Image

Frozen PIES

November 23, 2018

From left, WHOI mooring technician Meghan Donohue, University of Oregon professor Dave Sutherland, and WHOI scientist Magdalena Andres deploy an instrument known as PIES—a pressure-sensor equipped inverted echo sounder—in the Sermilik Fjord on the east coast of Greenland. The device will take long-term measurements of water pressure and temperature to determine how heat content in the fjord waters fluctuates over time. The long-term study will also help the scientists determine the extent to which warming ocean temperatures are melting the tongue of the Helheim Glacier. The melting accelerates the glacier’s flow into the fjord, which can affect ocean circulation and climate in the region. (Photo by Daniel Cojanu, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)