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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #50 on: April 14, 2014, 12:41:01 PM »
Firstly today, a new IceBridge video. This one's on Vimeo, which probably won't embed properly, but if not go to vimeo.com/91810447 or click the text link below.



Secondly, the IceBridge P-3 is on its way back to Jakobshavn:
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Espen

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #51 on: April 14, 2014, 09:59:49 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA: 
Have a ice day!

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #52 on: April 15, 2014, 10:23:50 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA:

 
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #53 on: April 16, 2014, 05:05:36 PM »
Today's IceBridge mission helps lay the groundwork for calibrating and validating measurements by NASA's upcoming ICESat-2 satellite.
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #54 on: April 16, 2014, 10:06:48 PM »
From today's flight April 16 2014, courtesy of NASA:
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #55 on: April 17, 2014, 01:35:58 PM »
Today April 17 2014 no flight, due to a low pressure system.
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #56 on: April 18, 2014, 01:59:24 PM »
No flight today either. From the Operation IceBridge page on Facebook:

Quote
We checked the weather this morning and found clouds over most of Greenland and very high winds in some of our survey areas, so we'll stay on the ground today and take another look at things for tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a blog post from 2012 all about the role weather plays in IceBridge mission planning.

http://1.usa.gov/1dd71Gx

Here's a picture of some "very high winds" in the Arctic at the moment!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 03:41:14 PM by Jim Hunt »
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #57 on: April 19, 2014, 01:47:52 PM »
A good long look at Jakobshavn today, then back to Thule:
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Hunter

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #58 on: April 19, 2014, 04:26:57 PM »
This is actually an altered flight plan, they will return to Kanger today, transit to thule is planned for next Friday.

And Jim, really neat find on that weather website, I plan on sharing this with them this evening.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2014, 06:59:19 PM by Hunter »

Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #59 on: April 19, 2014, 05:52:40 PM »
Thanks for the heads up Hunter, and welcome back!
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #60 on: April 19, 2014, 10:02:51 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA:

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Espen

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #61 on: April 19, 2014, 10:05:56 PM »
And some more photos from today:
Includig downtown Jakobshavn, I was by the way involved in the construction of the local airport  (JAV).
« Last Edit: April 19, 2014, 10:15:04 PM by Espen »
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #62 on: April 21, 2014, 10:20:44 AM »
And Jim, really neat find on that weather website, I plan on sharing this with them this evening.

Thanks for your kind words Hunter, but it's really Cameron Beccario who should receive all the thanks. He's just added SST and SSTA into the mix.

Nonetheless I wondered if I might request a favour in return. Is there any chance of some sort of early access to IceBridge 2014 Arctic sea ice thickness data for display on this page?

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/resources/arctic-sea-ice-graphs/#Thickness
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #63 on: April 21, 2014, 05:15:16 PM »
Jim....

Looking at this SST image, what is driving these warm SST temperatures in the Barents? Is this caused by increased insolation or is it warmer surface waters being exposed by the melting ice?

In other words, have we had very warm waters under the Barents Sea throughout the winter that may have inhibited ice growth?

Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #64 on: April 21, 2014, 05:35:18 PM »
Today's IceBridge mission involves surveying several glaciers in the scenic Geikie Peninsula of east Greenland.
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #65 on: April 21, 2014, 06:37:39 PM »
We are on our second year of experimenting with producing a quick look sea ice thickness data set.  Most of the sea ice data that was taken on our first leg of the trip is back in the states and currently undergoing processing.  Wish I could give you a link, as of now there is not one.  I am also not directly involved in that, hopefully NSIDC might produce something soon.

Neven

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #66 on: April 21, 2014, 09:41:06 PM »
Thanks for all the great images, everyone. I don't have time to go look for these myself.
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #67 on: April 21, 2014, 10:09:38 PM »
From today's fligth in the Geikie Plateau region and around  the largest fjord system in the world Scoresby Sund, including a trip along Daugaard-Jensen Gletscher placed in the bottom of the fjordsystem between Charcot Land and Hinks Land :
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #68 on: April 22, 2014, 02:09:14 PM »
According to the IceBridge Facebook page this morning:

Quote
The weather in all of our science targets in southern Greenland is unsuitable for flying.

However the IceBridge team have issued the following greeting/invitation:

Quote
Happy Earth Day everyone! We'll be posting #globalselfie images throughout the day today. Find out how you can do your own Global Selfie here 1.usa.gov/PfjXln.



They also recommend a new blog post on the subject of "experiences working and flying with IceBridge"
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #69 on: April 22, 2014, 09:09:46 PM »
A video from Kangerlussuaq revealing the IceBridge team's daily routine:

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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #70 on: April 23, 2014, 12:49:27 PM »
Today's mission involves taking a good long look at the Penny Ice Cap on Baffin Island:
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #71 on: April 24, 2014, 08:19:15 PM »
Today's mission is a survey of the Helheim, Kangerdlugssuaq, Midgard and other rapidly-changing glaciers on Greenland's east coast.
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #72 on: April 24, 2014, 09:41:42 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA:

Tomorrow the "Ice Bridge-Caravan"  will move the base to Thule.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2014, 09:48:12 PM by Espen »
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #73 on: April 25, 2014, 06:37:19 PM »
IceBridge 2014 on the move, courtesy of NASA:

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Espen

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #74 on: April 26, 2014, 01:56:37 PM »
Ready for northern missions, courtesy of NASA:
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Espen

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #75 on: April 26, 2014, 09:40:21 PM »
From today's short mission, courtesy of NASA.

Tomorrow no flight.
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #76 on: April 28, 2014, 06:39:30 PM »
Operation IceBridge intend to take advantage of a stable high pressure system over the North Pole today. They will fly along a CryoSat-2 ground track, over the geographic North Pole,
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #77 on: April 28, 2014, 06:58:45 PM »
Preparations at Thule Air Force Base for today's flight to the North Pole, courtesy of NASA:
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #78 on: April 28, 2014, 07:05:40 PM »
Jim....

Does Icebridge publish an end of season report or do they simply use the data to calibrate/confirm satellite observations?

Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #79 on: April 28, 2014, 07:52:54 PM »
Does Icebridge publish an end of season report or do they simply use the data to calibrate/confirm satellite observations?

Last year's data was ultimately made available by the NSIDC:

https://nsidc.org/data/docs/daac/icebridge/evaluation_products/sea-ice-freeboard-snowdepth-thickness-quicklook-index.html

Hunter suggested above that something similar will happen to this year's data.

P.S. Except the ultimate FTP link seems currently to be broken! Maybe try this link instead?
« Last Edit: April 28, 2014, 08:03:25 PM by Jim Hunt »
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #80 on: April 28, 2014, 09:18:33 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA, including image from the pole:
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #81 on: April 29, 2014, 02:08:19 PM »
Since Northeast Greenland is comparatively clear of cloud today, that's where the IceBridge P-3 is currently heading for: 
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Hunter

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #82 on: April 29, 2014, 06:20:52 PM »
All data is made available to the public at NSIDC.  It does take a bit of time to get it processed and uploaded.

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #83 on: April 29, 2014, 09:30:56 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA, including images of drainage channels at L. Ibstrup Bræ:
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #84 on: April 30, 2014, 06:37:43 PM »
The flight is cancelled today due to mechanical issues.
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #85 on: May 01, 2014, 04:41:07 PM »
Icebridge 2014 will do a short flight today over the Humboldt Glacier area.
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #86 on: May 01, 2014, 09:37:35 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA:

More info here: https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,800.msg25267.html#msg25267

« Last Edit: May 01, 2014, 10:06:37 PM by Espen »
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #87 on: May 02, 2014, 09:09:29 PM »
From today's flight, courtesy of NASA, I believe the image is from Steensby Glacier, the glacier that "recently" calved (August 24 2012), but not supposed to do so:
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #88 on: May 09, 2014, 10:09:29 PM »
I've been off on my travels for the past week, but normal service has now been resumed. Here's today's IceBridge flight plan:

Quote
IceBridge will fly mission plan "Northwest Coastal B" today. We will be collecting data along four coast-parallel lines from the coast to near the 2000 m contour line on the ice sheet. The data will allow us to determine the ice loss in the area. We have flown these lines for the first time in 2010.
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #89 on: May 10, 2014, 11:31:50 AM »
Some IceBridge photos have been featured as the NASA Earth Observatory images of the day for May 8th. This view of Eureka Sound has also been selected as one of Nature's images of the month for April:
« Last Edit: May 10, 2014, 12:13:37 PM by Jim Hunt »
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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #90 on: May 10, 2014, 01:41:13 PM »
That is one awesome photograph!

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #91 on: May 19, 2014, 08:41:31 PM »
The IceBridge team visited some very interesting spots today: Petermann Gletcher, Newmann Bugt, Ostenfeldt Gletscher, Hagen Bræ and Academy Gletscher.
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #92 on: May 21, 2014, 01:32:29 PM »
I fear I've been too busy on even more important things to keep the daily updates going. However, here is today's (final!) Operation IceBridge flight plan for their Spring 2014 Arctic campaign. Quoting their Facebook page in full:

Quote
Today, IceBridge will fly the last science mission of this deployment: Northeast Grid 04. This will be the 46th science flight and a new record for IceBridge. We will collect data along two coast-parallel ICESat orbits to fill a gap in bedrock elevation measurements and add to the time series of ice surface elevation change in this area. We will also collect data along two so-called "master-grid lines" oriented east-west, and two short ICESat lines on the west side of Greenland.
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Steven

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #93 on: June 09, 2014, 03:56:21 PM »
I had a look at the IceBridge data, partly available from the recent Quick Look product

I downloaded the data of a few days of the Spring 2014 campaign, and loaded them into a spreadsheet to compute the average snow depth.

I computed an average snow depth of about 15cm on the sea ice near the Beaufort Sea, while on the sea ice closer to the north of Greenland the average was closer to 30cm. 

The data I downloaded were for 14, 17, 18, 21 March and 4 April.  In the calculations I removed the invalid data; hopefully I calculated it correctly. 

For example, the IceBridge flight on 21 March flew from Southeastern Beaufort Sea towards northern Greenland: 



For that specific IceBridge flight (on 21 March), I computed an average of about 25cm snow depth on the sea ice.  Splitting the data of that flight in 10 groups of equal size, resulted in the following 10 averages for snow depth on the sea ice, from west to east on the thick black line in the image above: 

11cm, 16cm, 19cm, 18cm, 21cm, 25cm, 29cm, 30cm, 34cm, 36cm.
 
« Last Edit: June 09, 2014, 07:24:39 PM by Steven »

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #94 on: June 20, 2014, 09:33:18 PM »
The IceBridge website has a map of snow depths from the 2014 Arctic campaign Quick Look product.  Most of these data are based on flights during March 2014.  Of course, in addition to snow depth, there's also the ice thickness map.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/icebridge/science/sea-ice.html#.U5-QI6hhtga

« Last Edit: June 21, 2014, 01:36:13 AM by Steven »

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Re: Operation IceBridge - Arctic Spring 2014
« Reply #95 on: August 13, 2014, 08:29:04 PM »
Ground truthing Icebridge data paper news

http://m.phys.org/news/2014-08-thinned-arctic-sea-ice.html

Congrats !