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Young Sea Ice In Woods Hole

August 13, 2014

The R/V Sikuliaq stopped at WHOI’s dock on its way from Wisconsin, where it was built, to its home port of Seward, Alaska. Capable of breaking ice up to 2.5 feet thick, the ship is uniquely suited for polar missions, allowing researchers to conduct research in ice-choked waters. Owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the ship departed Woods Hole on August 9 for sea trials in the Atlantic and Pacific. The name Sikuliaq, which means “young sea ice” in the Iñupiaq language, was chosen from hundreds of submissions from the public. (Photo by Rod Catanach, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)