May 2, 2008

After a run of a few days of gathering data the winds have proven too much. 30- knot winds make it difficult to gather the data accurately, without contamination from blowing snow and wind effects on the open face of our snow pit sampling sites. Coupled with this, several bears have been seen in the area around the ship. Polar bears love to hunt in the fog and wind as it provides cover, which also makes being on the ice more dangerous.

Scientists are often called back to the ship by the Captain (who, among other things, is in charge of our safety) as bears approach. Laboratory processing and data entry of our sampling is done on days like these. The CCGS Amundsen has several “cold” labs kept at various sub-zero temperatures in order to preserve the samples of snow, ice, and the myriad of other samples collected by scientists on the ship. Our lab is kept at -20°C. More to come on this in a later entry.

The ship has many modern and scientific conveniences. The births are small dorm style rooms eachGhost ship: Do not adjust your set. The ghost ship Amundsen. Photo by Chris Fuller. acting as sleeping quarters for 2 scientists. There are communal washrooms with showers; however, as fresh water is at a premium on board and so they are used as sparingly as possible (or tolerable). There is a cafeteria-style eating area and an area and a small library of both scientific and entertainment material. The halls and walls, the cafeteria and washrooms, the engine room, the bridge, etc… are all meticulously cared for by the crew of the ship.

The crew makes everything we do here easier and more focused. They allow us to concern ourselves with only science by taking care of the many aspects of our stay here; all of the things that take up precious time that could otherwise be spent on gathering or processing data. They are truly an invaluable support, without which our job of science would be much less efficient and much more complex. They work together as a well -oiled machine and are integral to the work we do here. The many studies based from the Amundsen would not be possible without them.

- Chris Fuller