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You Can’t Control the Weather

By John Whiteman · November 1, 2009 · comments 3 comments
BARROW, ALASKA-- One afternoon a young adult female polar bear wandered by the ship. She appeared out of the blowing snow and walked past the stern, fairly close to the ship. An hour later she reappeared and approached the ship... {Read More »}


Life on the Ship

By John Whiteman · October 21, 2009 · comments 4 comments
ABOARD THE USCGC POLAR SEA, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA-- For captures, we need calm winds, good visibility, thick continuous ice, and a good bear location. Those factors came together to allow us to recapture an adult female... {Read More »}


Another Recapture, and Big Seas

By John Whiteman · October 11, 2009 · comments 4 comments
ABOARD THE USCGC POLAR SEA, ON THE CHUKCHI SEA– Over the last week we kept the ship in the same general area, in the northern reaches of the Chukchi Sea. Several days of cooler weather allowed the ice to thicken a little, and we had another successful recapture of an adult female with her cub... {Read More »}


Catching Our First Bears, Based on a Tiny Floating City

By John Whiteman · October 6, 2009 · comments 1 comment
ABOARD THE USCGC POLAR SEA, ON THE ARCTIC OCEAN– We have all adjusted quickly to life on a ship, but every once in a while, it is still quite striking to remember that we are on a very small, floating city, in one of the most remote places on earth... {Read More »}


Finally at Sea

By John Whiteman · September 29, 2009 · comments 1 comment
ABOARD THE USCGC POLAR SEA, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA-- After writing the last dispatch, I had a nearly sleepless night in Barrow because I was so worried about all the details involved with getting all the gear and people onto the ship the next day... {Read More »}


Organization, Organization, Organization

By John Whiteman · September 27, 2009 · comments No comments yet
BARROW, ALASKA-- It is 1am mountain time, which my body still seems to be on, but about 11pm here in Barrow. I arrived... {Read More »}


Summer Days Are Over

By John Whiteman · September 24, 2009 · comments No comments yet
LARAMIE, WYOMING-- Shortly after my last posting, I received a phone call on a Tuesday evening from my collaborators who are based in Anchorage, Alaska. One of the bears which we sampled last May had been active near the town of Kaktovik, on the Arctic coast... {Read More »}


Adios Punta Arenas

By Maria Vernet · March 30, 2009 · comments No comments yet
ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN-- Adios Punta Arenas, Chile. Hello Research Vessel and Ice Breaker, Nathaniel B. Palmer. We, the crew, support staff and scientists of the NBP Iceberg Cruise III, left port in Punta Arenas on March 6th to begin our 40-day cruise... {Read More »}


Ears of the Deep, Part IV: Recovering and Deploying Moorings

By Kevin Fall · September 24, 2008 · comments No comments yet
ABOARD THE USCGC HEALY, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA– Recovering a mooring of any significant size essentially amounts to getting it to the surface and picking it up with a ship using a crane... {Read More »}


Ears of the Deep, Part III: Placing a Mooring

By Kevin Fall · September 17, 2008 · comments No comments yet
ABOARD THE USCGC HEALY, ON THE BEAUFORT SEA– Kate's moorings, like most others, are constructed to be placed on the sea floor at a particular location and depth... {Read More »}

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