Under the ice of the Arctic.....
With a air temperature of -18 and a water temp. of 1.8 degrees... one just needs to take off your big parka and go for a little swim!
So with my D200 housed in an Aquatica housing, it is time to get the camera wet and see what the world under 5' of ice looks like. With John Jorgenson and Jeremy Stewert at the ready it is time to venture below the surface of the Arctic ocean and venture into the unknown.
If one looks close, you can see the drill marks on the ice edge from cutting the dive hole with an auger.
As with all things in the CFL.... The science does not stop even if one is under the ice...
So from under the ice of the Arctic..... Thanks for looking in.
Cheers for now
Doug
When it Rains it Pours....
With the above in mind, I would like to just post a few images and with luck they will tell the story of (some) of the activity I've been following. Sorry for the limited articulation.... but it is late Monday night and 0700 will come fast enough without me trying to create a longer post.
Contaminate Team collecting samples to assist in evaluating the amount of contaminates that exist in the Arctic.
Stig Falk-Petersen from Norway with his student setting traps to catch Amphipods
Just a good piece of rubble ice to photograph...
A scientist taking an image of me photographing them.....
Darn these people don't they know I hate people taking my picture....
A typical scene from the ice... Crews working hard and our floating home in the background.
A kite shot that allowed me to still be on the ground and use a different camera to take even more images.
Actually a shot of me.... walking on the ice
Using an "Air-boat" allows us to travel on both ice and water....
Stig again showing us the finer points of fishing for little bugs in the Arctic
When your feet get hot from to much walking....
Just dip them in the Arctic ocean and they will cool off very sooooooon!
While I'm doing all this ice walking, it is a good idea to watch for the cracks. As one must remember we are working on a very thin veneer that covers hundreds of meters of very cold water.
Cheers for now....
Doug
From LA - To The Arctic.....
Well it has been an interesting couple days and my comments today might be a little longer than most as I've got a lot to report....
First up I'm having the great privilege of being onboard with Tony Christopher. He is the producer and founder of Anthony Christopher Productions based out of Las Angelis California. This group specializes in creating environmental documentaries from all over the globe.
It has been fun to witness first hand the passion and outright excitement that flows from this man as he struggles to not just get the shot he wants…. Yet he does it so he does not endanger himself or anyone around him. It funny to watch as Tony injects himself into situations that I’m sure he is not used to but yet he trudges ahead like it’s no big deal.
I noted a little concern yesterday as I watched him trying to figure out the best route to take as we walked across some ice slush…. I must admit myself that these little pools can make a person remember that we are in a very dangerous environment and one needs to stay alert.
One just never knows if your next step will be the one that puts you through the thin venire of ice that is covering several hundred meters of cold Arctic water.
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Next up we have a little adventure with the ice Breaker when the captain is trying to one thing and Mother Nature has other ideas...
Hope you enjoy....
Just press (Play) to view....
Cheers for now
Doug
Arctic Bound.... Trip #3
As I sit in Inuvik eating breakfast, I wondered at the size of the planet we call home. Having toast and coffee for $9.50 I have to wonder how someone on the other side of the globe would deal with such prices. $9.50 could very well be many hours if not days of work. Yet in this corner of the globe it is considered normal.
With the TV in the corner playing the highlights from last night baseball game from some far off United Sates city. It was funny how I felt I was on the moon or something as I watched the fans in the stands wearing short sleeve shirts. While I was in a world that was still very much covered in snow with a predicted high of -25c for the day. Not that this is a bad temp, as we are after-all above the Arctic Circle and one should expect that it (might) be a little on the cool side. Heck the last time I was here -25 would have been considered Bermuda short weather… and I guess we even did the image to prove it.
Waiting for Climate Change
At the end of the day, it just reinforced my earlier thinking about this big spinning ball we are part of... normal for one place, could be quit an extreme in another.
I’m sure if you talk to someone living in Winnipeg Manitoba and tell them that Climate Change will affect their weather with warming patterns. I’m sure they would tell you…. “Darn, it’s about time, we could stand it to be a bit warmer around Winnipeg”.
Yet climate change is not just about the temperature going up… It’s about the storms, drought and strong weather events that we already see happening in different part of the planet.
Will these changes be good or bad? Well I guess it comes back to this big ball we are riding and where you might be located on it. Because logic tells me that we as a people don’t have a great track record for giving much more than lip service for things that happen to others in far off places. We just look at a given situation and think gosh that’s terrible and then jump in our SUV and head about our business. Or have our governments make a big splash about giving a bunch of money and then in a lot of cases not delivering.
But for me, I’m just the guy with the camera and darn glad to be back in the Arctic for a third session. This trip will be action packed with a Dive Program, circumpolar Inuit conference, International Schools on Board program and many science people from all over the world just waiting to have me stick my camera in their face.
So stay tuned….
Cheers for now
Doug