Let Me Count the Ways
September 5, 2010
There are many reasons to love the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, our home away from home. Here’s a photographic sampling of them.
The Views:
Fogbow in the northern Bering Sea, August 4, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: Bill Schmoker, PolarTREC.
Morning on the Beaufort Sea, August 6, 2010, at approximate latitude 72°N. Click image for larger view. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.
Foggy afternoon at about 80°N latitude, August 24, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: Joshua Miller, National Ice Center.
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent following our track in the distance, August 14, 2010, at approximate latitude 73°N. Click image for larger view. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.
The Smooth Ride:
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. Click image for larger view. 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 (see log for that day). 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. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
In this view, you can see the hull’s virtually flat bottom. Two other U.S. icebreakers, the Polar Sea and Polar Star, as well as the Louis, have football-shaped hulls and roll considerably more than Healy. Click image for larger view. Credit: Captain William Rall, U.S. Coast Guard.
Comfortable Accommodations:
Curtains on the bunks block out the midnight sun and make sleeping extra cozy. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
Two roommates sharing cabins that can accommodate three have plenty of space. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
View through our porthole on August 8, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
Satisfying Food:
Today’s lunch was chicken stew with rice, peas, and a biscuit, plus a lovely surprise: fresh grapefruit (not shown). Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
Fitness Opportunities:
Even if you never make it to the gym, you’ll get exercise going up and down Healy’s steep ladders. Click image for larger view. 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.) Click image for larger view. Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.
The Bridge:
The expansive view feels serene. The bridge is also a good place to spot... Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project
The bridge is calm and hushed, almost like a library. Left to right: LTJG Chris Skapin, Captain William Rall, and BM3 Patrick Kimmel. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
The Wildlife:
A ringed seal swam by while we were taking a piston core on August 25, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: Bill Schmoker, PolarTREC.
A polar bear made its way across the ice to check out the ship while we were stopped for sampling on August 9, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.
Working Outdoors in the Fresh Air:
Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC) poles ice floes away from the winch wire while we lower a piston corer on August 25. Click image for larger view. 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. Click image for larger view. 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. Click image for larger view. Credit: Caroline Singler, NOAA Teacher at Sea.
The Nerve Center:
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 Healy and Louis, and watch video feeds from the bow, the flight deck, and the fantail. Bill Schmoker (PolarTREC, left) and Tommy O’Brien (USGS). Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
The Commute:
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. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
The Leadership:
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). Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
A Pleasant Traveling Companion:
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent on August 14, 2010. Click image for larger view. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida.
Louis follows our track in the early morning hours of August 22, 2010. Credit: Mark Patsavas, University of South Florida. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
Capable Coasties:
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. Click image for larger view. Credit: Helen Gibbons, USGS/ECS Project.
Silly Fun:
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. Click image for larger view. Credit: MK2 Chris Schumacher, U.S. Coast Guard.
USCGC Healy Polar
Science Network and
Map Surfer:
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. Click image for larger view. Credit: Dale Chayes (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University), Steve Roberts ((National Center for Atmospheric Research), and Tom Bolmer (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).
The Heart of It All:
Excellent Shipmates:
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.
Thank you all!
