Staff return to Summit Station's Big House during a spring storm. Photo: Katrine Gorham

Due to high winds and low visibility on the ice sheet, a scheduled flight to Summit Station, Greenland, has been cancelled today. The flight would have brought additional personnel and supplies to the outpost to prepare for the busy summer research period. An advance team arrived on Thursday and has begun turnover with the staff of five who have been maintaining ongoing experiments since early November.

Saturday’s forecast calls for improving conditions, though continued high winds may keep the staff grounded in Kangerlussuaq for another day. Stay tuned.

Comments (0) Feb 03 2012

A sumptuous feast, including Beef Wellington, marks the end of Phase II and the beginning of Phase III winter operations at Summit. Clockwise from front left: Katrine Gorham, Tracy Sheeley, Ben Castellani, Lance Roth (in the knit cap), Phil Austin, Christy Schultz, Tommy Cox (or Tommy's hair anyway), Ben Buchwald, and Shannon Coykendall. Photo: Ben Toth

A Norland Air Twin Otter plane on skis landed at Summit Station today, delivering staff, materials, and fresh fruit and vegetables. A staff of five, isolated at the station since early November, welcomed the advance team to the remote research outpost on Greenland’s icesheet.  It’s “a full Big House,” commented station manager Ben Toth, referring to Summit Station’s iconic main building. “It’s nice to have some new faces around.”

Let the transition begin! This Norland Air Twin Otter brought Summit staff (and freshies!) to the station. Photo: Ben Toth

The Twin Otter paused only long enough to deliver passengers and cargo before flying on to Kangerlussuaq on Greenland’s west coast. Additional CPS staff are waiting there to assist with Summit’s transition and/or staff the station until it opens for the summer research period in April. Weather permitting, the Twin Otter will fly this team to Summit tomorrow before flying back to Iceland.

Summit Station is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation in cooperation with the Government of Greenland. It is managed by CH2M HILL Polar Services.–Kip Rithner

Comments (0) Feb 02 2012

What light through yonder window breaks?

Dawn breaks at Summit Station for the first time in 2012. From left, in the distance, the Temporary Atmospheric Watch Observatory, Swiss Tower (on which instruments are mounted), Science and Operations Barn, the Green House, and the Big House. January 31, 2012. Photo: Ben Toth

Our friends at Summit Station welcomed the sun yesterday. “I could almost even feel its warmth on my face…. almost,” wrote station manager Ben Toth.

The sun is returning, and so is a small plane, which should approach the station via Iceland tomorrow. It will drop off fresh veggies and an advance team of staff, then fly to Kangerlussuaq to pick up the remaining staff waiting to get in to Summit.  It’s time for a fresh crew to prepare for the busy research season ahead.

So far, the forecast is favorable, so cross your fingers. Meanwhile, here’s another picture of the dawn.

The Temporary Atmospheric Watch Observatory blocks the sun, which helps reveal the Yukimarimo (snow doodles) in the foreground. Photo: Ben Toth

Comments (0) Feb 01 2012

Yukimarimo. Photo: Shannon Coykendall

A late December bedecking of Yukimarimo around Summit Station seemed like “a present befitting the season,” wrote Ben Toth, whose team is keeping the NSF-funded research station and its ongoing experiments running through mid-winter.

“These little snowballs occur when fine frost layers form on the snow surface at cold air temperatures,” Ben explained. “These balls form due to weak wind conditions and become mobile, like little tumbleweeds across the surface, collecting in pockets sculpted by drift or in footprints.”

Ben says the team of five “finished off the year with a productive week sandwiched between the two holidays. Christmas Sunday was celebrated with the requisite Christmas tunes, a lit tree, decorations, and a Kiwi-style meal of “good tucker.” Rack of lamb and pavlova was on the menu as was roasted squash (the very last) and amazing maple syrup pies.

“New Year’s Eve was celebrated [with] a plethora of appetizers. . . . The tapas-themed meal segued into a comfortable evening counting down to 2012. All hands made it to midnight but retired shortly thereafter, rising somewhat later than usual on New Year’s Day to spectacular light and clear weather bringing in the new year.”

For more on Yukimarimo, visit http://homepage3.nifty.com/takaokameda/index.html)

Tumbled snow or Yukimarimo at Summit Station, Greenland. Photo: Shannon Coykendall

Comments (1) Jan 02 2012

 Frosty Freeze

The walk back from the atmospheric watch building seems a bit longer on cold winter days. From this point of view, Summit Station's science and operations building nudges the iconic Big House, with its roof-perched radome and welcoming porch light. Photo: Shannon Coykendall

We were glad to read that cold north winds, which for several weeks had been dominating the weather reports from Summit Station, subsided last week. A welcome relief to deep freeze conditions reported earlier. “We hit a wind chill of -107F earlier today and the ambient temperature is around -67F…it doesn’t take much wind to make it bite!”, wrote Shannon Coykendall on 30 November.

The moon rises over a winter storage berm at Summit Station. Photo: Shannon Coykendall

In addition to bringing the cold, north winds can blow exhaust from station generators into the pristine sampling zone. Ongoing atmospheric and snow chemistry measurements are impacted when the station’s emissions mix into the signal. So, during periods when the winds blow from the north, station personnel avoid activities that create exhaust.

Twice during late November and early December, the staff had to fire heavy equipment to collect snow to resupply the station’s water supply during north wind conditions. Each time, the science technicians followed protocol and notified the research community.

Heavy equipment stored outside at Summit Station in Greenland gets a nice layer of frost. Photo: Shannon Coykendall

Finally, last week, “Summit crawled out from underneath the north winds that have dominated the past few weeks. Bringing clouds and warmer weather, the southerlies created an opportune chance to catch up on making water and for the science techs to perform their non-north wind tasking,” wrote station manager Ben Toth. “The winds also gained strength this week, reaching sustained speeds of 15.5 knots. Temperatures this week ranged from a low of -60 C on Tuesday to a high of a balmy -34 C on Saturday.”–Kip Rithner

Comments (4) Dec 15 2011

Halloween 2011 at Summit Station, Greenland

On the floor, from left: Sonja Wolter, Ben Toth, and Brad Halter. Next level up on the couches from the left: Christina Hammock, Tommy Cox, Lance Roth, Ken Keenan, Russ Howes, Ed Stockard, Katrine Gorham and Tracy Sheeley. Standing from the left: Shannon Coykendall and Ben Buchwald.

The team halted turnover activities temporarily last night at Summit Station to celebrate Halloween, and as the pictures attest, folks were clearly in the mood for a costume party. “We dined on a lovely Halloween themed-meal, complete with pumpkin ghoulash and mashed potatoes with sculpted ghosts,” wrote Tracy Sheeley, Summit manager of operations.  “Quite a celebration!”

Those who’ve enjoyed reports of optical phenomenon at Summit during the early winter phase might note that CPS science technician Christina Hammock (far left) is dressed up as a sun dog.

“Everything is going smoothly for turnover,” Tracy wrote. “We got in one day late due to weather, but are moving through everything steadily.  Temps are chilly (-55F/-48C, windchill – 93F/-69C, as I type) with 16kt winds. Great group of people for both phases.”

CH2M HILL Polar Services operates Summit Station, near the highest point on Greenland’s ice sheet, for the U.S. National Science Foundation, which manages the station in cooperation with the Government of Greenland. Summit houses instruments that provide year-round, long-term measurements for monitoring and investigations of the Arctic environment.  The station is open by invitation to visiting scientists during the summer, and is accessible via ski-equipped airplane and tracked vehicle. During the winter period, which lasts from September through early April, the station is closed; but a team of five maintains the station and its ongoing experiments. CPS breaks this winter period into three, roughly 10-week phases, and conducts resupply and intense training activities during staff turnover between each period.

“If all goes to plan, we will send Phase I out on Saturday and Russ (Howes, CPS’ Greenland maintenance manager) and I out on Sunday.” wrote Tracy. Good luck to the incoming Phase II team, and thanks and warm wishes–literally–to the outgoing Phase I team.–Kip Rithner

Comments (0) Nov 01 2011

NSF Awards Arctic Research Support and Logistics Contract to CH2M HILL Polar Services

We are as thrilled and energized as this Greenlandic Husky pup! Photo: Ed Stockard

CH2M HILL Polar Services (CPS) is quite pleased to announce that the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a contract to CH2M HILL Constructors, Inc., of Englewood, Colorado on 28 September 2011 to provide research support and logistics services for NSF-sponsored research in the Arctic.

Since 1999 CH2M HILL has teamed with subcontractors Polar Field Services and SRI International to form CH2M HILL Polar Services, or CPS.  A new partner—Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation’s UMIAQ—will join the CPS team for the contract period beginning in October 2011.

CPS will deliver pre-proposal field work estimates, risk assessments, logistics and operational plans, transportation, communications, safety training, telemedicine, engineering, design and construction, maintenance, field camp operations and personnel to groups working in the Arctic.

New team member UMIAQ is a subsidiary of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), the Barrow village corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. UMIAQ will provide local support to researchers working in Barrow, Alaska and surrounding communities, including operation of UIC-owned facilities and the Barrow Environmental Observatory. UMIAQ understands the politics, culture, land use, regulations, and engineering and design conditions in arctic and subarctic Alaska and provides reliable local knowledge and expertise.

Visit the CPS website (http://www.polar.ch2m.com/ ) for more information about the company’s services.

For more information about the NSF arctic research program, visit http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=ARC.

Contact:

Mike McKibben, CH2M HILL Polar Services

303.885.4644, mike.mckibben@ch2m.com

CPS Program Manager

Comments (0) Oct 14 2011

2011 PolarTREC teacher, Susy Ellison, samples spruce trees for a dendrochronology study in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. All photos: Susy Ellison

Susy Ellison is the high school science teacher we all wish we’d had. With projects like designing and building an energy-efficient straw-bale classroom, installing solar panels on the school’s roof, and building a greenhouse (and growing things in it), Ellison is infusing her students with a strong sense of what she calls environmental literacy. Now in her 15^th year at Yampah Mountain High School in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Ellison spent the summer with two teams of Alaskan researchers as a PolarTREC teacher, so this year’s class will, no doubt, be in for some fun and interesting science activities.

Ellison’s love for Alaska goes back to graduate school when she spent time in Prudhoe Bay studying how arctic foxes interact with nesting shorebirds and small mammals. Her field experience served her well this year as she traveled to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for a six-day NSF-funded tree-ring study with Kevin Anchukaitis and Angie Allen (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory),  and to the Raven Bluff Site for two weeks with Jeff Rasic (UAF/NPS), William Hedman (BLM), and Ian Buvit (Central Washington University) for a NSF-supported study on early human settlement in arctic Alaska.

For the tree-ring study, field team members spent their time extracting straw-sized cores from standing white spruce trees in five sites spread over a few miles; Anchukaitis will compare annual growth rings from these cores with samples taken from fallen trees. By analyzing the thickness of annual rings, they will reconstruct North Slope climate and ultimately determine controls on the extent of arctic forest growth.

Traveling light - Ellison and Allen congratulate themselves on hauling all their gear in one trip.

“The tree-ring study was really interesting. Many scientists think that with climate warming and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees might just grow and grow and grow, but new research says this may not be true. You can keep feeding someone, but it’s not going to make them taller,” explains Ellison. “I was impressed with how pretty simple science can provide pretty big answers. There were only three of us and we were just out there. We travelled light and fast. It was fun!”

Following a 10-day break exploring the Kenai Peninsula, Ellison joined Jeff Rasic’s team for a rainy and cool two week archaeological excavation near Kivalina.  Despite the soggy weather, the group made the best of things and worked hard to maximize their field time. In addition to searching for artifacts in one-meter square pits started during the 2010 field season, Ellison participated in a soil survey and in reconnaissance flights wherein the group looked for new archaeological sites.

“We usually hear that the first people to North America came from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge and then headed south. The Raven site is about the same age, about 12,000 years old, as the Clovis culture sites farther south. At Raven we looked, in particular, for these fluted spear points so that they can be dated and compared to similar Clovis-age points. The idea is that people may have moved back and forth between Alaska and southern North America rather than unidirectionally,” says Ellison.

“The similarity in these projects is that we were looking at old stuff, attempting to get information that can be applied to the present and, perhaps, predict future changes in the Arctic,” Ellison says. “The scientists were so passionate about their studies and the field season in Alaska is so short – they had to get it done. Everyone worked really hard to complete the work required in the short time period.”

Ellison tries to stay dry while recording soil profile data.

Now that a new school year is underway, Ellison is thinking about ways to share her PolarTREC experiences with Yampah. So far, she’s considering having students look at tree rings to determine Colorado’s long-term fire history. She would also like to take a group backpacking in Utah to see some archaeological sites close to home while considering what clues they might leave behind for future archaeologists to find.

Ellison’s school is run by the Mountain Board of Cooperative Educational Services, and serves students from four public school districts.  The school serves as an alternative to students who have been unsuccessful in other area high schools for one reason or another.

“Teaching science at Yampah is very challenging,” Ellison says. “Our classes are ungraded, which means that in one class I have students from all grades with all levels of science proficiency. I teach life, physical, and earth science so I have a lot of information to distill. Then, I put my own spin on it. I like to have an environmental focus with very hands-on projects. My experiences with PolarTREC have given me so many new ideas for how to communicate climate change issues and science research  to all my students, regardless of their science background.”—Marcy Davis

PolarTREC (Polar Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, or ARCUS. The program aims to give teachers professional development experiences conducting research in the polar regions with career scientists to boost the teachers’ content knowledge and to give them hands-on experience in scientific inquiry. ARCUS is accepting applications through the end of September from teachers and researchers interested in participating in the PolarTREC program during the 2012-2013 research season. Visit the ARCUS PolarTREC website for more information: http://www.polartrec.com/

Comments (0) Sep 23 2011

Summit Station Images Featured on Atmospheric Optics

Greenland Glory. Photo: Ed Stockard

The above photo, and the one just below, have been featured recently as the Optics Photo of the Day on the Atmospheric Optics website (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/). Ed Stockard shot both images at Summit Station on Greenland’s ice sheet, where he is working this fall.

The Atmospheric Optics website is devoted to explaining and exploring the visual results of light playing on particles in the air–ash, dust, and in Ed’s case, ice. The rainbow-colored rings encircling the building form a “glory,” explains website curator Les Crowley, the result of “sunlight diffracted almost directly back along its path by very small fog droplets.” Click the picture for a better view. Glory indeed.

Visit the Atmospheric Optics website to learn more about optical effects in the atmosphere, and to find out when, how, and where you might be able to see some in person.

A short description of the science behind the optical effect accompanies each image. You may also visit Ed Stockard’s flickr page, which he is updating with more lovely images from Summit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/coastaleddy/ ).–Kip Rithner

Greenland Halos. Photo: Ed Stockard

Comments (0) Sep 12 2011

The Healy and the St-Laurent work side-by-side in this USGS photo from 2009. Click on the picture for a better view of the ship's decks.

Earlier this month, Barrow, Alaska-based CPS and UMIAQ staff helped some 35 researchers, media members, NOAA, U.S. Geological Survey, Coast Guard (USCG), Navy, and other federal-agency personnel, as they embarked the USCG Cutter Healy for the fourth annual Extended Continental Shelf Survey. A joint effort between the US and Canada, the survey focuses on mapping the sea floor off the coasts of Alaska and Canada. Data collected during these cruises may help policy makers from each country verify where they have natural resource rights in the Canada Basin under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which spells out how countries define their marine boundaries. (For more on the UNCLOS, visit http://www.flipseekllc.com/mmsextendshelf.html)

As the northernmost settlement in Alaska, Barrow seems a good place to set sail for a cruise in the Arctic Ocean. Since the small, remote village lacks a deep-water port —and has no roads in and out of town for that matter—embarking a large vessel here presents some logistical challenges which were overcome with advance planning and much coordination. Passengers and cargo arrived by air on 13 August, and the Healy anchored off coast two days later, right on schedule. Everyone assembled in the North Slope Bureau’s large search-and-rescue helicopter hanger for pre-flight activities before transferring to the ship. With rare, fair weather in Barrow, cruise participants flew to the Healy and the cruise got under way on 16 August.

Chief scientist Larry Mayer weighs his bag prior to flying to the Healy.

Wearing an orange "mustang suit" for protection against the elements, this researcher prepares to approach the helicopter that will ferry him to the USCGC Healy. Photos: Faustine Bernadac unless otherwise noted.

“The transfer could not have been this successful without the North Slope Bureau Search and Rescue allowing us to stage out of their helicopter hanger,” wrote CPS Barrow staffer Faustine Bernadac who coordinated CPS/UMIAQ support, “So I personally would like to thank them again for their great help.”

We’ve heard that the cruise is going well. The first few days, the Healy worked alone off the coast of Barrow, mapping an area called the Barrow Margin. According to a post by Capt. Andy Armstrong of the NOAA-University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM), weather did impact some of the measurements—but in unexpected ways. Calm seas and blue skies combined to create two distinct water layers—warm, fresher water lying atop the colder, saltier water below, affecting the sonar signal. Experts had to correct the data for this distortion. A day or so later,
things got back to polar-normal when wind-tossed seas stirred the waters again. (Visit the CCOM website to keep up with Armstrong’s reports from the Healy.)

This work completed, the Healy steamed toward a northern rendezvous point to meet the Canadian Coast Guard’s St-Laurent, mapping enroute. The St-Laurent pulled alongside the Healy as planned on 23 August, and, after a day of science and planning meetings, the international team set out to begin studying the main aim of the cruise, a line stretching from the Chukchi Cap north to the Lomonosov Ridge (see the cruise track, below). Personnel aboard the two vessels will work together for about a month
before parting ways around 23 September. The Healy will break ice for the St-Laurent as needed, while collecting ocean-bottom (or bathymetric) data, primarily using a multi-beam echo sounder. The St. Laurent will conduct seismic profiles to establish sub-bottom characteristics.

In addition to the Extended Continental Shelf survey, USGS and University of Florida scientists aboard the Healy are collecting water samples for a study of Arctic Ocean acidification.  The team is also updating a website. Follow along—and submit questions, if you like—at http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/ocean-acidification/arcticcruise2011/ –Kip Rithner

Comments (1) Aug 31 2011