Out on the ice!

Greg on the ice

I went out on the ice yesterday with a group of researchers from Canada to sample frost flowers and snow at the ice edge. Unfortunately, the guide advised against doing it since there was ice coming in and the lead was closing fast. So, no samples!

OASIS Canada

We had to stay on site and with the generator running and snow machines passing frequently, there was no point sampling snow for VOC analysis. Briefly – a nice trip out on the ice, but useless scientifically! I returned back home in time for some more snow and air sampling before sunset.

MOUDI out … and in again

modules

Sampling started on time – since my gear had arrived as planned. I have settled into a sampling routine with initially 3 snow samples a day (morning/noon/late afternoon). I have since added a fourth sample in the early morning before sunrise. The dedicated snow sampling site is just behind the tent on the picture. I also take air samples once a day at the snow site and will collect aerosol samples near the prefab buildings with the MOUDI. Additionally I take snow samples for Hg and microbiological analyses (i.e. sterile).

The idea is to monitor VOC concentrations in air and surface snow as it changes over the day. With the additional dark sample I would like to follow the concentrations with the diurnal cycle. As a consequence I would like to investigate, how species move between snow and air and are subjected to photochemistry and microbiological degradation.

labspace

I put out the MOUDI yesterday for a first run, but had to take it in in the late afternoon, because of the blowing snow – which started clogging the sampling vent. You can see parts of it on the left – now parked in the lab.

On a related note – I helped launching a balloon yesterday. Find me on the pictures in the OASIS blog. Hint: Second row of pictures, right photo – I am the guy on the far right 😉

Starting up …

Sunset

I got my gear from the airport yesterday – a whole pallet, which just fitted onto the truck. It’s fun driving on the icy roads with $40,000 worth of gear in the back.

People have been incredibly helpful so far! I got some lab space in a corner and there is always somebody to ask for a tool, advice,… Started setting up and after a long day a beautiful Aurora stretching across the night sky led me home!

I started sampling today (air and snow) and learned a lot about snow stratigraphy, when a French colleague dug a trench and gave us a rundown of its most important features. I sampled the wind packed top layer afterwards.

Btw – you can follow the whole OASIS campaign at http://www.oasishome.net/blog!

Anchorage

I am at Anchorage airport waiting for my connecting flight to Barrow. So far it’s been smooth coming from Chicago, if a bit tedious. The layover and time to stretch my legs in Seattle was minimal with barely 15 min to connect.

I enjoyed the view as we went North along the inside passage – spectacular glaciers and a very calm sea. It is sunny with -5 degrees Celsius, so quite mild. Barrow will be different.

Flights to Barrow were cancelled for the past few days (check the OASIS Blog!) but for now everything seems to be on schedule. Let’s see …

Barrow on Google Maps
Barrow on Google Maps

And here is Barrow on the map!

YUL – ORDeal

My first leg on my trip to Barrow is finally over. I made it to Chicago in 6 hours (instead of 2 1/2) due to delays and bad weather at O’Hare. A little bit of snow (how ironic 😉 caused a complete shutdown at O’Hare and quite a few delays on the tarmac (3 hours taxiing!)

My cargo is already in Anchorage and should arrive together with me in Barrow tomorrow night. Chicago – Seattle is next tomorrow morning at 8 am.

On my way to Barrow, AK soon …

The last few weeks have been busy – so busy that I was unable to blog about my stay in Barrow, Alaska, which is about to begin on Sunday!

Research near Barrow, Alaska
Research near Barrow, Alaska (from: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/)

I will spend about 4 weeks investigating the snow pack and taking samples to analyse for (semi-)volatile organic compounds. For now I have been preparing instruments and other gear, which is on its way to Barrow as well – although stuck in Memphis, TN to clear Customs. It should arrive at the destination on time! I shipped about 350 kg of gear, a lot of pre-cleaned glass bottles, but also a microscope and impactors for aerosol sampling.

Now I am ready to go and I will write a little more about my research programme in the coming days!

Lecture Series on Climate Models

I attend a lecture series offered by the Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3) at McGill University. Aimed at non-climate scientists, the series elucidates how climate models are set-up, used and interpreted – including their capabilities and limitations.

As a non-modeler this is quit interesting, when it comes to usage of measurement data (like the data I produce) are used in models. Ultimately, I would try some modeling myself in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of how pollutants move between the snow pack and the lower troposphere.

Excellent lecture series! Sometimes a bit basic for my taste (I attended enough seminars on modeling research in the past after all ;-), but still a good opportunity to tie up a few loose ends.