixing the cake batter. Credit: Sherwood Liu, University of South Florida.

2BM3 Patrick Kimmel announces the crossing of the Arctic Circle.

Aug 29 Log
BM3 Patrick Kimmel announces the crossing of the Arctic Circle. Credit: MK2 Chris Schumacher, U.S. Coast Guard.

We crossed the Arctic Circle at about 2030 hours Alaska Daylight Time on August 4, 2010.

Aug 29 Log
We crossed the Arctic Circle at about 2030 hours Alaska Daylight Time on August 4, 2010. Credit: Helen Gibbons, ECS Project.

View from the bridge as <em>Healy</em> crossed the Arctic Circle. The watchstanders urged us to look for a color change between the waters south and north of the Circle.

Aug 29 Log
View from the bridge as Healy crossed the Arctic Circle. Credit: Helen Gibbons, ECS Project.

The sun at local midnight, just before 0300 Pacific Daylight Time, on August 23, the first day of our trip on which the sun did not set. Taken at approx latitude 78°42’N, longitude 147°50’W.

Aug 29 Log
The sun at local midnight, just before 0300 Pacific Daylight Time, on August 23, the first day of our trip on which the sun did not set. Credit: Jerry Hyman, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) data for August 5, 2010 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time; subtract 8 to convert to Alaska Daylight Time). We crossed the Arctic Circle at about 0430 hrs UTC (2030 hrs on August 4, Alaska Daylight Time). The data indicate that the sun set a little after 0800 hours UTC (midnight ADT) and rose a little before 1400 hrs UTC (0700 hrs ADT). µE/Sec/M2, micro-Einsteins (a measure of solar flux) per second per square meter.

Aug 29 Log
Photosynthet-ically active radiation (PAR) data for August 5, 2010 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time; subtract 8 to convert to Alaska Daylight Time). Credit:Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

PAR data for August 23, 2010 UTC. At local midnight, a little before 1000 hrs UTC (0300 hrs Pacific Daylight Time), photosynthetically active radiation from the sun was greater than zero; the sun was low, but still above the horizon.

Aug 29 Log
PAR data for August 23, 2010 UTC.
Credit: Steve Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Captain Davey Jones (a.k.a. FS3 Tysin Alley).

Aug 29 Log
Captain Davey Jones (a.k.a. FS3 Tysin Alley). Credit: MK2 Chris Schumacher, U.S. Coast Guard.

Captain Davey Jones (right) and his Wench (a.k.a. SN Beth Hildebrand) train Blue Noses for their Polar Bear initiation.

Aug 29 Log
Captain Davey Jones (right) and his Wench (a.k.a. SN Beth Hildebrand) train Blue Noses for their Polar Bear initiation.
Credit: MK2 Chris Schumacher, U.S. Coast Guard.

A few of the new Polar Bears, who have earned the right to wear their red caps above the Arctic Circle. Left to right: David Street (Canadian Hydrographic Service), Helen Gibbons (USGS), Jenny White (USGS), Brian Edwards (USGS), and Pete Dal Ferro (USGS).

Aug 29 Log
A few of the new Polar Bears, who have earned the right to wear their red caps above the Arctic Circle.
Credit:Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.

It’s about 0845 hours Pacific Daylight Time at latitude 75°35’N, longitude 140°06’W (about 350 nautical miles north of the northeast corner of Alaska), and a light, wet snow is falling.

Aug 31 Photo of the Day
It’s about 0845 hours Pacific Daylight Time at latitude 75°35’N, longitude 140°06’W and a light, wet snow is falling.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

A sprinkling of snow remains unmelted on the track beneath the piston corer we are about to deploy.

Aug 31 Photo of the Day
A sprinkling of snow remains unmelted on the track beneath the piston corer we are about to deploy.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

The light, wet snow that began yesterday continues to fall.

Sep 1 Photo of the Day
The light, wet snow that began yesterday continues to fall. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

At around 1115 hours Pacific Daylight Time, as many of us were sitting down to lunch, the bridge announced a polar bear about 600 yards off the port bow. Here it is, seen through the snow. Not as energetic as the bear we saw on August 9, this bear watched the ship go by…

Sep 1 Photo of the Day
At around 1115 hours Pacific Daylight Time, as many of us were sitting down to lunch, the bridge announced a polar bear about 600 yards off the port bow.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

…and then settled down to rest on its stomach, folding its front legs under its chest like a cat.

Sep 1 Photo of the Day
…and then settled down to rest on its stomach, folding its front legs under its chest like a cat.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

A C-130 carrying Vice Admiral Sally Brice-O’Hara, the Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, flew around Healy twice tonight at about 1845 hrs Pacific Daylight Time.

Sep 2 Photo of the Day
A C-130 carrying Vice Admiral Sally Brice-O’Hara, the Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, flew around Healy twice tonight at about 1845 hrs Pacific Daylight Time.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The C-130 was flying an Arctic Domain Awareness mission along the north coast of Alaska and made the extra hop to greet the Healy.

Sep 2 Photo of the Day
The plane was flying an Arctic Domain Awareness mission along the north coast of Alaska and made the extra hop to greet the Healy.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The Vice Commandant and Alice Hill—Principal for Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute—spoke with <em>Healy’s</em> Captain William Rall by radio, sending greetings and words of appreciation to all aboard.

Sep 2 Photo of the Day
The Vice Commandant and Alice Hill—Principal for Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute—spoke with Healy’s Captain William Rall by radio, sending greetings and words of appreciation to all aboard.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

Personnel trasnfer between the Healy and the Louis

Sep 3 Photo of the Day
This evening, the helicopter from Louis made the final transfer of personnel between the two ships.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Personnel trasnfer between the Healy and the Louis.

Sep 3 Photo of the Day
Coming over from Louis were U.S. Liaison Jon Childs (USGS), Operations Technical Advisor Caryn Panowicz (National Ice Center), and LT Charlene Criss (U.S. Coast Guard).
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Photo taken at 2253 hrs Alaska Daylight Time on September 4, about 300 nautical miles northeast of Barrow, at approximate latitude 74°42’N.

Sep 4 Photo of the Day
Just after sunset, I saw a faint crescent in the northwest.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Chief Scientist Brian Edwards (USGS) pauses for a photo while swabbing the deck in the Computer Lab. Tomorrow we will disembark and turn our spaces over to a new science party.

Sep 5 Photo of the Day
Chief Scientist Brian Edwards (USGS) pauses for a photo while swabbing the deck in the Computer Lab. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Fogbow in the northern Bering Sea, August 4, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
Fogbow in the northern Bering Sea, August 4, 2010.
Credit: Bill Schmoker, PolarTREC.

Foggy afternoon at about 80°N latitude, August 24, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
Foggy afternoon at about 80°N latitude, August 24, 2010.
Credit: Joshua Miller, National Ice Center.

Morning on the Beaufort Sea, August 6, 2010, at approximate latitude 72°N.

Sep 5 Log
Morning on the Beaufort Sea, August 6, 2010, at approximate latitude 72°N. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida

Canadian Coast Guard Ship <em>Louis S. St-Laurent</em> following our track in the distance, August 14, 2010, at approximate latitude 73°N.

Sep 5 Log
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent following our track in the distance.
Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.

The box-like shape of <em>Healy’s</em> hull contributes to her stability. In this photo of <em>Healy</em> in dry dock in 2004, you can see the nearly straight sides of the hull.

Sep 5 Log
The box-like shape of Healy’s hull contributes to her stability. In this photo of Healy in dry dock in 2004, you can see the nearly straight sides of the hull.
Credit: Captain William Rall, U.S. Coast Guard.

In this view, you can see the hull’s virtually flat bottom. Two other U.S. icebreakers, the <em>Polar Sea</em> and <em>Polar Star</em>, as well as the <em>Louis</em>, have football-shaped hulls and roll considerably more than <em>Healy</em>.

Sep 5 Log
In this view, you can see the hull’s virtually flat bottom.
Credit: Captain William Rall, U.S. Coast Guard.

USGS marine technician Jenny White placed this shrunken Styrofoam cup on the edge of a wooden shelf in the ship’s Main Lab on August 21. It stayed on the edge for about a week, until it was shaken off by the vibrations of icebreaking during a fast transit through thick ice.

Sep 5 Log
USGS marine technician Jenny White placed this shrunken Styrofoam cup on the edge of a wooden shelf in the ship’s Main Lab on August 21 (see log for that day).
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Curtains on the bunks block out the midnight sun and make sleeping extra cozy.

Sep 5 Log
Curtains on the bunks block out the midnight sun and make sleeping extra cozy. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

View through our porthole on August 8, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
View through our porthole on August 8, 2010. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Two roommates sharing cabins that can accommodate three have plenty of space.

Sep 5 Log
Two roommates sharing cabins that can accommodate three have plenty of space.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

 

Today’s lunch was chicken stew with rice, peas, and a biscuit, plus a lovely surprise: fresh grapefruit (not shown)

Sep 5 Log
Today’s lunch was chicken stew with rice, peas, and a biscuit, plus a lovely surprise: fresh grapefruit (not shown). Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Even if you never make it to the gym, you’ll get exercise going up and down <em>Healy’s</em> steep ladders.

Sep 5 Log
Even if you never make it to the gym, you’ll get exercise going up and down Healy’s steep ladders. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Two gyms onboard can help you counter the effects of the hearty meals. (That’s me on one of the ellipticals.)

Sep 5 Log
Two gyms onboard can help you counter the effects of the hearty meals. (That’s me on one of the ellipticals.) Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

The bridge is calm and hushed, almost like a library. Left to right: LTJG Chris Skapin, Captain William Rall, and BM3 Patrick Kimmel.

Sep 5 Log
The bridge is calm and hushed, almost like a library.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The expansive view feels serene. The bridge is also a good place to spot...

Sep 5 Log
The expansive view feels serene. The bridge is also a good place to spot...
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project

A polar bear made its way across the ice to check out the ship while we were stopped for sampling on August 9, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
A polar bear made its way across the ice to check out the ship while we were stopped for sampling on August 9, 2010. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.

A ringed seal swam by while we were taking a piston core on August 25, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
A ringed seal swam by while we were taking a piston core on August 25, 2010. Credit: Bill Schmoker, PolarTREC.

Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC) poles ice floes away from the winch wire while we lower a piston corer on August 25.

Sep 5 Log
Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC) poles ice floes away from the winch wire while we lower a piston corer on August 25.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Yup, it’s silty. Chief scientist Brian Edwards (USGS, right) looks on as Caroline Singler (NOAA Teacher at Sea) runs a tiny bit of sediment from a piston core (collected August 31, 2010) over her teeth. She is using a sedimentologist’s trick for telling silt from clay.

Sep 5 Log
Yup, it’s silty. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Sampling operations got everybody outdoors. Clockwise from top: Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC), Brian Edwards (USGS), Pete Dal Ferro (USGS), Jenny White (USGS), Andy Stevenson (USGS), and MSTC Kirt Stewart

Sep 5 Log
Sampling operations got everybody outdoors. Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.

Standing watch in the computer lab, you can see the data coming in from all our mapping systems, listen to radio communications between the bridges on <em>Healy</em> and <em>Louis</em>, and watch video feeds from the bow, the flight deck, and the fantail. Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC, left) and Tommy O’Brien (USGS).

Sep 5 Log
Standing watch in the computer lab, you can see the data coming in from all our mapping systems, listen to radio communications, and watch video feeds.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Whether you’re working indoors or out, the commute is great. Ladder from the 02 deck (location of scientists’ quarters) to the 01 deck (location of the Computer Lab), with a view of ice chunks floating past the hull.

Sep 5 Log
Whether you’re working indoors or out, the commute is great. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Excellent leadership makes the work a pleasure. Right to left: Healy"s Captain William Rall (U.S. Coast Guard), Chief Scientist on Healy Brian Edwards (USGS), and Canadian Liaison Captain Michel Bourdeau (Canadian Coast Guard).

Sep 5 Log
Excellent leadership makes the work a pleasure.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

<em>Louis</em> follows our track in the early morning hours of August 22, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
Louis follows our track in the early morning hours of August 22, 2010. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Canadian Coast Guard Ship <em>Louis S. St-Laurent</em> on August 14, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent on August 14, 2010.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Captain Davey Jones (a.k.a. FS3 Tysin Alley, right) and his Wench (a.k.a SN Beth Hildebrand) train Blue Noses for their Polar Bear initiation.

Sep 5 Log
Captain Davey Jones (a.k.a. FS3 Tysin Alley, right) and his Wench (a.k.a SN Beth Hildebrand) train Blue Noses for their Polar Bear initiation. C
redit: MK2 Chris Schumacher, U.S. Coast Guard.

A week after calling a Bingo game in a banana suit, BM2 Jerry McCann is preparing to drive a Rigid Hull Inflatable to <em>Louis</em> to transfer personnel on a day that’s too foggy for helicopter operations.

Sep 5 Log
A week after calling a Bingo game in a banana suit, BM2 Jerry McCann is preparing to drive a Rigid Hull Inflatable to Louis to transfer personnel on a day that’s too foggy for helicopter operations. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

The Healy Science Network in general and the Map Surfer (above) in particular offer a wealth of data and information—probably more than we could discover if we did nothing but explore these resources during the entire mission. All the scientists wish we could take the network home with us.

Sep 5 Log
The Healy Science Network in general and the Map Surfer (above) in particular offer a wealth of data and information. Credit: Dale Chayes (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University), Steve Roberts ((National Center for Atmospheric Research), and Tom Bolmer (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).

I’d love to include individual shots of the more than 100 people aboard <em>Healy</em> for this mission, but will make do with this group shot of many members of the science party and Coast Guard crew posing on the flight deck on August 26, 2010.

Sep 5 Log
I’d love to include individual shots of the more than 100 people aboard Healy for this mission, but will make do with this group shot of many members of the science party and Coast Guard crew posing on the flight deck on August 26, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: ENS Emily Kerht, U.S. Coast Guard.

 

 

 

Sunrise over Barrow, Alaska, about 0815 Alaska Daylight Time. Fair weather and calm seas bode well for our helicopter transfers from Healy to shore.

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
Sunrise over Barrow, Alaska, about 0815 Alaska Daylight Time. Fair weather and calm seas bode well for our helicopter transfers from Healy to shore. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Community Observer Ralph Kaleak (Barrow Arctic Science Consortium) in the helicopter. Most of us will travel for a couple of days to get home, but Ralph, who lives in Barrow, will be reunited with his family very soon.

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
Community Observer Ralph Kaleak (Barrow Arctic Science Consortium) in the helicopter. Most of us will travel for a couple of days to get home, but Ralph, who lives in Barrow, will be reunited with his family very soon. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

he helicopter is carrying members of the next science party plus gear and fresh food back to Healy. It will make many trips back and forth today.

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
The helicopter is carrying members of the next science party plus gear and fresh food back to Healy. It will make many trips back and forth today.
Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Waiting for an evening flight, we take advantage of the fine weather to explore Barrow. On a bluff overlooking the beach, we enjoy the view of Healy at anchor.

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
Waiting for an evening flight, we take advantage of the fine weather to explore Barrow. On a bluff overlooking the beach, we enjoy the view of Healy at anchor.
C redit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

A high point was our visit to the Iñupiat Cultural Center, where we saw beautiful artwork, such as this piece carved from mammoth tusk by Forrest J. Ahvakana, titled “Fall Time Family Fishing at Qaviarat.”

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
A high point was our visit to the Iñupiat Cultural Center. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

Back to the beach in the evening; it’s hard to believe we’re on the Arctic Ocean.

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
Back to the beach in the evening; it’s hard to believe we’re on the Arctic Ocean. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.

One more view of Healy, silhouetted against the evening sky. It’s been a fine trip!

Sep 6 Photo of the Day
One more view of Healy, silhouetted against the evening sky. It’s been a fine trip! Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.