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Now In the Field

Though the Poles may seem to be vast, empty, icy places, did you know that they also are the home to 280-ton telescopes, scientific caravans crossing thousands of miles of ice sheets, and other incredible scientific projects? Read about them here.

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Field Expeditions

USGS: Scientists Sail Aug. 2 to Map the Arctic Seafloor and Define the Limits of the Continental Shelf

8/2/2010 American and Canadian scientists are mapping the Arctic seafloor and gathering data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf. More

NASA Icebreaker Voyage to Probe Climate Change Impact on Arctic

6/8/2010 NASA's first dedicated oceanographic field campaign is taking an up-close look at how changing conditions in the Arctic are affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystems that play a critical role in global climate change. Follow ICESCAPE's blog. More

BESTing Severe Ice: Dispatches from NOAA Research Vessel Studying the Bering Sea Ecosystem

6/7/2010 The NOAA research vessel Thomas G. Thompson is at sea carrying scientists from a multitude of disciplines to measure ocean conditions and food web productivity on the eastern Bering Sea shelf. More

Field Expedition Blog: Tagging Humpback Whales in the Antarctic with Suction Cups

5/20/2010 An NSF-funded research team, led by scientists from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, is at sea measuring the underwater movements and behaviors of humpback and minke whales. Track their progress and see images. More

NASA IceBridge Mission Prepares for Study of Arctic Glaciers

3/18/2010 NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, the largest airborne survey ever flown of Earth's polar ice, kicks off its second year of study when NASA aircraft arrive in Greenland March 22. More
                                      

Field Observatories

The View from 3,500 Years (and More) in the Past: Blogging from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice-Coring Project

1/6/2009 "Watching the drill going down the hole and then coming up to deliver ice to the core handlers is like a flawlessly executed ballet dance with everyone and every part of the system working in concert." -- Julie Palais, NSF glaciology program officer. More

Live from the Mt. Erebus Observatory, atop the World's Southernmost Active Volcano, PolarTREC Teacher John Wood

12/23/2008 Through the NSF-funded PolarTREC program, Wood, from Talbert Middle School in Huntington Beach, Calif. is part of a team from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology working at the volcano's summit. Read his journals. More

Arctic Humidity Measurements at Odds

11/3/2008 Researchers identified significant discrepancies between humidity measurements obtained by various ground-based sensors at the North Slope of Alaska. Read more to find out the implications of these findings for Arctic climate studies. More

Meteorological Towers Upgraded at Barrow and Atqasuk Sites

10/15/2008 In the Arctic, ice can develop on instrumentation that collects standard meteorological measurements for climate studies. New ultrasonic sensors and heated probes are improving data delivery while requiring less maintenance. More

Scientist Explains Impacts of Climate Change in the Arctic

6/30/2008 During Earth Month in April, Mark Ivey, site manager for the Deprtment of Energy's ARM Climate Research Facility on the North Slope of Alaska, was interviewed about climate change and in particular, its impacts in the Arctic. More

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