I joined up with the ICE-CAMPS (Ice Covered Ecosystem – CAMbridge Bay Process Studies) team in early May. By this time, a few people had already been working on the sea ice in Dease Strait for several months, investigating everything from biogeochemical processes occurring under the ice and in the ocean to radar remote sensing of the snow and sea ice cover. My project, in collaboration with Dr. Jens Ehn and Aura Diaz (both from CEOS), was going to focus on the evolution of the sea ice cover from spring into summer. Typically, as the energy balance at the sea ice surface turns positive, snow and ice begin to melt and the meltwater that is produced pools in depressions at the ice surface, forming melt ponds.  Read more...