Nukka the ICE-MUTT

Nukka the ICE-MUTT

Meet Nukka, our ice-mutt.  Long ago, shortly after coming up with the acronym ICE-MITT, we decided that we needed an ICE-MUTT now for this trip.  As much as I love dogs, I never truly thought this dream could actually become a reality since my condo by-laws don't allow dogs.  However, there is only so much joking/wishful thinking you can do with Ellyn regarding dogs before she just accepts it to be fact.  Shorty after arriving in Barrow, we found our way to the animal shelter/vet where there routinely was several strays awaiting adoption always chained outside.  It turns out that Barrow has a problem of too many dogs ending up at the shelter from abuse, abandonment, or some other reason.  After hearing this at our first (of many) stops to play with the dogs, it was already a foregone conclusion: we were going to have an ICE-MUTT and there was no way Ellyn would be stopped.  Of course there was still quite a few logistics such as getting the dog on a plane to Fairbanks, a 5,000 mile road trip in a Uhaul with a dog, who will actually adopt the dog when we get home, border patrol in both Canada and the USA, etc.  However, before I realized this was indeed happening, Ellyn had already picked out a puppy, figured out the logistics, and had her family agree to adopt a dog from Barrow.

Meeting Nukka for the 1st time

Nukka is a beautiful mix of husky, pit bull, and potentially some other breeds.  She is roughly 1 1/2 so Ellyn and I decided to split the difference of our birthdays and give her an "official" birthday of October 19, 2013.  Her full name, Nukkalaq, means "little sister" in Inupiat.  Until this week, she had never known a life outside of Barrow.  That means no mountains, trees, or many of the strange creatures we have in the lower 48.  The actual adoption day, the day we packed up and left Barrow, was a bit of an adventure.  The night before we realized that she might not be able to cross border patrol in the USA since her rabies shot was less than 30 days ago.  Ellyn woke up early, and frantically called and visited the vet to find that Nukka did indeed have shots from much earlier so we would be ok to cross.  Whew, we still have our ICE-MUTT.  3 hours later, after loading all of the ICE-MITTs into our tiny little plane, we cleared out the front seat for Nukka and her crate, and she left the snow and ice of Barrow for the first time in her life.  In Fairbanks, we transitioned to our Uhaul, and the front cab became her new home.  Of course, as it turns out neither border patrol ever ended up checking her papers.

Nukka likes to drive the Uhaul

If you have ever done a long journey in a Uhaul truck, you can begin to appreciate what a drive from Fairbanks to New Hampshire might be like for 3 adults and a medium=sized dog crammed into the front cab.  Nukka spends her days rotating from the laps of Rachel, Ellyn, and myself, often sprawling across all 3 of us at once.  Recently, Nukka has decided that she enjoys driving and has started to lean up against the steering wheel.  At first, it was only her head on my lap.  Then slowly she started plopping the majority of her body on my lap as I drove.  Next the head moved to be slightly leaning on the steering wheel.  Once she started putting the paws on as well, I had to remind her that was where my hands belong.  Today, she pushed even further and ended up honking the horn a couple of times, so we have had to set some new ground rules for driving.  Although my space has become quite cramped, driving with a dog on your lap almost makes you forget how long this trip is and truly does make the miles go by much faster.  Nukka is also a very fast learning, and already knows: sit, lay down, paw, double-high-five paw, and working on stay.  She has also learned that we humans like to have snacks for long drives, and this makes for easy stealing when crammed in the cab of a Uhaul.

Nukka sees mountains for the 1st time and doesn't know what she thinks of them

Quick status update: We just reached the United States in North Dakota.  Presented at a science museum in Edmonton yesterday, which went very well.  Still have ice cores in the truck and ICE-MITTs running.  Some issues with the back of the Uhaul getting to hot from the generators, but more on that later.

One ridiculous day of an ambitious trip

Loading the ICE-MITTs onto our plane

This is a ridiculous and ambitious project.  When I talk to my family and friends, they all think I'm crazy.  I get that.  First of all, I'm well aware that I'm not normal (nor do I aspire to be).  But beyond the personal characterization, I understand that the general public considers any work in the Arctic or Antarctica to be foreign, unusual, fascinating, and just a bit different.  One of the primary reasons for having this blog is to describe and share this incredible world with those in my life.  Add in polar bears, a true electronics engineering project in -30 degree weather, and a logistical nightmare complete with snowmobiles, trucks, chartering a plane, Uhauls, generators, a 5,000-mile trip across the country with sea ice, and I start seeing why you all are explicitly calling me crazy for this project.  However, it isn't fully until I start talking to all of the seasoned "experts" in the field and their eyes begin opening upon hearing about what we plan to do, that I truly appreciate just how ambitious of a project this is.  Every step of the way, from the natives in Barrow to the sea ice scientists to the logistics support team, they all can't quite believe we have made it this far already.  There are just so many places where things could go wrong and this project falls apart.  Remember, if the ICE-MITTs stop working for just a few hours (I'm still shocked that they are OK while unplugged for 2-3 hours), the temperature gradient is gone and the experiment is a bust.  Once we left Barrow, there is no option of simply getting a new sea ice core (although word on the street is that Massachusetts Bay had some sea ice this winter?...).

Psyched for the flight

March 12 was pegged as the day that all had to go perfect because there were just too many opportunities for failure.  After barely sleeping the night before from packing up all of our gear, we awoke and eagerly threw our belongings into the truck.  We then corralled 5 trucks and generators to transport the ICE-MITTs in 2 trips from our base to the airplane hanger.  Despite a few hiccups, we plugged the ICE-MITTs into electricity at the hanger by 11:15 am and so far, they are all still working.  Next up was to gather the last of the gear and then start loading the plane.  The guys take one look at our stuff and astonishingly ask if we do indeed need to try and fit all of it into this small little Beechcraft 1900.  Although I had gone over the measurements ahead of time with the owner and told him that we would weigh about 2,400 lbs in total, all evidence suggested otherwise in regards to fitting.  At first they tell us that the only way it can be done is if we tip the ICE-MITTs onto their side.  I've never done this before and know they aren't built to carry their weight on edge, and am thus, super reluctant to agree.  However, before I cave in (what other option do I have?), I see the pilot chucking seats out of the plane.  Right.... Next they are asking us if we do really want all 4 people and our dog to fly (Dog?? Yes, we now have an ICE-MUTT by the name Nukka.  Ellyn adopted her and there will be a whole post devoted to her later).  A few magic tricks later, I see all of our ICE-MITTs, gear, and at least 4 seats on the plane, are somehow packed in and ready to go, with only 1 ICE-MITT tipped on edge.  Time is 12:45 pm, which although only 45 minutes behind schedule, represents 45 minutes more of time where the ICE-MITTs are unplugged.

From plane to Uhaul

Our pilot Wayne is great and agrees to keep the heat off on the flight (although slightly uncomfortable, less likely for ice to melt).  After a beautiful flight over the Brooks range and seeing mountains and trees for the first time in 6 weeks, we touch down in Fairbanks, AK.  3:15 pm.  We quickly unload the ICE-MITTs from the plane and find some outlets on the runway to plug everyone back in.  Miraculously, all ICE-MITTs are still functioning, and even more impressively, the temperatures had only changed by 1-2 degrees despite being unplugged for 3.5 hours.  Next up is getting our 17-ft Uhaul and two 5-kW generators for this epic roadtrip.  All those logistics go smoothly so we return to the airport, transport the ICE-MITTs to a temporary storage facility, and head to my friend Marc's cabin to spend the evening.  (Quick side note: Ellyn realizes she had lost her cellphone, but she somehow finds it buried in a snowbank when we return and search at the runway).  Long at last, we celebrate a well earned dinner and my first opportunity to buy a beer in 6 weeks, at a delicious Thai restaurant. 

All ICE-MITTs (and Nukka the ICE-MUTT) safe in Fairbanks

After a couple of days in Fairbanks, it was sadly time to depart.  However, since the weather had welcomed us with some more -30 degree days, we were more than happy to head southwards.  The time in Fairbanks enabled us to "safely" pack our Uhaul, and rig our generators to funnel all the exhaust out the back.  We said goodbye to Natalie who flew back to Dartmouth, and the 3 of us plus Nukka piled into the small cab to begin our 5,000 mile journey home.  Although we still have quite a few miles (and likely adventures) ahead, I've got to say it is a big relief to see all 10 ICE-MITTs working while connected to 2 generators in a Uhaul, and still maintaining their desired temperatures.  Yes, this is indeed a ridiculous expedition, but that is part of what has made it so exciting and enjoyable. 

Marc hosts us at his cabin in Fairbanks for 3 nights

Finish with a Bang

Team shot from final day on the ice

Tonight is our last night in Barrow, Alaska.  The last night of our field campaign.  In some ways it is very sad to be leaving such an incredible, majestic landscape that is so unique and foreign to anything back home.  It marks the end of my 3rd successful field season and sadly I don't have any concrete plans to head to either pole in the near future (although if anyone is looking for an extra field hand... I am always interested).  Unlike the end of most expeditions though, we are still a long ways from home.  Although we are leaving Barrow tomorrow, our epic road trip is just commencing.  This will be an adventure-filled 5,000 journey across Alaska, Canada, and the northern USA to attempt to bring our ICE-MITTs (and the sea ice inside) safely home to Dartmouth.  You can be sure to catch all of our stories and fortunes (or misfortunes) right here on this blog (internet connectivity and my non-laziness/tiredness not withstanding).

Mr. Polar Bear comes to bid us farewell

According to you, my readers, (by virtue of the number of site visits to this blog) the most interesting/exciting/awe-inspiring parts of this trip has been polar bear encounters and aurora sightings.  I whole-heartedly agree.  Thus, for our final full day here, the powers that be complied and gave us a final farewell of both.  Ellyn has a philosophy that polar bears come out when the aurora will be good.  Seeing as all 6 of our polar bear encounters have coincided with good aurora viewing evenings, she may be on to something.

Ellyn takes in the aurora on our last night

We had pretty much just finished packing when Natalie and Rachel decided to take a walk in town.  For those of you following closely, Natalie just arrived last weekend and is here only for our final week.  She was one of the students who helped come up with the original design of the ICE-MITT over 2 years ago.  Shortly after they left, Ellyn and I received a text to put on our coats.  Immediately we knew this meant a polar bear must be around so all 4 of us jumped into the truck and hit the road.  As we are driving down the road (quite slowly I might add as we were carefully scanning around to find the polar bear), we suddenly see him (or maybe her?) strut out and cross the road directly in front of us.  This prompted Rachel to ask the age-old question, "Why did the polar bear cross the road?"  At only 10 feet from our truck, this was definitely our closest encounter and easily the highlight of Natalie's week here in Barrow.

To top it off this evening (just minutes ago), Ellyn and I did one final drive to the end of the road at the northernmost point in the US.  The aurora spirits rewarded us with one final beautiful showing of dancing greens shimmering across the sky.  A beautiful reminder that the Arctic is one of the most special environments in this world.  A place I know that I will surely return at some point in my future.

Goodbye, for now, Barrow

One week to go

The intrepid ICE-MITT team

Wow.  Where does the time go?  Ellyn and I did a radio show Tuesday night (you can listen to the podcast here: http://photographybydennisprice.weebly.com/radio-hotline.html) and it suddenly struck me how quickly the time has gone.  When doing work in the poles, it is well known that the best laid plans are really only suggestions/guidelines at best.  However, during the planning stages of this project, I truthfully thought that the field portion here in Barrow was going to be very relaxing and restful (at least in comparison to the crunch I had been in all fall trying to build the ICE-MITTs).  We only had 10 ICE-MITTs and wanted both spatial and temporal variability in our core collection over the 6 weeks we would be here.  We had briefly discussed collecting a few cores immediately from several different locations, perhaps a couple of cores in the middle, and then the final cores during our last few days.  If all goes smoothly (ha!), it really didn't sound like a ton of work.  I even started thinking that I could catch up on writing papers from past projects during all of the "free" time that I would have.  Well, for those of you who have closely followed all of our adventures or have spent any time in the Arctic/Antarctic yourself, no explanation is necessary to find where 5 weeks went (thin ice, misbehaving ICE-MITTs, broken ice cores, an electronics graveyards, weather, polar bear encounters, etc.). 

Installing the wire harp

Well, for those keeping score at home, we currently have 7 ICE-MITTs running and 3 ICE-MITTs empty and awaiting cores from the final week.  We have found several good coring locations for spatial variability, have kept a steady schedule for temporal variability, and without a doubt have had quite a bit of weather variability.  We have also twice cut out a 3 ft by 3 ft hole in the ice and installed a "wire harp."  We are using this to measure electrical impedance and temperature of the ice as it grows.  Yesterday, we realized for the first time that we were both ahead of schedule scientifically and had beautiful weather.  Thus, we took the opportunity to collect some "free" extra data points for our last project.  If you recall, this project involved erecting a blowing-snow catching tower.  We then analyzed the chemistry of the blowing snow to determine at what point salts such as bromide are converted into reactive gases (e.g. bromine) and participate in ozone depletion events.  When your research requires expensive field campaigns, you do not let a day (especially a beautiful -15 ºF and only 10 mph winds day) go to waste.

The snow catcher back in action

So what's next?  Immediately in our future is 1 final week of collecting 3 ice cores, packing everything up, chartering a plane to Fairbanks, and starting the epic ICE-MITT: The Tour road-trip home.  However, once we get back to Dartmouth and relax for perhaps 85 seconds, we get started on analysis before the ICE-MITTs decide they are tired and want to quit.  This involves cutting up the ice core and taking small 1" cubic samples to analyze with a micro-CT (think Cat-Scan at the hospital, except smaller and inside a cold room).  This allows us to create a virtual 3-D reconstruction of the sample showing the ice, air pockets, and brine channels.  At this point, we get to invoke all of the fun mathematics of topology to describe the network of brine channels, and analyze how transport processes are controlled by the microstructure.  If this sounds interesting to you, please let me know as we have endless hours of samples to run on the micro-CT and haven't you always wanted to put chunks of ice into a CT machine?

Micro-CT image showing brine channels of different sizes in different colors

When Disaster (Almost) Strikes

(Part 1)

Planting a flag from a school to be visited on our trip home

Perhaps I jinxed ourselves.  I was starting to feel pretty good about our progress during this field campaign.  We had just passed the halfway point and half of our ICE-MITTs were filled.  More remarkably, they seemed to be working as desired.  I even mentioned that perhaps we could have a few days off since we wanted to space out our core collection.  Ellyn and I decided to celebrate by watching a movie and sleeping in a bit the next morning.  That morning, I hear Ellyn head out the door to drive Rachel to the office.  As I groggily consume my breakfast, I'm jolted awake as Ellyn returns a few minutes later telling me to get dressed and get out the door in 30 seconds.  Apparently, 2 of our ICE-MITTs have gone brain-dead.  We quickly get over to the Theatre (the Quonset hut we use for staging and storing the ICE-MITTs) to find that 2 ICE-MITTs do indeed have no digital display.  We frantically begin uncovering them (of course these 2 are stacked on the bottom) in the howling wind and blowing snow.  Upon opening the first ICE-MITT, we find the power supply covered in snow and thus, have a pretty good guess on what the problem is.  However, now that we have the troubled ICE-MITT indoors, the snow is melting onto the rest of the electronics.  Further, every second the ICE-MITT is unplugged, we are not cooling the core to the desired temperature and are slowly losing the critical temperature gradient (Note: once the temperature profile is lost, the structure of the ice changes and can not be recovered).  In the back of my mind, a timer starts ticking, marking how long we have before this ice core is no longer usable.  Of course, this timer is not precise as I'm not sure when during the night the ICE-MITT died.

Finding the temperature profiles still intact

If we are to save the ice cores, I see two options: A) Take the core out of the box and place into a new ICE-MITT or B) Replace the power supply, hope nothing else failed or short-circuited, and try to restart the current ICE-MITT.  I'm afraid of option A since we could damage the core during the move, are exposing it to really warm temps, and are running low on empty ICE-MITTs.  The timer in my head tells me I can only try one option, and thus, put all of my eggs in basket B.  As we open up the electronics, I also find a damaged resistor.  I quickly set up a soldering fix and play with the electronics, while Ellyn quickly cleans out any visible moisture.  We pilfer a power supply from an empty ICE-MITT, plug-in, give a quick high-five upon seeing the box now works, and start on the 2nd dead ICE-MITT.  Another frantic, but successful, repair has both boxes up and running again.  We venture back out into the storm and attempt to wrap all of the ICE-MITTs with tarps to protect against more blowing snow.  Anyone who has tried to fold a sail in a hurricane knows that this is a near impossible task.  After a very ugly, but somewhat thorough wrapping, we peek at my computer logging the temperature profiles from all the boxes.  We are relieved to see the cores are indeed ok and that the temperature profile remained intact.  The failures must have been fairly recent and the layers of insulation did their job (Note: this will also be key for the plane ride from Barrow to Fairbanks in 2 weeks).  We head in to town for a late, but well-earned lunch, and happy that our work for the day was now complete.

Or so we thought... After lunch, we return to find another ICE-MITT had gone brain-dead.  Having done this fix twice already, we quickly assumed positions and started replacing power supplies again.  However, we had now run out of extra power supplies.  This time we decide to combine two ICE-MITTs that each had only filled 1 of the 2 core slots.  This also allows us to better protect all of the remaining power supplies from future failure.  During this fix though, we realize several of the push buttons on the exterior became damaged during the exchange.  Once again we poach from empty ICE-MITTs, set-up a quick soldering station, and are able to keep everything up and running.  I'm not sure if I've ever been as happy as I was that evening finally going to bed and seeing all of the display panels still reading the desired temperature profiles.   Crisis averted.

 (Part 2)

Our ICE-MITTs battle the weather

I'm starting to sense a theme in the Arctic: wind, blowing snow, and low visibility are not your friend (despite having wished for those conditions frequently during our last project).  This week's weather has oscillated drastically from warm and calm to blowing white-out.  This morning we woke up to a calm 5-10 mph winds and warm temps.  We decided to try a new site, successfully extracted a two-part core, and even stopped for our first seal viewing during the trip home.  After getting our fill of seal photos (and convincing our bear guard not to claim his dinner), we started cross frozen Elson Lagoon to take us back.  Within minutes though, the weather turned and we found ourselves in 30+ mph winds and complete whiteout conditions.  I can barely see the snowmobile in front of me, not to mention the horizon or even the ice below me.  Having seen the forecast in the morning, I am thankful to have worn my warm clothes despite the hot start to the day.  As our guide begins stopping more frequently, I realize that this is going to be a long trip home.

Spotted seal on our trip home

Without any landmarks, the guide is forced to navigate solely based on the GPS.  Frozen fingers and battery life prevent keeping the GPS constantly out, and trying to follow a straight line in these conditions is near impossible.  I pull out my phone for a second mapping aid and for the few minutes before the battery dies, we are able to see we have drifted a bit further south than we wanted.  Luckily at that moment, the sun peeks through and we have a reliable point of reference for a brief window.  Our guide has me lead as I try to take a straight line with the sun directly to my left.  Upon reflection, plowing forwards into a complete wall of white and nothing in front of me is a pretty mesmerizing feeling (and a bit like trying to walk around outside with your eyes closed).  Although still a good ways from home, it is a relief to hit land again and know that we are off the lagoon (although in truth, there isn't much difference driving across tundra vs the lagoon).  Shortly before reaching the road however, I look back and realize our guide has disappeared into the empty whiteness.  At this point we had reached a building/structure so Rachel, Ellyn, and I gather together and can identify our location.  We radio in and after a few interesting minutes, our guide circles around the other side of the building.  We return back, psyched to warm up, and impressed to find our ICE-MITT still humming away as though in paradise.  Since our radio conversation had been heard by the rest of the staff, we are even treated to home-made cookies upon getting back to our hut.

Moral of the stories: There is no such thing as being over-prepared in the Arctic both in terms of the science and in terms of safety.  Although we have emptied much of our ICE-MITT parts reserves, I'm very happy we haven't had to tap into the safety reserves/survival gear but thankful we always have it with us.