August 2002 S M T W T F S         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31  July 2002 S M T W T F S   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31       Daily Update Dispatch 01 - July 15, 2002 Heading North Greetings from the cold gray waters of the Bering Sea! We are now steaming north on the world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker. In a few short days, we will begin our science mission in the Chukchi Sea, just north of the Bering Strait. More Dispatch 02 - July 16, 2002 Where’s my Room Again? Our first night was a whirlwind. It still seems unreal to me that we are actually at sea on a 400 foot-long icebreaker steaming toward the Arctic Ocean. It certainly helps that the seas are calm, so the ship hardly seems like it’s moving. More Dispatch 03 - July 17, 2002 Testing the Waters While our mooring crew were breaking open more crates and testing their instruments, the CTD crew decided to test the operation of the ship’s CTD. More Dispatch 04 - July 18, 2002 Beyond the Circle We have now officially entered the Arctic, and our hopes are buoyed by success in fixing the CTD. More Dispatch 05 - July 19, 2002 Over the Side Both the first mooring and some Coast Guard divers went over the side today. More Dispatch 06 - July 20, 2002 A Sea of White The ice is all around us. With creaks, groans, and squeaks the Polar Star grinds forward through the ice, cracking the giant floes and thrusting them to the side. We have entered another world - a sea of white. More Dispatch 07 - July 21, 2002 Getting the Hang of It Science operations are becoming more routine on the Polar Star. Today we put in two more moorings in a fraction of the time it took to put in the first. CTD operations are also progressing smoothly as we steam north on another transect. More Dispatch 08 - July 22, 2002 Earthquake? The Polar Star batters against the pack ice in a race to Barrow Canyon where we will deploy a fourth mooring. More Dispatch 09 - July 23, 2002 Odobenus rosmarus We saw hundreds of walruses hauled out on the ice today in our transit through the marginal ice zone. More Dispatch 10 - July 24, 2002 The Ice Wins Upon arriving at the Barrow Canyon mooring site, we encountered a sea of broken ice where only weeks before had been open water. Despite the valiant attempts of the crew, there wasn’t enough ice-free water to safely deploy the mooring. More Dispatch 11 - July 25, 2002 On the Edge Gusty winds sent flurries of snow swirling around the ship today as we steamed north through the ice to the edge of the Beaufort shelf. More Dispatch 12 - July 26, 2002 Plan B Our careful depth survey revealed a much steeper slope than we anticipated. Bob Pickart was forced to make a tough decision - we will put in the moorings along a shallower section to the west. More Dispatch 13 - July 27, 2002 Back to Business Bob Pickart’s decision to move the WHOI mooring line to the west paid off in two ways - the bottom slope is more gentle and there is much more open water. It’s back to business for the CTD and mooring crews. More Dispatch 14 - July 28, 2002 Ups and Downs It was a day of mixed blessings for the science team, starting with a crash of the XCTD system but ending with a successful mooring deployment. More Dispatch 15 - July 29, 2002 Bird’s Eye View After another successful mooring deployment, I rode along on one of the ship’s Dolphin helicopters to pick up some scientific supplies from the icebreaker Healy, working in the ice just to the north. More Dispatch 16 - July 30, 2002 Around the Clock We may have left our “open lake” behind, but it’s full speed ahead for the science party - moorings by day and CTDs by night. More Dispatch 17 - July 31, 2002 Necessary Evils Despite the “necessary evils” of getting to our mooring locations, mapping the bottom and determining our set and drift, we still had plenty of time to deploy two more WHOI moorings today, leaving only two left for tomorrow. More Dispatch 18 - August 1, 2002 Hole in One We celebrated a great success today in completing the deployment of the difficult WHOI mooring array. The placement of the final, and most challenging, mooring was so accurate it could be described as an oceanographic “hole in one!” Dispatch 19 - August 2, 2002 Fata Morgana Double suns, fogbows, and the Fata Morgana - the Arctic continued to mystify as we steamed west to Barrow Canyon. More Dispatch 20 - August 3, 2002 Bluenoses This morning a group of bluenose land-lubbers and pollywogs (including most of the science party) were formally inducted into the society of Polar Bears during the Arctic Circle crossing ceremony. More Dispatch 21 - August 4, 2002 Unsung Heroes While most of the ship savored the restful weekend routine, the science party and the Marine Science Division worked hard through the night sampling with the CTD. More Dispatch 22 - August 5, 2002 Snow Day A wet snowfall and subfreezing temperatures didn’t stop the CTD crew from pushing ahead today and finishing another section across the shelfbreak. More Dispatch 23 - August 6, 2002 Icing on the Icing Having finished sections across the head of Barrow Canyon and to the west, we have now turned east to explore the waters at the mouth of the canyon. More Dispatch 24 - August 7, 2002 The Last Cast Today marked the completion of our data collection, but now we have some big jobs ahead: packing up for the potentially rough weather in the Bering Sea and processing our new data. More Dispatch 25 - August 8, 2002 Ice Free We have finally left the ice behind today; open waters lie ahead to the south. More Dispatch 26 - August 9, 2002 Ten Miles From Russia We passed within ten miles of the Diomede Islands today on our transit south. The westernmost island is part of Russia, the easternmost, the United States. More Dispatch 27 - August 10, 2002 Fun and Games Pizza and live entertainment made this Saturday night a fun one on the Polar Star. More Dispatch 28 - August 11, 2002 The Sunday Routine Starting with brunch and ending with a steak dinner, the Sunday routine is a welcome break for the hardworking science party and crew of the Polar Star. More Dispatch 29 - August 12, 2002 Back to Dutch The last of the science gear is packed, and so are our duffel bags. Tomorrow the science party disembarks in Dutch Harbor and flies back home. More