Ramming through the ice.

Post Date: 25 April 2008
Bering Sea
Latitude: 62° 30.000'N
Longitude: 172° 00.000'W
Posted By: Erin Moreland

In Thick Ice

Our plan for the day was to approach the 50 mile buffer off the south shore of Saint Lawrence Island in order to fly Mike Apatiki home to Gambell and conduct ice seal surveys to the south. With the recent improvement in the weather it looked like a great plan until we ran into heavy ice this morning around 6:00 AM. After pushing through as much ice as possible, the ship came to a stop. It took a few hours to warm up the turbines, and at 9:30 AM they fired up six powerful jet engines to begin the process of "backing and ramming" through the pressure ridge. With more horsepower than a Boeing 747, we still had to back-and-ram multiple times to move just a ship-length (400 ft) forward.

It is amazing to feel the entire bow of the ship ride up onto the ice. The ice is only about 2 meters thick but the fresh snow on top causes friction on the hull, like Velcro, and stops the ship. Off the stern, the powerful engines cause class V rapids behind the ship, tossing enormous floes of ice as if they were styrofoam. With the five hour delay, we were still able to fly Mike home to Gambell and complete a survey along the way. As always, it has been a pleasure having Mike Apatiki aboard. He has taught us much about the importance of ice seals to the survival of Native Alaskans dependant on the Bering Sea.

 

A ribbon seal on the ice.

Post Date: 24 April 2008
Bering Sea
Latitude: 62° 00.000'N
Longitude: 174° 30.000'W
Posted By: Kym Yano

"Left. 1 Ribbon. Bin 2"

Since Monday (April 21st), when the weather cleared up, we have been flying 2-3 surveys regularly. The timing couldn't have been better, we expected the greatest concentration of seals to be far to the west and where the ice edge was close to the shelf break. That is exactly where we were on April 21st and 22nd., and we saw a lot of seals; it was awesome! So far, we have seen ribbon seals, spotted seals, bearded seals, ringed seals, walrus, beluga whales, and even Steller sea lions. Typically, we fly 85 knots at 400 ft. altitude and are able to identify the animal species based on color, shape, and/or movement. During flights, we record animal sightings by speaking a "code" aloud (each observer wears a bone mic in their ear and it records sound through the observers' jaw bone); the sightings are cited as follows: Position of your observation seat (i.e., Left, Right, Front, or Swimmer), the number of seals in the group, the species of animal, and the location of the seal (i.e., Bin 2; see Erin's web log entry about our plexiglass strips and bin lines). An example of a typical sighting is "Left. 1 Ribbon. Bin 2."

Ribbon seals have a striped/banding pattern on their fur (the captain says it looks like a big target on its side). Adult male ribbon seals are very dark in coloration (dark brown to jet black) with very distinct white bands, whereas adult female ribbon seals are smoky grey with white bands. Ribbon seal pups have a very white and fluffy lanugo coat that provides great insulation and camouflage. In addition to the banding pattern on their fur, ribbon seals move in a quick, gliding, serpentine motion and have a telescoping neck that is able to stretch out.

Spotted seals look very similar to harbor seals, in that they are similar in color, size and shape; in fact, researchers didn't confirm (using genetic research) that spotted seals were a different species from harbor seals until the 1970s. These seals are named for their mottled light to dark brown or grey coats; spotted seal pups have a light grey lanugo coat that is less fluffy than the ribbon seal pups. These seals move across the ice like other typical phocids (an "inch worm" movement).

Bearded seals are typically bigger and longer than ribbon and spotted seals. They are light to dark brown and have a long, tubular shaped body with a small, pea-shaped head. In the Bering Sea, bearded seals often have a red face because they eat clams and other shellfish deep in the seafloor; their faces are stained red because the mud is rich in iron which rusts. A bearded seal pup has a long, wide face (similar to Scooby Doo) and has a silver, yellow, or brown coloration. These seals are often seen at the edge of an ice floe and are prepared to slip into the water at the first sign of a polar bear.

Ringed seals are the smallest (in size) of the four ice seal species; Mike Apatiki saw two ringed seals and says they look like a football. Ringed seals have a light to dark grey coat with lighter-colored rings, and their pups have a white lanugo coat. Ringed seals are the primary prey for polar bears. For protection the females create a snow lair in which to give birth and to provide shelter for her and her pup.

Aside from the four ice seal species (ribbon, spotted, bearded, and ringed), we've seen a number of walrus (either solitary, in pairs, or in herds of 3 to ˜50 individuals) from the ship and helo, two beluga whales (both whales were solitary and seen during helo surveys), and two Stellar sea lions hauled out on an ice floe (both solitary individuals, seen during helo surveys).

Now, we are eager to see our first polar bear. Grrrr!

 

Clear blue skies.

Post Date: 21-23 April 2008
Bering Sea
Latitude: 60° 32.000'N
Longitude: 177° 34.000'W
Posted By: Kym Yano

A Change of Weather

Crew: check.  Icebreaker: check.  Helo: check.
Pre-flight brief: check.  Survey location: check.  Weather: negative.

For a couple frustrating days, our aerial surveys were put on hold due to poor visibility and weather conditions (low ceiling clouds and mist/fog).

Fortunately, weather greatly improved over the last few days and we were able to salvage our surveys and sunken spirits. Now, our typical day follows a different routine: wake up, check on the weather (usually, either by the ship's TV cameras or looking out portholes), double-check that all survey gear is prepped and ready, eat lunch, attend the pre-flight brief. During the pre-flight brief, the captain, pilots and crew discuss the day's schedule and flight routes. After discussion, the attendees determine the day's "risk assessment" value; the risk assessment value is calculated by adding the single highest value (provided by all attendees) for seven categories: mission planning, supervision qualification, crew qualification, crew fitness, environment, complexity of the mission, and equipment. If the pre-flight brief confirms the day's mission is safe (and the pilots agree the weather is suitable for flying) then we put on our flight suit, life vest and helmet.

At most, we are able to fly three survey flights a day; typically, each flight has five passengers (pilot, co-pilot, flight mechanic, and two observers), and includes two parallel legs (of at least 50 nautical miles (nmi) each) separated by 10 nmi. Then, after we return from our flights and as the ship's crew goes to bed, we finish up our day by downloading and processing the day's data, preparing the flight plans and setting up the survey gear for the next day. Once we are assured everything is set, we call it a night.

 

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