Ice Stories
Exploratorium Home

Most Recent Dispatches


Listening for Bowhead Whales

ABOARD THE USCGC HEALY, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA-- Now that we are aboard the HEALY and settled in, while we slept a survey was done running roughly offshore of Barrow. The principal work along this leg was mapping of the seafloor bathymetry with the ship’s multibeam acoustic system...



Mosquitoes

ILULISSAT, GREENLAND-- (By Lisa Strong-Aufhauser) Mosquitoes are a fact of life in Greenland, so we quickly learned. I gave blood first in Kangerlussuaq. I made the mistake of wearing flip-flops...



Sea Ice Dynamics

ABOARD THE USCGC HEALY, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA-- One of the things about the sea ice surrounding HEALY that cannot escape your attention is the fact it is neither all white nor flat and level...



Welcome Aboard

ABOARD THE USCGC HEALY, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA-- It had been over three years since I last stepped off Healy, and there it was-- about a mile offshore, visible from the highway on the way to the airport...



Off to Sea

ABOARD THE USCGC HEALY, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA-- Travel has many pleasures, but as everyone knows, can involve the unexpected...



On Speeding Glaciers and Huge Icebergs

KANGERLUSSUAQ, GREENLAND-- We caught up with glaciologist Mark Fahnestock on his way back home after a few weeks camping near the Jakobshavn Isbræ, the most productive and among the fastest-moving glaciers in the world...



Barrow, Alaska: US gateway to arctic science

BARROW, ALASKA-- Barrow, Alaska, is the northernmost city in the Americas, and the US gateway for scientific exploration in the arctic. Getting supplies in and out is just a little bit tough in a place where winter temperatures can reach -50F...



North to the Future

BARROW, ALASKA-- "North to the Future" is Alaska's State Motto. It seems particularly appropriate now with the changes taking place in the north. You fly in to Barrow first via a stop in Fairbanks, and then Dead Horse...



Digging Soil Pits

TOOLIK FIELD STATION, ALASKA– The northern foothills of the Brooks Range, including Toolik Lake, received nearly 15 cm of rain over the past several months. In Fairbanks, the rivers are at levels not observed since 1967. The tundra is fully saturated...



Bringing It All Back Home

NOATAK VILLAGE, BROOKS RANGE, ALASKA-- Our wildlife list so far includes moose, grizzly bear, musk oxen, dall sheep, rough-legged hawk, peregrine falcon, and a whole bunch of smaller birds and rodents...