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Winter Wonderland

July 30, 2014

During a winter research cruise to the Labrador Sea in 1997, waves washing over the decks of the research vessel Knorr caused continual ice build-up. Scientists and crew on board kept ice on the decks at bay by pounding it with mallets, said WHOI physical oceanographer Robert Pickart, who recalled the grueling work. “It would take a group of six to eight people the better part of a day to bang all the decks, bulkheads, and bulwarks free of ice,” he said. “During one such session, we estimated that roughly 15 tons of ice—over 10 inches thick in some places—were cleared from the ship.” This summer, Pickart is again on Knorr in the Labrador Sea for an international effort to measure the strengths and pathways of ocean currents.(Photo by George Tupper, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)