“Willy” the Box Turtle, who made the trip with me from Miami to learn about where “Chilly” the Polar Bear lives, actually made it out onto the ice with me to do measurements of Arctic ice! As much as we want to see Chilly while we’re on the ship, we all had eyes out to make sure that we didn’t see him while we were off the ship.
Willy is adorable! Of course, he is a nicer companion than a polar bear. Even though they look cute and cuddly on t.v., it must be terrifying to come in contact with one of them. I can’t possibly imagine all the dangers you can find in the Arctic. What kind of dangerous encounters have you experienced on the expedition?
Hi Camila, thanks for your comment, Willy is so cute, I agree! I also agree that polar bears are adorable too, and that it would not be a good idea to cuddle with them, even though they’re so cute too! The bears are usually very far away, so they are not a danger when we’re on the ship. However, when we get OFF the ship to set up some buoys or instruments, that’s when everyone has to have an eye out for polar bears! Of course there are other dangers onboard, like tripping over the bottom of door frames or walking on stairs when the ship is swaying in the waves!
What a beautiful turtle ! I would like to do how do you measure the ice ? What does the ice measurement define ?
Hi Jeyny, we measure the ice by several ways – the first is with our eyes and cameras, so we can see the big picture of what’s around us, and estimate ice thickness, how old it is, if there are ridges, if it has melted and refrozen, etc. All of these things can be estimated with our eyes! Then we also have satellites that can tell us the really big picture. But to measure specifically, we get off the ship, stand on the ice, make a hole in it with a ling drill, and then use measuring tape to measure the thickness. We also leave buoys on the ice with instruments that can measure things like humidity, temperature, and thickness of the ice over time. All this data about ice helps us understand the global climate picture!
is it possible that if the ice melts there are less chances that the animals that live on the land will survive.
Dear Jonathan, it’s true that if the ice melts, the large animals of the Arctic (polar bears, walruses, seals) will have a harder and harder time surviving. They use the ice over the ocean as hunting grounds to find dinner in the water, and without ice, they will have a hard time getting access to food.
Happy Birthday lindsay
Hi Henry, thanks for the birthday wishes! It was a really cool one!