Dispatch 16: Don’t forget to charge your socks!
Jennifer Kosty (Yale University)
October 3, 2026
14:30 local, 79.02◦N, 150.51◦W
Conditions:
- 100% sea ice cover
- -8.7◦C
- Sunrise: 10:00 PDT (local)
- Sunset: 19:38 PDT (local)
- Day length: 9 hours, 38 minutes
Today was one of our busiest days so far! Around 6 am, the night watch completed an extra special CTD-rosette cast at CB11 (more on that in tomorrow’s dispatch!). Captain Duffett and the bridge team then positioned us within a nearby ice floe, and we got ready to complete our third ice station!
This being our third consecutive ice day, you might be wondering how we stay warm while working in subzero temperatures. We wear wool base layers under our mustang survival suits, along with buffs, scarves, hats, and gloves (usually multiple pairs!). Hand warmers are also essential as we often remove our gloves to assemble equipment and take notes. My secret weapon for ice days is heated socks!
Today’s ice work was similar to our last two stations. The WHOI team deployed a tethered ocean profiler (TOP) and a seasonal ice mass balance (SIMB) buoy. We also completed a 100 m ice thickness transect and collected one final ice core. Lastly, we collected a few water samples that will be used to measure the organic matter, nutrients, oxygen, and inorganic carbon in the water directly beneath the ice.
We celebrated our final ice station with a dinner of BBQ chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, and panna cotta. This evening the day watch will complete another CTD-rosette cast before we begin the short steam to CB10.
