(August) During the 2009 Russian-American Long-Term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA) expedition, scientists will again visit the Bering Strait and northwards to the Pacific side of the Arctic Ocean, as they did in 2004. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/welcome.html http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/include/images/ocean_explorer_podcast_100.jpg http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/welcome.html ___________________________________________________________________________ RUSALCA is an excellent example of how working together across borders leads to far greater scientific outcomes than either one of our countries could have achieved by themselves. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept30/sept30.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Phytoplankton is a very important basic food source in the marine ecosystem. In recent years, many different environmental conditions that affect phytoplankton growth have changed in the Arctic Ocean. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept29/sept29.html ____________________________________________________________________________ It's cold and windy, a typical night in the Chukchi Sea. We are on the back corner of the deck hauling our elaborate “butterfly net” in by hand, anxious to see what tiny creatures – known as zooplankton – that it has swept from the ocean’s depths. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept28/sept28.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Several things almost certainly occur over the course of a long cruise. A moment comes when things are going so poorly that you ask yourself, “Why do I keep coming out to sea and doing this to myself?” http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept27/sept27.html _____________________________________________________________________________ Why go to the cold Arctic when you live in warm and sunny Bermuda? To study CO2, of course! http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept25/sept25.html ____________________________________________________________________________ "Nyet fish!" says Nikolai, as we sift through our living treasures freshly brought up from the muddy depths. Actually, there are quite a few small fish mixed in with our haul, but their numbers are overwhelmed by the mound of other critters we have retrieved. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept24/sept24.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Lucky 13: the only sighting of bowhead whales on the RUSALCA cruise so far occurred the morning of 13 September, the 11th day of the mission. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept21/sept21.html ____________________________________________________________________________ On the map of proposed stations for the RUSALCA expedition, six sites sit near 75 and 76 degrees north – far north of the other sites. Early this week, satellite maps revealed that the ice had been blown north of these sites, allowing a rare chance to visit them. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept18/sept18.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Scientists' gear and methodologies have been previously tested and proven. Access to Russian waters in the EastSiberian Sea and Chukchi Sea is something these scientists value highly and take seriously. So what is going wrong? http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept15/sept15.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The sampling stations for the RUSALCA expeditions have been planned and precisely pinpointed in advance, but which ones we actually get to is another question entirely – all because of the ice. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept14/sept14.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Aleksey Ostrovskiy, Representative of Group Alliance, the coordinator of the Russian side of RUSALCA, describes his role in Russian-American RUSALCA project. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept11/sept11.html ____________________________________________________________________________ For over a day, we have been plowing through what's estimated to be 6-8 foot swell in the Chukchi Sea. Heading into it has meant the ship has cut its speed to about 6 knots (nautical miles per hour). It has also meant that a number of people have felt the effects of seasickness. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept10/sept10.html ____________________________________________________________________________ You're going to sea in the Arctic for 30 days: what to pack? It’s an interesting problem to know you need enough stuff for a month away from home, while also knowing your space onboard will be very limited. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/logs/sept9/sept9.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The RUSALCA mission set sail from Nome, Alaska on the Russian Research Vessel Professor Khromov on August 22, for a 40-day voyage into the Bering Strait and northwards to the Pacific side of the Arctic Ocean. RUSALCA stands for Russian-American Long Term Census of the Arctic, and also means mermaid in Russian. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09arctic/welcome.html ____________________________________________________________________________