Since we deployed our two gliders, “Qala1” and “Qala2”, we are learning a lot “on the job”, i.e. we are building a strong experience by making minor beginner’s mistakes. We need to deal with a lot of files, and just a small tiny comma forgotten here or there is ending up in a mission’s abort! But the glider’s software is also very well written and is rather foolproof. Coupled with strong hotline from glider’s provider (Teledyne Webb Research) and our friends at LOCEAN, Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) and their glider group, we feel more and more confident with our flights.
During the Arctic spring, the melting of snow results in an increase of light transmittance underneath the ice. Meanwhile, the warming of sea ice causes its melting, contributing to the formation of a freshwater layer underneath the ice, where the phytoplankton can be trapped. These conditions favor the development of an under-ice bloom, which is the focus of the Green Edge project.
I arrived at the ice camp three weeks ago and during that time many things changed: the nearby mountain tops lost the remainder of their snow cover, the sea ice’s snow vanished and melt ponds just appeared, there are many more birds and seals than there had been, the phytoplankton bloom started, … But to me the most prominent trace of change was the access to the “Polarhaven” tent at the ice camp, where I went for water sampling and CTD operations every other day.
