Mr. T's IceBlog

Arctic sunset

Another arctic sunset

Those objects floating in the water are ice floes (mini-icebergs).  Actually some are not so small, and are the size of a house!

Very Buggy!

Today was the buggiest day by far!  We collected data in a tundra forest – lots of trees, water, bush, and of course, mosquitos!

Research in progress!

My newest best friend is now my bug jacket.  I am now wearing a bug jacket in addition to my bug hat, giving me two layers of netting protection.  Those little pests CANNOT get me now!

See, they are big!

That is my little finger next to that monster!

Working in the arctic muck

Today we took measurements in a very wet place – it’s called an arctic fen.  The water was about 6 inches to a foot deep in most places, and was VERY GOOEY.  The “goo” was not dirt or silt, but ALL organic matter, including decomposing plants, and bird droppings!  Fortunately none of us fell over in the stuff, but there were a few close calls!  BTW, does anyone know the difference between a fen and a bog?

Decomposing plants and bird droppings!

Summer Solstice Midnight

I took this picture last night just before midnight on the longest day of the year!  Dawn starts around 2am!

A few mosquitos covering my hat

My bug hat looked kinda strange before I left on my trip, but now it’s become my new best friend!  Everyone up here seems to have one.  BTW these mosquitos are about 2 cm long. How many inches is that?

Measuring Seedlings

We’re measuring seedling height, trunk thickness, numbers of branches, and pine needle density to determine how much sample tree species have grown over the past 5-10 years.  These data, along with historical climate data, allow us to correlate tree growth and previous climates.  BTW, a seedling is any tree less than 15 cm tall.

Mosquitos win!

Actually I’m taking a 30 second break.  Lichen and moss cover the ENTIRE ground.  There really isn’t any uncovered ground except for the big boulders that glaciers pushed around a long time ago!

We had a chance to drive along the beach by the Hudson Bay.  There are thousands of ice floes (mini-icebergs) right off the shore.  Most of these are permanent, in that they stay there year round.

We saw lots of seals sunning themselves on the ice and swimming in the water. 

We saw a BELUGA WHALE crusing right off shore diving down and coming back up to spout while exhaling.  We’re told that there thousands of these “sea canaries’” right off at this time of year.  This Fri we’re planning to go rafting among them!

Polar bear sighting (we think) – We saw something swimming off shore among the ice floes.  It wasn’t a seal, it wasn’t a whale, it wasn’t a…well you get the idea!  How long can a polar bear swim in water?

We saw an arctic fox up close and somewhat personal.  It was a dark brown color, which made it hard to see in the brush.  it was creeping stealthily up to a goose…I guess it was about dinnertime for the fox.  BTW, the goose got away.

My EarthWatch Team on Hudson Bay

There are 11 middle school science teachers on our team from around the country.  We are sponsored (= expenses paid by) by Northrop Grumman, an engineering company, and EarthWatch, a non-profit organization created to raise public awareness of global environmental issues (global warming, climate change, renewable energy, etc).  All of my team members are very nice and fun-loving people, in addition, I’m sure, to being great teachers!

Me and my bug hat

 One of our staff members literally watches our backs!