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Instead of disappearing from Twitter for fieldwork for the next 35 days, I& #39;ll guide a virtual expedition, with an ice-sheet post every day for the next 35 days.
Day 1/35 - Stepping off the C-130 at Camp Raven skiway. Ah, the feeling of walking on squeaky snow!
Day 1/35 - Stepping off the C-130 at Camp Raven skiway. Ah, the feeling of walking on squeaky snow!
Day 2/35 - Here& #39;s the view from the "shigloo".
If the etymology is not self-evident – this is where you answer nature’s call. It’s certainly a room with a view, but it’s rarely conducive to lingering with a newspaper.
If the etymology is not self-evident – this is where you answer nature’s call. It’s certainly a room with a view, but it’s rarely conducive to lingering with a newspaper.
Day 3/35 – Ice-sheet Bedouins.
Here, Mike MacFerrin ( @IceSheetMike) is getting ready to move his 6-person camp about 125 km between breakfast and dinner. Items are always falling off the sleds. It’s a good day if the convoy holds a 20 km/hr pace.
Here, Mike MacFerrin ( @IceSheetMike) is getting ready to move his 6-person camp about 125 km between breakfast and dinner. Items are always falling off the sleds. It’s a good day if the convoy holds a 20 km/hr pace.
Day 4/35 - Sapphire Supraglacial Stream
Camping on the ice sheet is a pretty soggy affair during the summer melt season. But this stream was a super-handy water source; way better than melting pots of snow!
Just be cautious of the downstream moulin.
Camping on the ice sheet is a pretty soggy affair during the summer melt season. But this stream was a super-handy water source; way better than melting pots of snow!
Just be cautious of the downstream moulin.
Day 5/35 – Working the Nightshift
Here& #39;s Aleah Sommers enjoying a late night – technically, early morning – chai while pump-testing the near-surface firn. Sure, there’s 24-hour daylight during polar day, but it gets way effing colder at night!
Here& #39;s Aleah Sommers enjoying a late night – technically, early morning – chai while pump-testing the near-surface firn. Sure, there’s 24-hour daylight during polar day, but it gets way effing colder at night!
Day 6/35 - Icehenge
This jumble of bus-sized ice blocks caught our eye. We suspect the ice-sheet surface flexed violently the previous summer, possibly by a supraglacial lake draining via hydrofracture.
That& #39;s a Jay Zwally for near-field scale.
This jumble of bus-sized ice blocks caught our eye. We suspect the ice-sheet surface flexed violently the previous summer, possibly by a supraglacial lake draining via hydrofracture.
That& #39;s a Jay Zwally for near-field scale.
Day 7/35 - There& #39;s always wind!
Don& #39;t be fooled by the blue sky, there& #39;s always wind. It& #39;s a pain setting up the kitchen tent before dinner. I clearly find the easiest way is to pick up a camera and encourage other people to do it.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinning face with smiling eyes" aria-label="Emoji: Grinning face with smiling eyes">
Don& #39;t be fooled by the blue sky, there& #39;s always wind. It& #39;s a pain setting up the kitchen tent before dinner. I clearly find the easiest way is to pick up a camera and encourage other people to do it.
Day 8/35 - Snack Culture
Where there& #39;s Austrians, there& #39;s speck! Here are Daniel Binder & Jakob Abermann enjoying a & #39;light& #39; tea break.
Our snack culture hits a crescendo during bad weather days, when our grazing just turns into a non-stop rotation through tastes and textures.
Where there& #39;s Austrians, there& #39;s speck! Here are Daniel Binder & Jakob Abermann enjoying a & #39;light& #39; tea break.
Our snack culture hits a crescendo during bad weather days, when our grazing just turns into a non-stop rotation through tastes and textures.
Day 9/35 - Ice-Sheet Abyss
Here& #39;s looking straight down into a mini-moulin. It has been eroding upstream, towards the right, sculpting the entrance.
The preferential absorption of red wavelengths by ice makes the abyss appear increasingly deeper blue with depth.
Here& #39;s looking straight down into a mini-moulin. It has been eroding upstream, towards the right, sculpting the entrance.
The preferential absorption of red wavelengths by ice makes the abyss appear increasingly deeper blue with depth.
Day 10/35 - Cold Distillation
The freezing point of 40% whiskey is -27°C. Here& #39;s what whiskey looks like at -39°C. It turns cloudy when it freezes!
Although all whiskeys identify as 40%, I have noticed substantial variation in their actual freezing points.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📷" title="Camera" aria-label="Emoji: Camera">Horst Machguth
The freezing point of 40% whiskey is -27°C. Here& #39;s what whiskey looks like at -39°C. It turns cloudy when it freezes!
Although all whiskeys identify as 40%, I have noticed substantial variation in their actual freezing points.
Horst Machguth" title="Day 10/35 - Cold DistillationThe freezing point of 40% whiskey is -27°C. Here& #39;s what whiskey looks like at -39°C. It turns cloudy when it freezes!Although all whiskeys identify as 40%, I have noticed substantial variation in their actual freezing points.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📷" title="Camera" aria-label="Emoji: Camera">Horst Machguth" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Day 11/35 - Daily Meltwater Pulse
Here& #39;s a time-lapse video of a meltwater stream that Dan McGrath and I recorded 11(!) years ago. See the small gauging station? It& #39;s about 50 m upstream of the monster moulin that swallows this stream.
Here& #39;s a time-lapse video of a meltwater stream that Dan McGrath and I recorded 11(!) years ago. See the small gauging station? It& #39;s about 50 m upstream of the monster moulin that swallows this stream.
Day 12/35 - Polar Bear Country
It& #39;s easy to see the polar bear wire in this photo. It runs around the entire perimeter of camp. A narrow corridor between two wires forms the entrance into the camp.
Obviously, false alarms don& #39;t improve sleep quality!
It& #39;s easy to see the polar bear wire in this photo. It runs around the entire perimeter of camp. A narrow corridor between two wires forms the entrance into the camp.
Obviously, false alarms don& #39;t improve sleep quality!
Day 13/35 - Ice Drill: Business End
This model can reach depths of just over 300 meters with a dry borehole. Beyond that, you need a fluid-filled borehole to prevent the ice from deforming closed.
Fun fact: Coconut oil has almost the exact same density as ice!https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥥" title="Coconut" aria-label="Emoji: Coconut">=https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧊" title="Ice cube" aria-label="Emoji: Ice cube">
This model can reach depths of just over 300 meters with a dry borehole. Beyond that, you need a fluid-filled borehole to prevent the ice from deforming closed.
Fun fact: Coconut oil has almost the exact same density as ice!
=https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧊" title="Ice cube" aria-label="Emoji: Ice cube">" title="Day 13/35 - Ice Drill: Business EndThis model can reach depths of just over 300 meters with a dry borehole. Beyond that, you need a fluid-filled borehole to prevent the ice from deforming closed.Fun fact: Coconut oil has almost the exact same density as ice! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🥥" title="Coconut" aria-label="Emoji: Coconut">=https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧊" title="Ice cube" aria-label="Emoji: Ice cube">" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
Day 14/35 - Frosty Wake-Up
Sleeping tents are generally unheated. Here& #39;s what your glasses look like when you wake up in the morning.
The temperature inside the tent is usually within a few degrees of the temperature outside.
Sleeping tents are generally unheated. Here& #39;s what your glasses look like when you wake up in the morning.
The temperature inside the tent is usually within a few degrees of the temperature outside.
Day 15/35 - Surrounded by Horizon
Here& #39;s Samira Samimi ( @SamiraSamimi_SZ) getting ready for a snowmobile ride. You definitely want to bundle up!
From the reflection in her goggles, you can see the pancake-flat horizon in the ice sheet interior.
Here& #39;s Samira Samimi ( @SamiraSamimi_SZ) getting ready for a snowmobile ride. You definitely want to bundle up!
From the reflection in her goggles, you can see the pancake-flat horizon in the ice sheet interior.
Day 16/35 - Everyone Loves Radar!
Here& #39;s a side-view of some ice-penetrating radar in action.
Dirk van As ( @DirkvanAs) is driving, Karina Hansen is passengering, and Ken Mankoff ( @mankoff) is in the sled interpreting the data in real-time.
Note the bamboo crossmembers!
Here& #39;s a side-view of some ice-penetrating radar in action.
Dirk van As ( @DirkvanAs) is driving, Karina Hansen is passengering, and Ken Mankoff ( @mankoff) is in the sled interpreting the data in real-time.
Note the bamboo crossmembers!
Day 17/35 - Hark, An Overflight!
Here& #39;s the IceBridge team ( @NASA_ICE) passing low-and-slow. You can see funny-shaped radar housings and tiny laser ports.
Fun fact: This particular aircraft is known as "Miss Piggy" and she& #39;s had her wings replaced in the Arizona desert.
Here& #39;s the IceBridge team ( @NASA_ICE) passing low-and-slow. You can see funny-shaped radar housings and tiny laser ports.
Fun fact: This particular aircraft is known as "Miss Piggy" and she& #39;s had her wings replaced in the Arizona desert.
Day 18/35 - Working the Night Shift (again)
Polar Day means that you can service instruments around the clock. That can be both a good thing, and a bad thing!
Here& #39;s a night-raid to an automatic weather station, after being hunkered down at camp for a few days.
Polar Day means that you can service instruments around the clock. That can be both a good thing, and a bad thing!
Here& #39;s a night-raid to an automatic weather station, after being hunkered down at camp for a few days.
Day 19/35 - Ice-Sheet Margin
We usually spend all our time in the ice-sheet interior, but occasionally we do get to the margin.
Here& #39;s a meltwater stream undercutting an ice cliff, where the ice sheet meets the tundra.
We usually spend all our time in the ice-sheet interior, but occasionally we do get to the margin.
Here& #39;s a meltwater stream undercutting an ice cliff, where the ice sheet meets the tundra.
Day 20/35 - Core Logging
It& #39;s super-expensive to cold-transport ice cores back to the lab. We usually make field measurements instead.
Here& #39;s Anne Solgaard measuring density -- every 10 cm -- on an almost mercifully windless day.
It& #39;s super-expensive to cold-transport ice cores back to the lab. We usually make field measurements instead.
Here& #39;s Anne Solgaard measuring density -- every 10 cm -- on an almost mercifully windless day.
Day 21/35 - Drifting Snow
We set our tents in a line perpendicular to prevailing winds. But sometimes the wind shifts, causing upwind tents to drift-in downwind tents.
Here& #39;s the excavation of a tent from a 1-meter snowdrift that collected overnight.
We set our tents in a line perpendicular to prevailing winds. But sometimes the wind shifts, causing upwind tents to drift-in downwind tents.
Here& #39;s the excavation of a tent from a 1-meter snowdrift that collected overnight.
Day 22/35 - Hydrofracture!?
One night, we hear a sustained rumble outside the tents. We find the nearby supraglacial lake is rapidly draining into a huge fracture in the ice. It& #39;s a noisy waterfall!
Here& #39;s a Dan McGrath for scale. He& #39;s standing on the scalloped former lakebed.
One night, we hear a sustained rumble outside the tents. We find the nearby supraglacial lake is rapidly draining into a huge fracture in the ice. It& #39;s a noisy waterfall!
Here& #39;s a Dan McGrath for scale. He& #39;s standing on the scalloped former lakebed.
Day 23/35 - Louder Than It Looks
Driving a snowmobile off a C130 is rather challenging!
The snowmobile doesn& #39;t want to turn on -- its been drained to a last tea cup of fuel -- and the aircraft engines are so loud that your only feedback from the snowmobile engine is vibrations.
Driving a snowmobile off a C130 is rather challenging!
The snowmobile doesn& #39;t want to turn on -- its been drained to a last tea cup of fuel -- and the aircraft engines are so loud that your only feedback from the snowmobile engine is vibrations.
