Mar 2008
CFL and life aboard the ‘Amundsen’ really do put the ‘international’ into the International Polar Year.....
March, 27 - 2008
Dr Crispin Halsall, Lancaster University,
UK
Following the spring equinox we’ve now got over 12 hours of daylight and the early mornings and late evenings are simply magical, with pastel pinks and blues right across the Arctic horizon. The penetrating cold that comes with a 20 knot wind at -30oC however, is indescribable and wreaks havoc on exposed equipment. Electrical cables and plastic ties are a case in point; they quickly become rigid and then snap at the frigid temperatures. Anything that is battery driven lasts for about 15 minutes outdoors.
I’m onboard the ‘Amundsen’ as part of the contaminants group: myself and a small team from Lancaster University (UK) are investigating a suite of organic chemical pollutants that are present in arctic air, snow, sea-ice and surface seawater and – unfortunately – arctic biota. These contaminants are driven northwards by prevailing winds and ocean currents and then accumulate in the Arctic. The cold temperatures and long periods of darkness reduce chemical degradation in this unique environment and that’s when the problems start. Ultra-trace quantities of pesticides and various industrial chemicals, present in the arctic atmosphere, deposit onto marine surfaces (sea-ice snow) and then, with time, contaminate marine waters resulting in exposure and uptake in the base of the marine foodweb. To-date, there has been little research on pollutant dynamics between these key ‘compartments’ in the arctic marine environment, so our group is fortunate to have this great opportunity to work alongside Canadian scientists and others as part of CFL. Our role in CFL is to measure these chemicals in air, snow and seawater, and then try to unravel contaminant ‘processing’ both in the winter and spring-melt periods.
Out on the sea-ice, away from the comfort of the ship, I’ve been working with a contaminants ice coring team. Once the corer breaks the base of the sea-ice (which is around 1.5 m thick at our current station) there is a surge of seawater up the freshly drilled hole. Cold seawater on bare hands is not an experience I’d recommend at -32oC!
We’re collecting seawater from these holes for subsequent chemical analysis as well as analysing the ice cores themselves.
Our laboratories are towards the stern of the ship and fortunately we can also access seawater from a specially fitted seawater line. This ensures that large volumes (close to 1000 L) can be filtered and extracted for a number of persistent organic pollutants; but in the comfort of an automated system within the laboratory - as long as the seawater inlet in the ship’s hull doesn’t become blocked with ice debris! The crew and other scientists are super! Often a day will turn into one long problem-solving exercise and people are only too willing to help out.
CFL and life aboard the ‘Amundsen’ really do put the ‘international’ into the International Polar Year, but it is worth pointing out the tremendous dedication and effort over the years of Canadian federal agencies, like Environment Canada and Dept of Fisheries & Oceans. They have been conducting long-term monitoring in the Arctic, often on the thinnest of budgets, and are world-leading in detecting climate change impacts and pollution in this environment. The Polar Regions are the ‘barometer’ for the rest of the planet.
Following the spring equinox we’ve now got over 12 hours of daylight and the early mornings and late evenings are simply magical, with pastel pinks and blues right across the Arctic horizon. The penetrating cold that comes with a 20 knot wind at -30oC however, is indescribable and wreaks havoc on exposed equipment. Electrical cables and plastic ties are a case in point; they quickly become rigid and then snap at the frigid temperatures. Anything that is battery driven lasts for about 15 minutes outdoors.
I’m onboard the ‘Amundsen’ as part of the contaminants group: myself and a small team from Lancaster University (UK) are investigating a suite of organic chemical pollutants that are present in arctic air, snow, sea-ice and surface seawater and – unfortunately – arctic biota. These contaminants are driven northwards by prevailing winds and ocean currents and then accumulate in the Arctic. The cold temperatures and long periods of darkness reduce chemical degradation in this unique environment and that’s when the problems start. Ultra-trace quantities of pesticides and various industrial chemicals, present in the arctic atmosphere, deposit onto marine surfaces (sea-ice snow) and then, with time, contaminate marine waters resulting in exposure and uptake in the base of the marine foodweb. To-date, there has been little research on pollutant dynamics between these key ‘compartments’ in the arctic marine environment, so our group is fortunate to have this great opportunity to work alongside Canadian scientists and others as part of CFL. Our role in CFL is to measure these chemicals in air, snow and seawater, and then try to unravel contaminant ‘processing’ both in the winter and spring-melt periods.
Out on the sea-ice, away from the comfort of the ship, I’ve been working with a contaminants ice coring team. Once the corer breaks the base of the sea-ice (which is around 1.5 m thick at our current station) there is a surge of seawater up the freshly drilled hole. Cold seawater on bare hands is not an experience I’d recommend at -32oC!
We’re collecting seawater from these holes for subsequent chemical analysis as well as analysing the ice cores themselves.
Our laboratories are towards the stern of the ship and fortunately we can also access seawater from a specially fitted seawater line. This ensures that large volumes (close to 1000 L) can be filtered and extracted for a number of persistent organic pollutants; but in the comfort of an automated system within the laboratory - as long as the seawater inlet in the ship’s hull doesn’t become blocked with ice debris! The crew and other scientists are super! Often a day will turn into one long problem-solving exercise and people are only too willing to help out.
CFL and life aboard the ‘Amundsen’ really do put the ‘international’ into the International Polar Year, but it is worth pointing out the tremendous dedication and effort over the years of Canadian federal agencies, like Environment Canada and Dept of Fisheries & Oceans. They have been conducting long-term monitoring in the Arctic, often on the thinnest of budgets, and are world-leading in detecting climate change impacts and pollution in this environment. The Polar Regions are the ‘barometer’ for the rest of the planet.
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Measurements in a unique environment...
March, 26 - 2008
My name is Ralf Staebler and I’m a research
scientist at Environment Canada, with the
Air Quality Research Branch. Most of my
work deals with forests down south, but
I’ve also been doing lots of research in
the Arctic. It’s one of those places that
are very addictive Read
More...
Thomas Brown, Plymouth, England and his work in the Arctic....
March, 20 - 2008
My name is Thomas Brown, I am part of the
Petroleum and Environmental Geochemistry
Group at the University of Plymouth,
England. Not a place that is normally
associated with polar research and yet here
I am. The breathtaking view from the ship
seems to distract me and its all to easy to
forget why I am here and (if it wasn’t so
cold) to just sit and admire the endless
expanse of rapidly melting sea ice that lay
outstretched all around me.
Read
More...