Don's Log

   27 September - 1 October: South to Norway

Tuesday 27 September
Southbound to Tromso
76 59.652 N, 09 01.4 E
We are still in the ice this morning, but there isn’t much of it left. After breakfast I helped the sediment coring group carry “d-tubes” from the science lab (stern of ship) to their trailer (bow of ship). It’s a good morning workout. Pick up the one meter long, 20 pound d-tube, walk from the stern to the bow and then lift it up into the trailer. Repeat until all tubes are gone.

All good things must come to an end and throughout the morning the ice gets sparser and sparser. The ice concentration at the 1000 watch is 1%. By noon it is 0% and that is the end of the ice watch for this cruise. Also at noon we remove the longwave and shortwave radiometers from the flying bridge. Our formal data collection program is over. Of course, we’ll still be taking photographs and watching the scenery go by.

No more backing and ramming. We are cruising south at 16 knots in very nice seas, with a north wind at our back. Bruce and I take advantage of the excellent conditions to finish packing. Everything is ready to go, except for a few items to toss in at the very end. Our cargo and ice samples are all secured for sea.

The ice team spent the rest of the afternoon backing up data. Its harder than you would think. We have 4 people, 7 computers, 80 gigabytes of data and photographs, 4 external hard disks, and 100 blank DVDs. Keeping track of the correct version of each file is a non-trivial exercise. Particularly for the files that change on a daily basis. So like everything else we have a plan. The first step is to create the master directory on Tom’s 250 GB hard disk, then everything will be copied from there.

For the first time since August 9th I don’t have to do an ice watch. But old habits die hard and I go up to the bridge anyhow. The ice concentration is 0%, but the scene is beautiful. There are beams of light shining through breaks in the clouds and dappling the ocean with golden light.

Figure 1. Last ice.

Figure 2. Sky and sea.

Wednesday 28 September
Southbound to Tromso
71 58.695 N, 15 05.8 E
This morning there was much more ship motion. Last night the winds increased to 40knots and the seas got a little rougher. The motion is definitely noticeable, but not so bad that you would miss breakfast. I went for the cereal trifecta: a bowl of rice krispies, a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch, and a bowl of frosted flakes. I only meant to eat one, but once you get started its hard to stop.

No station, no ice watch, no optics on the rail, no measurements to make today, but there is still data to back up. We continued the great backup including copying the master disk and burning numerous DVDs. The plan is to have 4 copies of everything. One copy will go with the shipment, Bruce, Tom, and I will each hand carry a copy. I know it sounds a little paranoid, but we want the data to get home.

There is plenty of entertainment tonight. The movie is Titantic, which is an interesting choice for a ship at sea. Maybe it will be followed by The Perfect Storm and The Poseidon Adventure. There is also a Wednesday night science lecture on the Gakkel Ridge. Finally there is the last of Webinars with schools back home.

The greatest minds of humanity have expounded at great length on the nature of science. Hundreds of thousands of pages have been written and enormous tomes compiled examining its essence. The greatest minds have elucidated their thoughts and insights. Today you get my version of what science is. And better yet you get it in only six words: “Science is making and testing hypothesis.” You can make a hypothesis anywhere; working in the office, going through the drive thru window at Burger King, or walking down the street. Anywhere. I get my best hypotheses when riding my bike up steep hills. Hypoxia seems to inspire my creativy. While you can make a hypothesis anywhere, testing them is considerably more complicated, particularly in polar research. And that is where the Healy and its crew come into the picture. None of us on board could have ever tested our hypotheses without their enormous contributions. They are the ones that make it all possible. The Healy is an excellent platform for science and, as this cruise has demonstrated, mighty fine at breaking ice. The crew did a superb job. Their competence, professionalism, and enthusiasm is the reason we got to test our hypotheses. Thanks to all of them. They’re great.

Figure 1. Waves breaking over the bow of the Healy.

Figure 2. Dennis thanking the crew for their tremendous contributions during Hotrax 05.

Thursday 29 September
Waiting outside Tromso Fjord
70 39.226N, 20 59.6E
What a great early,early morning. The skies cleared, and the stars, the moon, and the aurora were out. There was a quarter moon low on the horizon, the big dipper, and the aurora dancing across the sky.

The great weather continued throughout the day. Our boxes are all packed and the data are all archived – 4 times over. But there are deadlines waiting for me back in Hanover. There are two papers that need to be finished by the end of next week, there is my annual performance appraisal to complete and there is two months worth of new data to analyze. It will be a busy day on the computer in the science lounge.

Yeah, right. Its sunny, 50 F, and the seas are calm. After 10 minutes of work I head up to the bridge to enjoy the scenery. The work can wait, but this beautiful day will not be replicated. My irresponsibility is immediately rewarded on the bridge when we get to say nautical things like “Land ho” and “Thar she blows” as we first see mountains in the distance and then a Minke whale.

After lunch (Mexican food) it was one last flight brief. The aviation group is flying to Tromso this afternoon and they have beautiful weather for it. The rest of the afternoon is spent watching the ocean go by, packing my personal gear, and working out.

After dinner it was the last science meeting of the cruise. Dennis and Bernie made nice speeches thanking everyone for their contributions to making HOTRAX05 a success. They’re right, it has been a great group of people and an excellent experiment. I’ve been on many field experiments over the years and I remember them all, but some, like SHEBA, really stand out. HOTRAX will be in that category. To top the day off its another clear night with another display of the aurora.

Figure 1. Land ho.

Figure 2. Sunset on HOTRAX 05.

Friday 30 September
Tromso / Oslo
59 55 N, 10 49 E
“All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go.” About 20 of us are up on the bridge at 0600 as we enter the fjord. Our diligence is rewarded with a spectacular sunrise. As the sun rises, the reds, oranges, and yellows change into a new color; the green of pastures and forests. There are other new sights, houses, roads, and cars. And there are the smells of land. We spent the morning cruising the 40 miles from the fjord entrance to Tromso. At 1000 sharp, the Healy docks in Tromso, exactly 56 days after leaving Dutch Harbor Alaska. The trans-Arctic cruise is over.

For the past couple of days we all talked about the joys of walking on land once we reached Tromso. Sure enough once the gangway was secured at 1100, people came pouring out of the ship and started walking. Interestingly though, for the first half hour we just walked back and forth along the ship. It was as though everyone was programmed for walks of only 420 feet. Finally two months of programming was broken and people headed off for town.

Bruce and I got two boxes shipped off to DHL. After one last pasta bar lunch and lots of goodbyes, it was off to the airport. By 1800 we were in Oslo. For simplicity we are staying at the SAS airport hotel, which is just a 100 m walk from the airport. Its not only convenient, but it is very nice and comfortable. They have an excellent restaurant featuring authenic Norwegian delicacies. Not being very hungry, I walk over to the airport and get a slice of pizza from 7-11. As I start to fall asleep on the plush doublebed, the room slowly rocks back and forth in the residual motion of the Healy.

Figure 1. Sunrise in Tromso fjord.

Figure 2. The USCG Icebreaker Healy docked in Tromso Norway.

Saturday 1 October
Oslo / Newark / Hanover
43 43 N, 72 16 W,
Not that I’m anxious or anything, but I’m standing in the check-in a half hour before they are even open. Its raining hard, but our flight is scheduled for an on-time departure. The plane is totally full, which is somewhat surprising since this is a Saturday morning in October. The flight is long, almost nine hours, but we get to see 3 movies. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we see the movies, but we don’t get to hear them. Apparently the sound system is broken. That’s OK, I have movies to watch on my computer and books to read as well. We’re taking a northern route over Greenland. Maybe this is a chance for one last set of ice observations. Too bad, there are clouds over the ocean and I can’t see if there is sea ice or not.

Finally, there is the skyline of New York and the Statue of Liberty and Newark International Airport. We have 85 minutes to make our connection, so it is airport racing time. Up the ramp, through the corridors, pass through immigration, go through customs, get on the train to Terminal A, learn that Gate 109 A is in Terminal C, back on the train, get to Terminal C, slowly transit the long line at security, quickly down the corridor to the gate, and after a few minutes wait board the plane.

I spend the entire Newark to Manchester flight just looking out the window. Kathy and Dan pick me up at the airport and two hours later I’m home. Its been a great experiment. Two months, 3000 miles, and lots and lots of ice. A trans Arctic cruise is the sea ice equivalent of driving across the United States. It was a tremendous opportunity to get an exciting dataset. I’ll be digesting the data from the cruise for the next couple of years. As much fun as it was though, there truly is no place like home.

Figure 1. Healy cruise track.

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