NABOS Teacher at Sea 2018
2018 NABOS Expedition blog
by Moira O'Malley, NABOS Teacher at Sea
September 28-30- Good bye! October 2, 2018 - September 28 This is our last day at sea before reaching Arkhangelsk. More Minke whales were spotted this morning. The end is near. Well, Mother Nature didn’t let us down.… ...
September 27- goodbye, Ian (for the third time) September 27, 2018 - Today’s blog entry is dedicated to Mooring Team Leader Ian Waddington. Ian is retiring (for the third time!). He first retired in 2007 from his government job, and again in… ...
September 26- stable isotopes September 26, 2018 - We had a little bit of rough seas last night, but it is much calmer today. Packing and paperwork are consuming a lot of the expedition members’ time. Scientist Spotlight:… ...
September 25- stormy weather September 25, 2018 - We are now in the Kara Sea headed southwest for Arkhangelsk trying to avoid an oncoming storm. The weather is blustery and the sea is rough. Everything we loaded and… ...
September 24- polar bears! (and walrus too) September 24, 2018 - We arrived and anchored in the bay at the Baranov Science Station yesterday during the dark at about 4:30 in the afternoon. When I was in my cabin I glanced… ...
September 23- ice is nice … and it’s getting darker September 23, 2018 - The further west we go, the longer it is staying dark. It is now dark between about 2:30 – 13:30 (1:30 am). There is cause for more celebration, NABOS and… ...
September 22- kitchen crew and shipboard amenities September 22, 2018 - The Bergy Bits are back, as well as periodic drift ice! We are headed southwest back to Arkhangelsk, but going a different route, through Shokalskiy Strait, between Bolshevik and Oktyabrskoy… ...
September 20-21- a mooring ditty for the final recovery September 21, 2018 - September 20 Another exciting day! We woke up to snow this morning and the last mooring recovery for this cruise is scheduled for today. This mooring recovery was a little… ...
September 19- understanding mixing waters September 19, 2018 - Good morning! We are slowly headed southwest completing our transect. Our last mooring recovery will be tomorrow. On the September 5 blog entry, I explained that a station may include… ...
September 18- shrinking Styrofoam cups September 18, 2018 - September 18 After a five-day break due to the ice stations, only a few CTD casts were done, but we are now back in full force. This afternoon’s (even though… ...
September 16-17- ice measurements September 17, 2018 - September 16 We finished our last ice station with a ‘hop on’ (small station). Now we are heading southwest out of the ice. It is sad to be leaving the… ...
September 15- setting the Watershed boats afloat September 15, 2018 - We are staying in the same general area looking for and working on ice stations. An enormous heartfelt thank you to the Trans-Arctic Ice (TICE) team for letting me join… ...
September 13-14- the ice station September 14, 2018 - September 13 Everyone is exhausted after the exciting big ice station that started at 9:00 pm last night and ended around 11:30 this morning. Twenty-five scientists and students participated in… ...
September 11-12- standing on ice September 12, 2018 - September 11 There is always something exciting going on! I was asked what I do when I’m not working. I spend an awful lot of time on the aft helo… ...
September 10- Polar bear and lab work September 10, 2018 - A polar bear was spotted! I didn’t get to see it, but hopefully I will see one soon. The ice concentration is getting higher and we are breaking thicker pieces… ...
September 6-9- ice and birds September 9, 2018 - September 6 Just as I was getting ready to go to bed last night I heard the ‘hit the ice rumble’ but this rumble was louder and lasted longer. When… ...
September 4-5 – sea creatures September 5, 2018 - September 4 Rosetta Update: Rosetta moved from her sleeping pad in the left-hand corner below the porthole to under a piece of crumpled paper behind her home. Zzzzzzzzzzz! Scientist Spotlight:… ...
September 3- Rosetta the bumblebee September 3, 2018 - We are still slowly moving south. The ocean is a little rough today, enough for the bridge to announce that a huge swell was coming and to make sure everything… ...
August 31- September 2- NABOS mooring recovery September 2, 2018 - August 31 I peeked out my port holes at about 3:30 this morning and was rewarded with beautiful views of softening pack ice. This is the first time the temperature… ...
August 30- snow and rough seas August 30, 2018 - Snow!!! Much rougher seas today! The wind speed went up from 4.1 yesterday to 38.3 m/s today. When I walked out on the helo deck I had to hold on… ...
August 29- NABOS in the news August 29, 2018 - It was rainy and overcast all day. We are still in the same area where we have been for the last couple of days. The CATS crew continues to work… ...
August 26-27- ICE! August 28, 2018 - August 26 Ice!!!! I changed to the top bunk in my cabin so I can see out the port holes. This morning when I glanced out, I saw small pieces… ...
August 28- Kompot August 28, 2018 - Sunny!!! Yay!! We enjoyed the sunshine while it lasted. By early evening it was overcast with rain. I woke up to the biggest iceberg I have seen so far. There… ...
August 25- Questions from students August 28, 2018 - The sun peeked out briefly this morning, the first time in eight days! The decks are still humming, a lot of mooring and CTD recoveries are taking place. Scientists are busy… ...
August 22- 24- Arctic Ocean August 27, 2018 - August 22 We are hovering to the northwest of Severnaya Zemlya Island. It was an exciting morning for me! After reading and hearing so much about CTDs and moorings, I… ...
August 21- Kara Sea August 24, 2018 - The morning started off being overcast with light rain, and we sailed in and out of fog all day, but the sun peeped through briefly this afternoon. We have now… ...
Note from the ship- Mooring recovery August 22, 2018 - The NABOS cruise reached their first observation site yesterday! They successfully recovered mooring M6-AK6 which was in water for three years (deployed in summer 2015). This is one of seven… ...
August 20- Barents Sea… first sea ice August 22, 2018 - We woke up to a foggy cloudy morning with a light sprinkle of rain. A flock of Atlantic Puffins, Fratercula arctica, was seen from the helo deck this morning. The… ...
August 19- Farthest north August 22, 2018 - We woke up to a windy cooler day! This is an exciting day for me. It is the farthest north I have ever been. To give you an idea of… ...
August 18- At sea August 21, 2018 - We are at sea! The ship just got fuller and more languages are being heard on the decks. We picked up the German science teams in Arkhangelsk at 1:00 this… ...
August 17- Nymphalis urticae August 17, 2018 - We are scheduled to depart today! Several days may laps between posts and photos due to minimal, if any, Internet access. So please be patient and stay tuned :). Yippee!… ...
August 16- Welcome back to school! August 16, 2018 - First, I would like to welcome my second-grade students back to Watershed School in Fairbanks, Alaska. Have a wonderful two months with Ms. Drumm! I am going to miss the… ...
August 14 – 15- Waiting in Arkhangelsk August 16, 2018 - August 14 Everyone is waiting. Russian customs is on the ship doing last minute inspections. During this lull, I thought I would take the opportunity to compare the Akademik Tryoshnikov… ...
August 13- Docked in Arkhangelsk August 14, 2018 - We are docked in Arkhangelsk and if you notice Fairbanks and Arkhangelsk are almost the same latitude. We woke up to a downpour of rain and wind this morning. We… ...
August 11-12- They’re off! August 13, 2018 - August 11 We are on our way to Arkhangelsk, Russia! Yay! The water has a calm, blue-green glacial hue with a few small white caps. What does one do while… ... August 9- Kirkenes August 10, 2018 - After an anticipated departure of Thursday evening (August 9) we were unable to leave due to the rainy weather that kept us from loading our equipment. There are three pieces… ...
August 8- The journey begins August 8, 2018 - Wow! After much anticipation, my dream is closer to becoming a reality. I arrived in Kirkenes, Norway on August 6 with Dean Stockwell, a scientist from Fairbanks, Alaska. We were… ...
Greetings from the Far North! July 19, 2018 - The NABOS cruise will begin August 8 from Kirkenes, Norway and head for Arkhangelsk, Russia, gateway to the Russian Arctic Ocean and the Nansen & Amundsen Basins. This region has… ...