Hello from the Arctic Sea!

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chick_on_ice

Trad climber
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 9, 2015 - 09:17pm PT
You all should be very happy that it's not -40 degrees in California like it is up here. Also, to some previous remarks about me only traveling for myself, yes, I do that. So does everyone that has ever gone on a rock climbing roadtrip anywhere, but right now I'm up in Barrow, AK (northernmost point in the US) doing fieldwork and outreach for science with a team of Polar Engineers from Dartmouth College!

More details here for facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theicemitt and here for the webpage: https://theicemittproject.wordpress.com









rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Mar 9, 2015 - 09:24pm PT
Hey Chick...I think they meant they were worried about you traveling by yourself not that you were selfish..? Chill out...
chick_on_ice

Trad climber
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2015 - 09:30pm PT
Haha I should've put a smiley face after that sentance. I was being facetious and maybe a little snarky :)
10b4me

Social climber
Mar 9, 2015 - 09:41pm PT
Looks like an interesting project.
Evel

Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
Mar 9, 2015 - 10:23pm PT
I want that parka! Do you know what kind of fur is the 'ruff'?
chick_on_ice

Trad climber
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2015 - 10:26pm PT
Coyote!
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Mar 9, 2015 - 11:00pm PT
Yo COI
You really are on ice!
I'm about 200 miles east of you right now, windy today eh! Although it gets much much much colder....like in the next couple days;) 2 supertopo's in the far north, who'd a thunk
cheers
ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber
extraordinaire
Mar 9, 2015 - 11:26pm PT
I was gonna say something inappropriate, but I didn't.
ST4L
cavemonkey

Ice climber
ak
Mar 9, 2015 - 11:31pm PT
good for you biotch!
Thats using your filter!
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Mar 10, 2015 - 04:22am PT

How cool to see a polar bear.
Thanks for sharing!
Chiloe

Trad climber
Lee, NH
Mar 10, 2015 - 05:47am PT
So what's your research question up there? What kinds of data?

In the Barents, Greenland, Okhotsk and Bering seas, ice extent looks low for this time of year. What's happening up where you are?
John Duffield

Mountain climber
New York
Mar 10, 2015 - 06:06am PT
wow, chick_on_much_ice TFPU!
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Mar 10, 2015 - 06:11am PT
BBST. TFPU.
EdwardT

Trad climber
Retired
Mar 10, 2015 - 06:12am PT

Your's is bigger!
L

climber
California dreamin' on the farside of the world..
Mar 10, 2015 - 06:45am PT
Great thread, COI!

The frosted eyelashes are really funny. Love the polar bear and seal photos, too.

I've been to Barrow in the summer...nice place with enormous mosquitos.


Can't imagine visiting in the winter. You're a brave woman, Chick!
EdwardT

Trad climber
Retired
Mar 10, 2015 - 07:13am PT
Just checked out your project and Facebook pages. Awesome pics.

Kudos to you for being tough enough and adventurous enough to do such important work.
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Mar 10, 2015 - 09:08am PT
Hahahha this is awesome! Have fun!
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Mar 10, 2015 - 09:21am PT
No self respecting eskimo will wear anything other than wolverine or occasionally wolf as a parka ruff.

It doesn't freeze up. You just whisk your fingers on it and the snow falls away.

I've got a wolverine ruff myself. Wasn't cheap.
chick_on_ice

Trad climber
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 10, 2015 - 10:54am PT
So what's your research question up there? What kinds of data?

In the Barents, Greenland, Okhotsk and Bering seas, ice extent looks low for this time of year. What's happening up where you are?

So I'm the engineer on the project dealing with all things 'engineering', but the polar scientists on my team are researching the brine networks and microstructure of first year sea ice. They're also looking into pollutant deposition (bromide, chloride, and some others) and gathering some snow samples to do a chemical analysis to 'see what turns up'. Oh and some conductivity and salinity measurements while we're up here too.

Basically there's a ton of open sea out here even though in the photos it looks like it's all frozen solid. Sea ice isn't like lake water since it's salty (obvious I know, but some people forget that salty water takes longer and colder temperatures to freeze than freshwater). The polar bears are out in full force this year because they're not getting enough to eat. So they can't be out on the pack ice since....there's not much ice out there for them to hunt on. So they're starting to be closer to the landmass, where since the sea is not as deep here, the water freezes over. So in summary, if you look from the 'beach' outside my hut, you'll see ice for miles, but if you get more than a mile out from the land, you start coming upon huge stretches of unfrozen sea ice. Just observations.

Chiloe

Trad climber
Lee, NH
Mar 10, 2015 - 10:56am PT
Basically there's a ton of open sea out here even though in the photos it looks like it's all frozen solid. Sea ice isn't like lake water since it's salty (obvious I know, but some people forget that salty water takes longer and colder temperatures to freeze than freshwater). The polar bears are out in full force this year because they're not getting enough to eat. So they can't be out on the pack ice since....there's not much ice out there for them to hunt on. So they're starting to be closer to the landmass, where since the sea is not as deep here, the water freezes over. So in summary, if you look from the 'beach' outside my hut, you'll see ice for miles, but if you get more than a mile out from the land, you start coming upon huge stretches of unfrozen sea ice. Just observations.

Fascinating, thanks for your first-hand report! I've spent time in Kotzebue but never got up to Barrow, hope to do that some day.

OK if I post your note on the Arctic Sea Ice blog? They're mostly watching satellites, I think they'd like to hear this too.
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