Science

The Director of the National Science Foundation made a visit to Summit Camp today, reportedly the first director to do so. I believe I did an adequate job on showing him and the other NSF guests around the MSF while explaining what ICECAPS is about.

They are flying out on a twin otter plane early tomorrow morning. Fortunately the new director, Dr. Suresh, spoke about changes to come in the next month and gave a wonderful overview of the role of the National Science Foundation.

With very little overhead the NSF funds programs in education, social sciences, natural sciences, and pretty much any other science you can think of. It really got me thinking about the value that science has and the deep seeded respect for it I have grown to take for granted.

One question posed to defenders of science is: "What exactly is its value." The value I believe this question refers to is a superficial one, with short term vision and a monetary tone. The true value cannot be known beforehand. An idea could be completely wrong or it could break the surface of our understanding, freeing a rush of new possibilities. Somewhere in between these two extremes the tedious part happens, facts are verified and details are nailed down. This is the value of the NSF, a resource across many disciplines creating opportunities for discovery and innovation.

For me it is easy to see that corporations are not the answer to economic problems. They often have short term gains in sight and despite their judicial rights they suffer little consequences for their wrongs. What must be addressed are issues as a whole, which may include aspects such as social, environmental, economic, energy supply, and health. Without entities like the NSF these pieces are easily compartmentalized and a synergistic solution could be easily disregarded.

As we float down the river of progress we can't hope to always rely on the same notions or we'll find ourselves resourcing the same ideas over and over until they are dry. To carry us further, we need the tools to break though to new well springs of truth. In my opinion scientific thought is the best tool for discovery and innovative solutions.

MSF - the office

Solstice has passed and a sunny one it was. A couple of epic rounds of bocce ball and a movie about zombie sheep (Black Sheep) and the solstice was a success.

No it's not raining, that's a fogbow framing the Mobil Science Facility (MSF).

With the resultant warm weather more visitors are scheduled to come to Summit. I thought since I'll be the one to give tours of the MSF, which houses the ICECAPS instruments, it would be a good time share with you the measurements being done here.

Overall, ICECAPS is a four year project to record cloud, radiation and precipitation properties over the Arctic ice sheet. Basically measuring the atmospheric state of the area from the ground looking upwards.

Nearest and dearest to my heart are the Microwave Radiometers.
These instruments are a part of the project operated by the University of Wisconsin. I've helped to create quicklook images and ensure the data is calibrated.

These bad boys can measure the amount of water vapor in the air (not much) and estimate how much liquid water is condensed into clouds. In addition, the MWRs will be utilized for my master's thesis to retrieve temperature profiles over the ice sheet in order to investigate how these profiles evolve in the presence of various clouds.


I launch a radiosonde every morning at 9:15 local time and earlier if there is a flight coming in.
These weather balloons give a snapshot profile of the atmosphere.


The PAERI instrument, operated by the University of Idaho, is an infrared spectrometer that scans from 3-18um, having the ability to retrieve temperature profiles up to the cloud base and discriminate between ice or liquid phase clouds.


The Ceilometer and the Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) are similar instruments that detect cloud height. The ceilometer is much better for detecting the low level clouds and is actually used for the incoming flights to make sure visibility is acceptable for landing. The MPL is great for detecting cirrus clouds in addition to the low level mixed phase clouds.




These laser based instruments look up through windows which I check every day when I do my rounds on the roof of the MSF. Pictured here is the CAPABL window, operated by the University of Colorado, which measures backscatter off particles such as aerosols and ice particles of various orientations. The green wavelength laser is powerful enough to damage the eyes so don't look directly down the hatch.




The POSS sensor (right) is a precipitation sensor that can work in conjunction with the radar (below).


This 8mm Doppler Radar is cloud sensitive and can see snowfall events in great detail. Unfortunately the radar was broken when I got here and is the only instrument that isn't operating. In July the replacement parts should arrive and I'll get to reassemble and recalibrate the system. Good stuff except I haven't seen the software yet and haven't worked with waveguides before. Should be interesting, I am looking forward to it.


If you are still with me, the last instrument is a sodar which is good for measuring the speed of the boundary layer, giving a sense of the turbulence and how the surface interacts with the lowest level of the atmosphere.

The sodar chirps a few meters away from the MSF. It is the white box structure, while the tower in the distance samples air and boundary layer properties for a different project.

Plenty to keep me busy, but if things are running smoothly I can launch a radiosonde balloon and do my rounds before lunch, leaving the afternoon to either do research or troubleshoot lingering problems.

After a nice few weeks of settling in I think I'm prepared for what the next month has in store. This will include multiple visits from our source of funds, the National Science Foundation, as well as tours by high school and college honors students and possibly some reporters. I'll have to time my showers well, I know I'm due for one tonight.

Exercise

The winds came whipping through the camp a few days ago reaching 20 knots or so. Although not close to the max winds speeds, the wind chill makes being outside very unpleasant. The snow laden wind causes drifts like sand dunes and bury anything in its path.

Since the cook (from the Badger State) is so talented and the menu so tasty it is essential to find a way to get some exercise.

The Rec Port is the place to go when the winds are howling and I want to get the heart rate up. Weights, stationary bikes and a nice area to practice yoga are all under this bubble. The yoga really helped to get me settled that first week and it is where it really sunk in that I was here.




Also around camp we have number of outdoor games to play; bocce ball, golf, croquet and frisbee. Although we haven't gotten a game of ultimate in we did get a nice throwing session in around midnight last night. Actually one of the mechanics played at Georgia Tech the same years I played ultimate in college, probably matching up against each other at Classic City Classic.

Today was gorgeous with low winds and sunshine. I brought my xcountry ski boots and was excited to find a stash of skis in the green house that folks had left here to use, including a pair of skate skis. The skiway, which is really just the landing strip for planes, was nice and groomed. After getting into a rhythm I made it to the end of the skiway (3 miles). Below you can barely see camp in the distance, if at all.
The feeling of solitude was unsettlingly awesome. Not a sound. White for miles and miles. Compared to the ice I was miniscule in size and short in existence.

At Summit

I have been very busy, and it hard to believe that I've been at Summit Camp for one week now. Straight off the plane I could feel the altitude, more than I would have when living in Colorado. Fresh baked cookies welcomed us into the Big House which is elevated in preparation for the snow drifts to come.

In trying to describe the atmosphere here I would say it is the best of both worlds: like being on a hut trip in the Rocky Mountains (without the mountains) and working in the lab with interesting instruments. If only I could have the best of all worlds and get Cathy and Huxley here to give it that family feel. After only four days, half of the 35 people flew out of camp leaving the right number of folks to not feel crowded. There are only three science techs up here including myself with a handful of others here for a three week stint.

The camp makes water from the snow by melting it next to the diesel generator.

The Mobile Science Facility (MSF) is where I spend most of the day checking on the instruments, which look at cloud properties in this remote location. The flags lead back to the Big House in case visibility the is low, but so far it has been balmy with temps above 0 degrees F. Really the wind chill is what nips you since that is usually far below zero.

A fellow student, Aronne, showed me the ropes and how to use them to tie up a radiosonde. After some long days he had imparted his wisdom, and I was ready to take over.



The folks here for the 3 week stint stay in these solar heated tents, don't be fooled by the name, bring the warmest sleeping bag you can find.
Luckily I have a spot in the greenhouse with a bunk and running water. Below, Aronne contemplating his time there.
The sun hasn't set all week and I don't think it will anytime soon, with the solstice approaching. Sleep has been hard to come by, but maybe I've gotten enough sleep over the years to have 1 eleven week day.

One cool part is the optical phenomena, during the "night" time hours. Here the shop, home to a myriad of snow vehicles is overshadowed by a sundog. This bright spot is caused by refraction at 22deg with respect to the sun from ice crystals that are kicked up by the wind. All in all life is good at Summit.

Edge of the Ice

I made it to Summit Station without much trouble. A quick landing on the snowy runway and fresh cookies to greet us in the Big House. I've been very busy getting oriented and trained during the 4 day turnover.
Allow me to back up and share our trip to the edge of the ice sheet 20 miles from Kanger, thanks to Von, one of the PIs from the University of Idaho who found a way to rent a rock solid Toyota diesel and show us the ropes.

We marveled at this slow moving glacier with amazingly jagged peaks.

The temperature dropped while the views remained spectacular.
About 500 miles to Summit Camp. Good thing we don't have to traverse by sled dog, Huxley might get tired.

We headed back down and prepared for our trip to the top of the ice, which is over 2 miles deep.

Journey to Greenland

The trip to Summit station began in Schenectady, NY and continued courtesy of the Air National Guard 109th division. We left the hotel at 5am in order to get to the base in enough time for the 8:30 flight. I couldn't help but think of my brother as he is serving in the Air Force and imagine what kind on planes he'd been on. He's certainly been on a C130 which is really a cargo plane that can land on many different surfaces, ice being the most important for me.

You can see the ski landing gear in the bottom on the plane. It was certainly a full flight and quite noisy which left my ears ringing afterwards even with ear plugs. The ANG was smart and slept on hammocks while I didn't get much shuteye.

My seat was about the fourth one back on the right side and didn't leave much leg room. If you look close you might make out someone sleeping in the cargo net above the palettes in the back.

After a stop in Goose Bay, Canada to refuel we were off to Kangerlussuaq Greenland. All told about 7 hour flight in the air plus stops. Not too bad of a flight but the food waiting for us was well appreciated after not eating much in the plane. We had arrived at the west coast of Greenland to a town with a population of about 500 people.





Ben, who is a graduate student at the University of Colorado, walks in to Kanger where he ate Musk Ox curry and Much Ox calzones. I had a bite but after a rough plane ride for my stomach I played it safe with some chicken fried rice and peperoni pizza served by a jovial Turkish restaurant owner.







Below is a picture of me running next to the river bed which originates from the ice sheet melt water. Honestly this is just a case of the camera timer being faster than me. You can't see it but around the bend is a golf course. No joke. Lots of sandtraps (no grass) and I have no idea how someone would putt. Next post I will have pics of the edge if the ice!