Wednesday, August 20, 2014

8/20/2014: Torrential Fog

Late last night wished us a peaceful slumber with a gorgeous sunset and given the atmospheric moisture that provided such splendor, we knew that this morning would be sort of a wash for productive fieldwork. 

"Torrential Fog" is a term that is somewhat unique to the arctic summer. The wind is blowing but the fog is not moving. Everything is getting soaked but it isn't raining. Torrential Fog.

The group is accordingly using the morning to get caught up on data processing and planning.

In need of more computer screens?
Will and I found ourselves somewhat restless and luckily there was a pressure washer available to clean the mooring lines. Give a scientist a hammer, everything becomes a nail. 
At a certain age, a 'super soaker' isn't enough 
The plan for now is to wait out the weather a bit and then hit the raised beaches. Finally, some sedimentology! A phrase rarely uttered…

Until then, we are thawing Kylling (chicken) for tonight's dinner and folks are mainly working on their own projects with active science happening downstairs by Rob and Irene.
I feel like kylling kjottdeig tonight...
Irene examining some recently collected clams. Many times you find yourself working in garages, barns, or any open space to complete complex scientific analysis in the field. It ain't glamorous but it works. 
Rob working on some data probes and cleaning the contacts for the device. There was a wiper that would clean the contacts every 1.5 hours but that was not enough. Now, every 10 minutes.
Better now
I will update later once we are able to get out. The winds are consistently 20 knots and the torrential fog is not lifting. Better weather tomorrow…

Mike also wanted to share that I won the Tromso stage of the Arctic bike race. I am really modest but was overjoyed on the accomplishment…archived pictures from our earlier adventures come out during computer work mornings…


  1. Great blog - reports and photos. Thanks for creating this informative and entertaining record of the research. JM

  2. Glad to share and thanks for the comment. This is a great group up here and things are going well. They provide plenty of material!