Sea Ice
From icebergs to smoke, forecasting where dangers will drift
Some of these drift detectives want to know if large icebergs threaten offshore oil platforms. Others hope to track plumes of polluted air or water — and determine where they’re coming from. The work is challenging. It also can be very rewarding.
‘Tiger Stripes’ on a Saturn Moon Could Be Even More Unique Than Previously Thought
Icy moons that have (or are thought to have) subsurface oceans are common in the outer solar system. For example, Jupiter has several of them. These form when gravity from the planet they orbit stretches and squeezes their interior.
Melting ice imperils 98% of Emperor penguin colonies by 2100
WASHINGTON (AP) — With climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. “The lifecycle of Emperor penguins is tied to having stable sea ice, which they need to breed, to feed and to molt,” said Stephanie Jenouvrier, a penguin ecologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Icebergs Drifting from Canada to Southern Florida
Using high resolution seafloor mapping, radiocarbon dating and a new iceberg model, the team analyzed about 700 iceberg scours (“plow marks” on the seafloor left behind by the bottom parts of icebergs dragging through marine sediment) from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to the Florida Keys.
Massive icebergs from Hudson Bay used to travel all the way to Florida, research suggests
“What our model suggests is that these icebergs get caught up in the currents created by glacial meltwater, and basically surf their way along the coast,” Condron said.
See a Tampa scientist’s views of mysterious Greenland ice holes
Using ropes, researchers explore chambers hundreds of feet below the surface of the Greenland ice sheet.
Woods Hole scientist part of MOSAiC expedition that spent year researching Arctic ecosystem
The research vessel Polarstern returned to its home port in Germany Monday after spending a year locked in thick sea ice, floating in the Arctic Ocean and gathering data. Among those onboard was Carin Ashjian, a senior scientist and biology department chairwoman at WHOI.
Arctic Science Mission Wraps Up as Research Ship Docks in Germany
After a year spent drifting across the top of the world, frozen in sea ice, a German research ship returned home on Monday, ending the largest Arctic science expedition in history, one aimed at better understanding a region that is rapidly changing as the world warms.
Covid-19 Forces Spring Science Field Work to Go Fallow
Carin Ashjian, a senior scientist at WHOI, was one of 97 scientists and crew members aboard a German oceanographic research vessel that has been deliberately stranded in Arctic Sea ice as part of the year-long MOSAIC experiment.
Study Finds New Source of Trace Elements Could Rapidly Change Arctic Ecosystems
A new study by WHOI and their international colleagues found that freshwater runoff from rivers and continental shelf sediments are bringing significant quantities of carbon and trace elements into parts of the Arctic Ocean via the Transpolar Drift—a major surface current that moves water from Siberia across the North Pole to the North Atlantic Ocean.
Scientists in Antarctica train to endure its brutal environment
It’s the coldest environment on Earth, with a mean temperature of minus-76 in winter and minus-18 in summer, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Alien Waters: Neighboring Seas Are Flowing into a Warming Arctic Ocean
quotes Robert Pickart
Are emperor penguins eating enough?
features the work of Dan Zitterbart
The Unseen Way in Which Climate Change Is Altering the Arctic Ocean
quotes Lauren Kipp
Erosion May Transform the Arctic Food Chain
quotes Matthew Charette
Unprecedented Antarctic expedition maps sea ice to solve climate change mystery
quotes Ted Maksym, Hanu Singh
Explaining Record Low Sea Ice Isn’t As Simple As It Seems
features Ted Maksym
From the Arctic to Enceladus: A Celebration of Unusual Ice
features Ted Maksym and mentions WHOI
Antarctica at Risk of Runaway Melting, Scientists Discover
quotes Luke Trusel
Two Numbers: Antarctic Ice Shelves Could Collapse by 2100, Unless a Lot Changes
quotes Luke Trusel and mentions WHOI
Study finds Antarctic ice shelves will melt at double the rate within 35 years
quotes Luke Trusel and mentions WHOI
Antarctic ice shelf melting could double by 2050
quotes Luke Trusel and mentions WHOI
If We Don’t Control Greenhouse Emissions, Melting Of Antarctic Ice Shelves Will Double By 2050
quotes Luke Trusel and mentions WHOI
New report recommends research priorities for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science
Quotes Robert Weller and WHOI.