Not just any boat ride
Gerhard Behrens |
| Cruising the waters of the Arctic in a 420 foot Coast Guard icebreaker, how cool is that? Observing leading scientists doing their work, how interesting is that? Buzzing the cliffs and river valleys of Ellesmere Island in a sleek rescue helicopter, can it get more exciting than that? Uhhh…..maybe! |
Climbing down to the boat started the excitement. |
A clam find, another for our scientific collection. |
Yesterday evening, I spent 6 incredible hours in a 25 foot aluminum boat with 3 scientists, 5 divers, and 4 crew, and my fellow teacher, Bob. Everything about this trip was a highlight. Everything! |
| First, you get to bundle up like an astronaut: a couple of layers of warm clothing, big boots, and a Mustang Suit: a full length, windproof, waterproof outfit filled with insulating foam. Then, you climb down the sheer face of the ship, 30 feet, on a rope ladder, into the boat below. |
Surprise, a shrimp from the mud. |
Another surprise, one of many sea worms. |
When the boat takes off, the fun really starts. We rip over the surface of the water, sometimes smooth as silk, other times like we’re riding a bull at the rodeo. The coxswain, (pilot of the boat) BM2 Geist, is totally under control, so it’s a wild ride, but very safe. We arrive at our first location, about 2 miles away from the ship, ready to do some science. |
| That turns out to be just as interesting and fun. Humfrey Melling and Helen Johnson lower a video camera in the water and start searching for a good place to put in a “shallow mooring.” This mooring, like others we have placed, will help the scientists understand how much water comes into this area by measuring the pressure: more water, more pressure. They plan to place the mooring about 20 meters (60 feet) deep. |
Dale took water samples by hand: a rope and a bottle. |
After the diving, we took iceberg samples. |
After throwing the anchor overboard a few times, we realize the bottom is too steep and too rocky to attach a mooring. We move to a second site and find it is muddy, a good sign. The divers get ready to go down, and the crew brings up a sample of the seabed: mud (kind of neat), a clam (good for more research), worms (wow!), and a shrimp (amazing). The divers go to work, 65 feet below us, in 0°C water (32-33°F). After nearly 30 minutes (can you believe it?), they have to come up, and they tell us the ground is too soft to place the mooring. |
| We check out two more sites until we find one that is, as the famous bear says, “Just right.” More hard work by the crew and the divers get the mooring in place. It is a big team effort: pilot the boat safely, anchor safely, get the diving gear on safely, dive safely, and handle the heavy equipment safely. |
Dale walked a mile for a water sample from a river. We all enjoyed the big, broad beach. |
| In the meantime, Bob McCarthy, the physics teacher, takes measurements of the temperature and saltiness of the water. Dale Hubbard gets water samples the old-fashioned way: throw a bottle over the side using a rope with meter marks, and close the bottle with a weight that travels down the rope. |
A background of beautiful cliffs. |
All that excitement and it still isn’t over. We put the bow of the boat right on an iceberg and collect samples for scientists back on the ship. Everyone munches a mouthful of this ancient, pure ice. Next, our expert pilot nudges the bow of the boat on a beach. Dale Hubbard takes a long walk to collect river water samples. The rest of us are little kids Again. We collect rocks, find bones, look for shells, discover animal tracks, skip stones, marvel at the glaciers and cliffs, and enjoy the peace and quiet of the beach. |
| The only bad thing about the ride back is how short it seems. |
| I wrote that the helicopter ride helped me see the ship and our science work with new eyes. From the taste of an iceberg, to the spray on my face, to the crunch of rocks under my boots, to the smell of the divers’ wetsuits, this boat trip helped me feel the trip in a new way. |
The ride out and back was great, thanks to the Mustang Suits, and the crew. |
| Make sure to check out Bob McCarthy’s story for today, August 11, for his description and more pictures. |
