Doing science in the Arctic is exciting and sometimes a huge challenge. It is usually very cold, especially in the winter. To operate and fix our instruments, I would sometimes take my hands out of my gloves, and oh, they would get cold! Once, I heard a pop and felt a rumble and then saw the ice cracking right below my feet. On other days, the winds would blow the snow all over the place, making it hard to see anything. And a couple times we had visits from polar bears, wandering around, looking for food; when that happens we have to get on board the ship quickly!
Out on the Arctic ice there are so many challenges that make it hard to do our scientific studies, but it is such an amazing place to explore. I look forward to going back to the Arctic this coming summer to see how things have changed, to make more measurements, and hopefully to better understand the ice that we have been drifting with for our year in the Arctic.
