ALISS: Arctic Lake Ice Systems Science

Lesson from the Arctic

4/16/2018

Doing research out on the land always brings learning. Yesterday was fun. Ran out to help Go set up his coring system, which was way cool and made good sense. Then ran over to the Ikpikpuk Delta to hit our three longterm study lakes. Lake ice was super thin there, and I didn’t stay long to speculate about it. Ride back to camp was fast and then very slow in a strong east wind that increasingly sculpted the tundra surface.

Back at Drew Point, team core was confirming the presence of a widespread sealevel set cryopeg. Its cool because it might explain some longstanding uncertainties about the really rapid rates of coastal erosion here. Essentially, a zone of salty sediments right about sea level aren’t frozen within the permafrost strata and this may explain how thermoerosional niches grow so fast and cause high rate so land loss to the sea. Really the great thing with bringing new folks and techniques to bear on a study area.

Windy day here but bright and sunny and warming. Tomorrow Allen and I head east-southeast to see what lakes and ice are like in other parts.