On our last full day of the expedition, we all “gathered round the campfire” (in our case, in the cafeteria/dining hall onboard) so everyone could share results of what they had accomplished during the expedition – and what their plans were for continuing to analyze data and carry on collaborating even after everyone is back home. Our Chief Scientist on the expedition, Vladimir Ivanov, started our round of final presentations with some statistics on this National Science Foundation-funded NABOS (Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System) expedition:
5726 – Miles covered
116 – CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) casts
7890 – Chemical samples taken
49 – XBT/XCTD (expendable CTDs) launched
1 – Glider launched
5 – ITP (ice-tethered profiler) buoys deployed
1 – O-buoy deployed
1 – IMB (ice-mass balance) buoy deployed
20 – Meteo (meteorology) buoys deployed
29 – Days of continuous registration of sea-air interaction patterns
47 – Radiosondes launched
10 – Boundary layer measurements on the ice
55 – Lectures given
Impressed yet? He continued with the overall summary of the expedition. Here are just a few things checked off the list of successes:
…Work Plan for the NABOS 2013 expedition aboard the Akademik Fedorov? Check.
…Obtain scientific results and prove the efficiency of the NABOS observational strategy (which combines autonomous anchored moorings and adjoining CTD transects)? Check.
…Create a multi-disciplinary and international research team by joining scientists from multiple countries and research institutes? Check.
…Include a NABOS Summer School component on the expedition, for early-career scientists and PhD students to take part in climate research firsthand? Check.
To be continued…!
What a great group! It was so interesting reading the different entries from the students as well as the scientists. The photos of each person contributing made their entries come alive. Everyone did a great job making this blog so interesting and informative. They brought their knowledge and the Arctic adventure right to our homes. Thank you, everyone. Good luck to everyone as you continue with your scientific endeavors.
Thank you so much for the wonderful comment! It makes my day to hear that this blog made the Arctic come alive for people following along. I think it was such a great addition to the blog to have so many people contributing, and I hope it will be something we can all look back on!
Hi Lindsay, are you going to do more expeditions around the world or will you keep on researching in the arctic?
Dear Stephanie, this expedition was a very rare opportunity, but I hope to take part in others in the future too – I learned so much, and I feel like I have a whole new perspective on the world. I want to see the whole world, so I would go anywhere!