SnowSTAR-2012: Convergence
Sometimes in science everything just comes together, but not often. This time it did. What could have gone wrong in the campaign? Lots. The two biggest possibilities were that the weather could have been bad (Fig...
Stories by Matthew Sturm
SnowSTAR-2012: Big N The pursuit of snow data and high honor
By Chris Polashenski and Simon FilholIt has been a very busy time for us the last few days. After about 8 days of prep work, our aircraft arrived in beautiful weather.
SnowSTAR-2012: Questionable Monuments and Widespread Cratering
April 14th: It has been a busy few days. Yesterday the remaining part of team arrived from Fairbanks...
SnowSTAR-2012: Hoars and Drifters
April 9th: Now that we have arrived the work begins. We spent the day checking out the snow, putting our ground-based LiDAR together and testing it, and dealing with some lingering logistical problems (like making sure ten barrels of aviation fuel arrive before the plane does).Checking out the snow is my favorite activity, and being the expedition leader, I got assigned this task...
Alaskan North Slope Snow LiDAR Campaign: SnowSTAR-2012
April 8th, 2012: I had somehow missed that we were leaving on Easter Sunday…. but the drive North across Alaska and the Brooks Range on a perfect day, clear blue skies, pristine white snow, and majestic mountains, was ample compensation for leaving town on a holiday, and my four companions (Fig...
Blizzard! Explained.
It starts with a soft, almost soothing, hiss, but it is not a comforting sound. The hiss -- the sound of wind and snow grains sliding along the ground--is the prelude to a mighty symphony of noise, swirling snow, and danger...
Lava Loops and Stone Stripes
After 30 years in Fairbanks, Alaska, we finally wimped-out and went to Hawaii at Christmas instead of our cabin. The cabin is in a remote mountain valley and gets no direct sun this time of year, and the temperature hovers around -20°F...
Arctic Plants Feel the Heat
Global warming is dramatically revamping not only the ice but also tundra and forests at the top of the world, greening some parts and browning others. The alterations could exacerbate climate change...
A Novel Canal Lift at Foxton
By the English Correspondent of the Scientific American
