Edge of the Arctic Shelf

The Last Mooring
I have to thank Devin from Mount Alvernia Academy for his question about the northern lights yesterday... I think you brought me luck last night, because for only the third night on the cruise, the clouds parted long enough to see a beautiful green aurora borealis. Can you help us out tonight, too?

I wasn't the only lucky one today, either. Tom and Seth had a nice calm morning for recovering their mooring, and they didn't waste any time. The mooring was on deck before sunrise, and Seth was busy all day downloading the precious data. We spent the rest of the day completing a final line of CTD casts. At 10PM, it was time to turn south. Marine Science Technician Daniel Gaona was happy to deploy the final CTD of the entire three-year Shelf-Basin Interactions project. It was the 157th CTD cast of the cruise.

These excellent questions are from fifth and sixth grade students at Mount Alvernia Academy in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Brittaney (5th grade): Has anyone ever fallen overboard?
Answer: No one has fallen overboard on this trip, although it has happened on research cruises. Given the rough seas we have experienced lately, everyone is very careful when moving around outside on the decks, especially around the bow and stern of the ship. We had a vivid reminder of how powerful the ocean can be when we were on the stern this morning during the mooring recovery. Dean Stockwell opened the door to his van and discovered several inches of water on the floor. Keep in mind that his van is located at least 25 feet from the aft end of the ship and is raised off the deck by about a foot. Even more impressive was the van next to his--the wave had smashed a sizeable dent in the door. Captain Oliver told me that he suspected it happened two nights ago when the storm was at its strongest. He said that as the ship changes course to run with the prevailing swell waves, fast moving waves can overtake the ship before we get back up to speed. This particular wave managed to surge over 25 feet of open deck and pound in a metal door. If anyone had been on deck at that time, they could have been washed overboard. That's why these areas are closed off during heavy seas--the danger is very real.

Casey (5th grade): When do you estimate Global Warming is going to happen?
Answer: Hi Casey, great question. The answer is that Global Warming is already happening, and it has been happening for some time. A quick look at the headlines of major news publications reveals that climate change is quickly gaining international attention. "Global Warning: Bulletins from a Warmer World" (National Geographic, September 2004) and "Defusing the Global Warming Time Bomb" (Scientific American, March 2004) are two examples that spring to mind. Although the media attention has been quite prominent lately, the Earth's surface temperature has been rising sharply since the 1950s. Evidence of a warming world--from flooding in Bangladesh to a shrinking Arctic ice cap--has been well documented by scientists all over the world. The Arctic is warming several times faster than most of the planet. Since 1979, ice cover in the Arctic has decreased by 9% per decade. The measurements we have made over the course of this three year project will be used in computer models that aim to predict how this climate change will affect the Arctic, and ultimately, the rest of the world.

Sam (6th grade): Is there really such a thing as Global Warming or are the temperatures changing rapidly like they did in the 1800's?
Answer: I'll begin this answer with some quotes from the articles I mentioned above. "Global warming is real, and the consequences are potentially disastrous" (Scientific American) and "It's not a belief system; it's an observable scientific fact" (National Geographic). The Earth's climate has indeed undergone historical climatic shifts, as scientists have determined from studying clues left behind in sediments and ice cores. The rise we have seen in the past 50 years, however, is the greatest that we have seen in the past 1,000 years, and climate prediction models tell us that this change cannot be entirely due to natural causes. Since the mid-1800s, the clearing of forests and burning of fossil fuels has contributed to a major increase in our atmosphere's carbon dioxide levels. The rise in carbon dioxide perfectly mirrors the rising thermometer. The indications are clear--the Earth is heating up, and we are largely responsible.

Global warming is a major topic of research that will continue to interest scientists for years to come. If the Arctic Edge project has sparked your interest, then I'll consider my mission as dispatch writer accomplished. Sam & Casey--you and your classmates are the Bob Pickarts and Tom Weingartners of tomorrow. Study hard in school and you may be leading your own Arctic expedition someday.