Skip to content

Dispatch 33: Lots to celebrate

Jennifer Kosty (Yale University)

October 21, 2025

15:00 local, 69.00◦N, 106.17◦W

Conditions:

  • Cloudy
  • 0% sea ice cover
  • -1◦C
  • Sunrise: 21-Oct-2025 8:39
  • Sunset: 21-Oct-2025 16:58
  • Day length: 8 hours, 19 minutes

Today, we arrived back at Cambridge Bay! We will remain on the Louis until Thursday morning to wrap up any remaining work, which includes processing samples, organizing and quality-controlling data, writing science reports, packing lab equipment/personal gear, and much more. Members of the science team split up to divide and conquer the long list of tasks. For example, Céline Guéguen and Magali Pucet spent the morning processing their last fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) samples and packing their lab equipment. Meanwhile, Erinn Raftery reviewed the salinity, chlorophyll, ammonium, and dissolved oxygen sample data that were processed on board. The Niskin bottle data and CTD profiles will be organized and published in a few months, after they have been fully calibrated and quality-controlled.

We reunited at 11 am for the daily science meeting, where Dominique Baker explained how microbial communities in the Beaufort Gyre have been adapting in response to global climate change. It’s currently unclear how these changes will affect higher trophic levels and carbon fixation (the conversion of atmospheric carbon to organic compounds) in the ocean. Dominique has been collecting samples on this year’s cruise to track the compositions and activity of these microbial communities and identify potential environmental drivers for observed changes.

Our final few days on board have also been filled with lots of celebration of the hard work put in by the science team and ship’s crew over the last 5 weeks. For regular readers of the dispatch, it may come as no surprise that one of many ways we celebrate on the Louis is through dessert. From special birthday cakes to Sunday sundaes, we have certainly enjoyed our fair share of celebratory sweet treats on board. A huge thanks Assistant Cook Carter Guy who prepares 4-5 wonderful desserts for us to enjoy every day! Only 1 day left for us to indulge in these decadent treats!

Figure 1: The most recent sea ice concentration map for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Source: https://data.seaice.uni-bremen.de/databrowser/).
Figure 1: The most recent sea ice concentration map for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (Source: https://data.seaice.uni-bremen.de/databrowser/).
Figure 2: Map showing our current location en route to Cambridge Bay.
Figure 2: Map showing our current location en route to Cambridge Bay.
Photo 1: Dominique Baker giving a presentation during the daily science meeting.
Photo 1: Dominique Baker giving a presentation during the daily science meeting.
Photo 2: Magali Pucet processing samples of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM).
Photo 2: Magali Pucet processing samples of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM).
Photo 3: Some of the desserts served on the Louis. Photos by Jennifer Kosty and Tsukushi Komura.
Photo 3: Some of the desserts served on the Louis. Photos by Jennifer Kosty and Tsukushi Komura.
Photo 4: A huge thanks to the cooks and stewards! Shown here are (left to right) Carter Guy, Penny O’Brien, Allison Lodge, McKinley March, Cory Simms, and Woody Compton.
Photo 4: A huge thanks to the cooks and stewards! Shown here are (left to right) Carter Guy, Penny O’Brien, Allison Lodge, McKinley March, Cory Simms, and Woody Compton.
Photo 5: Ice cream night! Shown here are First Officer David Critch (left), Marguerite Larriere and Magali Pucet (upper middle), Tsukushi Komura (bottom middle), and Kazu Tateyama (right).
Photo 5: Ice cream night! Shown here are First Officer David Critch (left), Marguerite Larriere and Magali Pucet (upper middle), Tsukushi Komura (bottom middle), and Kazu Tateyama (right).