http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu Arctic ice is declining rapidly—a trend with enormous implications for global weather and climate. Freshwater pours into the Arctic Ocean from the ice sheets and glaciers, and sea ice over the ocean itself is declining. Ocean Channels and currents there act as a kind of switchyard, sending fresh water into the North Atlantic, and small changes here may have larger impacts on climate downstream. To understand these processes, scientists are landing in small aircraft on the floating sea ice, and drilling down to study the water and currents below. Lamont-Doherty researchers Bill Smethie, Ronny Friedrich, Dale Chayes and Richard Perry report on their work here. Tue, 21 May 2013 15:39:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/24/under-arctic-ice-watch-the-video/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/24/under-arctic-ice-watch-the-video/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 15:29:23 +0000 Guest Blogger http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=27255 The video depicts the activities of the LDEO Switchyard field team, which deploys annually and uses ski-equipped aircraft to reach a series of sample sites between the North Pole and Ellesmere Island in Canada. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/24/under-arctic-ice-watch-the-video/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/20/final-days-in-alert/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/20/final-days-in-alert/#comments Sun, 20 May 2012 18:35:49 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26962 Time is flying, bringing us to our final days in Alert. We were able to recover samples from 12 stations, which is a great success and the second most successful year on record. Thanks to everyone who made it happen: Dale, Richard and Dan who went out every possible day to collect samples; Al and [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/20/final-days-in-alert/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/19/a-walk-against-cancer/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/19/a-walk-against-cancer/#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 18:44:03 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26967 Alert hosted the first northernmost cancer-fighting fundraising event “Relay for Life,” an event sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer and fight back against all cancers. The 12-hour-walk was organized by Kristy Doyle, who lost her grandfather to cancer in 2010. Participants raised a whopping $7,580 and collectively [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/19/a-walk-against-cancer/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/12/alert-and-the-arctic-landscape/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/12/alert-and-the-arctic-landscape/#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 20:52:11 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26543 The weather has improved considerably and we were able to fly out today to collect more samples. Yesterday, some of us went to explore Crystal Mountain, a 900-foot peak about five miles from Alert that offers an excellent view of the surrounding landscape. Alert is a Canadian military station located in the far north region [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/12/alert-and-the-arctic-landscape/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/11/ice-cores-finally/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/11/ice-cores-finally/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 20:41:06 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26537 Today I got another chance to go out with team CASIMBO to drill ice-cores. The weather was beautiful with no wind, a few clouds, bright sunshine and a balmy temperature of about 5 degrees F. When I first saw sea ice near Alert a few years ago, I was very surprised. It wasn’t anything like [...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/11/ice-cores-finally/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/08/ice-coring-almost/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/08/ice-coring-almost/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 21:42:08 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26272 The weather started to get increasingly worse yesterday, with a lot of clouds, low visibility and snow. That, of course, means that we couldn't go out flying for two days. The forecast for the next 24 hours doesn't look promising either. But as usual in the Arctic it's better not to forecast -- everything might change within hours.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/08/ice-coring-almost/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/07/sampling-water-at-the-north-pole/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/07/sampling-water-at-the-north-pole/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 21:18:42 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26255 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/07/sampling-water-at-the-north-pole/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/06/switchyard-project-2012-traveling/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/06/switchyard-project-2012-traveling/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 00:21:27 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26146 On the way from Kangerlussuaq to Thule we fly along the coast of Greenland, over Baffin Bay, where the Arctic starts to show its icy face. For me, Greenland is fascinating for its mild temperatures, diverse wildlife in the south and breathtaking frozen state in the north. I also like the Danish pastries served in the airport cafeteria - it reminds me of home.]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/06/switchyard-project-2012-traveling/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/02/switchyard-project-2012-the-arctic-ocean-and-climate-change/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/02/switchyard-project-2012-the-arctic-ocean-and-climate-change/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 00:09:15 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=26116 ...]]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/05/02/switchyard-project-2012-the-arctic-ocean-and-climate-change/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/05/23/switchyard-project-a-very-successful-year/ http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/05/23/switchyard-project-a-very-successful-year/#comments Mon, 23 May 2011 14:19:52 +0000 Ronny Friedrich http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/?p=14939 The 2011 field season has been a very very successful year, in fact the most successful one we have ever had. The weather has been great, the equipment proved to be mostly reliable, the people have been great and the samples are plenty. ]]> http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/05/23/switchyard-project-a-very-successful-year/feed/ 0