Notes from the Field

To better understand ecological processes in Arctic and boreal regions, researchers traversed Alaska’s mucky tundra and dug holes in permafrost.

GoPro or How to quantify white caps at the surface of the ocean ? Several groups of NAAMES are interested in the surface of the ocean covered with white caps. Why do we care about white caps? White caps have an important role in the air sea exchange, they are a mix of air and […]

Fighting bubbles… On board the R/V Atlantis we have many instruments through which we pump surface water or air to analyze their content while under way or at a station (parked in the middle of the ocean). Unfortunately, something as harmless as a bubble can make a lot of problems for us, as it affects […]

If the head count at dinner provides any indication of whether the upper hand belongs to science or the sea, the sea was easily ahead in the first round.  After slightly delaying our departure from Woods Hole to allow a tropical storm to pass, we have now been steaming in its wake and feeling its […]

Today we wave goodbye to our NAAMES team members who will not join us at sea….. And away we go! Starting something new can often be intimidating. Add in a moving boat, some rough weather, and potential sickness and that feeling can become overwhelming. However, these feelings are quickly eclipsed by the sheer excitement of […]

Today was our last day of mobilization before sailing on Day 1 of the NASA NAAMES mission. The scientists and crew were busy making final preparations, there was a buzz in the air that was cooled by a well-timed sea breeze. Boxes were strapped down, filter rigs were secured, and last minute trips were made […]

I had the good fortune to join the crew of the NOAA P-3 “hurricane hunter” plane that flew into Harvey on 25 Aug 2017 shortly before it made landfall in Texas. We made six pairs of eyewall penetrations. The maximum surface level winds continued to grow with each successive one as we witnessed Harvey’s rapid […]

We created some interesting patterns reminiscent of alien crop circles during our snow surveys in Alaska’s Wrangell St Elias National Park last month. Anne Nolin, Chris Cosgrove, Kelly Sivy and I were flown to the Jaeger Mesa cabin in an R44 helicopter, and from there we spent a week measuring snow depth and density along […]

Spring has finally arrived in northern Alberta! The snow has melted, the skies are clear, and migration is in full swing. After several days of heavy snows and cold temperatures, the robins, and many other species, were in a big hurry to make their way north to their breeding grounds. Early in the mornings we […]