Much to the disappointment of us FTS folks, today was completely and utterly overcast. Its amazing how white it is when the snow is white, the clouds are white, and all the landscape is white… On the plus side, the UV-Vis instruments are not upset by clouds, and some lovely data was acquired by SAOZ and the two GBS’s. Maestro and the SPS also starting collecting data, and there were plenty of smiles even though a few minor adjustments still need to be made to get them optimized. Cell test measurements were the order of the day, yet again, for the Bruker and PARIS. The clouds are also disappointing for Mike and the LIDAR, though he got some good measurements last night before the clouds appeared (around midnight).
More excitingly, we were able to join Kim, Kaley and Mareile in Mr Pandit’s Grade 5 class at Norseman Junior Middle School in Toronto. A webcam and a microphone allowed us to hear and answer their questions about becoming scientists, doing research and life in the Arctic. It was a fun experience for all involved.
We also took advantage of the gloriously warm (-9C!) temperatures at PEARL, and wandered out to the nearby ridge to see the wonderful view of – you guessed it – white! Other white highlights of the day included the Arctic fox and the Arctic rabbit/hare/wolf/no it was really another fox… our first wildlife sightings since we’ve been here.
Bec