by Kate Ramsayer Operation IceBridge took off on the first flight of its final polar campaign Thursday, with a route designed to measure the ice in a region of Antarctica the mission had not yet explored. IceBridge has been gathering data on Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice for 10 years. It …
by Dan Slayback, NASA Research Scientist aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans / KINGDOM OF TONGA / What a week! Having just finished an expedition to Earth's newest landmass, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) in the Kingdom of Tonga a few days ago, I thought I'd write a few thoughts on this latest expedition to Earth's …
By Katie Orndahl /YUKON AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA/ I spent my summer searching for arctic spirits: barren-ground caribou who are, somehow, both omnipresent and elusive. My journey, it turns out, would trace the migration route of the Porcupine caribou herd, linking boreal forest and arctic tundra ecosystems unlike any other northern mammal. The wild landscape …
By Emily B. Hite /NUKU'ALOFA, TONGA/ Under the moonlight of Friday, October 11, 2019, I eagerly trekked across Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) with a team from Sea Education Association (SEA) and NASA to complete one final mission: to measure temperatures around the perimeter of the volcano's crater lake. To our delight, our thermal imaging …
By Natalia Chiapperi & Carlin Schildge /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA'APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ As we begin to wrap up our time here at HTHH, the data collection slowed down and we found some free time to enjoy the beauty and seclusion of the island. The day started late, with an 8:40 wake-up call, the latest we've …
By Cameron Gallant and Katherine H. Webber /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA'APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ KATHERINE: Walking on deck, I welcomed our first sunny day at HTHH; however, upon reaching the island, I was greeted by hot black sand and an all-consuming heat that would last all day. Soon, as a part of the bird/vegetation team, Emily, …
By Grace Callahan /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA'APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ Hello from the newest land mass on earth! I'm Grace, and today was my first day on Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai. (I spent yesterday on the ship, helping to ensure that our anchor wouldn't slip and allow us to be blown out to sea.) After breakfast …
by Frank Wenninger and Michael Tirone /HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA'APAI, KINGDOM OF TONGA/ As we labored down into the zodiac with our gear and rations, the ocean splashed violently around us. Those with hats cowered under the power of the southeasterly winds, and those in the front surrendered to the incessant spraying of the ocean. The …
by Kerry Whittaker, Chief Scientist aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans / KINGDOM OF TONGA / On September 27th the SSV Robert C. Seamans departed Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, bound for Earth's newest landmass, located in the Kingdom of Tonga. The ship is a Sea Education Association student sailing and oceanographic vessel with 40 …
Video Credits: NASA/Rafael Luis Mendez Peña by Emily Schaller / ANGELES CITY, PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES / NASA airborne scientists, engineers and pilots have exciting jobs studying and exploring Earth, but one thing that is not typically part of the job description is getting treated like a famous celebrity. However, for the past three weeks, signing autographs …
