Weather reports were grim for today; temps dipping below -30F and possible winds gusting to 25mph. Adhering to this caution, we decided to perform prefabrication of our instruments and test connections of the radio transmitters indoors to cut down on installment time in the field. Though the prefabrication concluded without a hitch, we ran into a rather large kink in our assembly when the instrumentation failed to sample while connected to our radios. After racking our brains about possible issues with virtual machine software, Internet connectivity issues, potential hardware failures, buggy program codes, sending cross-continental e-mails for, and alarming UMIAQ technicians, it turns out that our battery was dead. You’d think that three educated, scientific minds could think to double-check the battery. Fortunately, the time difference with Europe was in our favor and our colleague and ex-sea ice group member, Chris Petrich, was able to point out our error before we turned in for bed. As it turns out, the day’s forecast was completely blown and, in the absence of cloud cover and winds, I was able to capture a few photos. Below is an image of the waning civil twilight this day that provided a breathtaking, lurid contrast against the expansive emptiness of the frozen Arctic.
