On Wednesday March 13th, the team woke up to cloudy skies and blowing snow, with a temperature of -23 degrees C at the Eureka weather station, with high winds of 25 knots (47 km/h) which brought the windchill temperatures down to -39 degrees C. At the PEARL Ridge Lab the temperature was -20 degrees C with a strong wind of 27 knots (50 km/h), giving a windchill index of around -38 degrees C. There was approximately 10 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight today, however the team was not able to make use of it. Instead of heading up to the PEARL as the team had done routinely for the past two and a half weeks, the team had breakfast and then patiently awaited the arrival of their plane. Due to the high winds on Tuesday evening, the plane was not able to arrive as scheduled that night, and the high winds and low visibility on Wednesday morning were not ideal for flying. However, the cloudy skies opened up and the winds died down just before 11am (local time), allowing the plane to land. After saying goodbye to the Eureka Weather Station crew, Peter and Pierre (who will be continuing their work during the extended phase of the campaign), the team boarded the chartered plane that would take them to Yellowknife. Just after 11am the team took off, and they arrived in Yellowknife around 6:15 in the afternoon, having stopped in Resolute Bay on the way.
After arriving in Yellowknife and dropping their bags off at the hotel, the team went out for a final dinner before heading to bed early, in anticipation of their flight back to Toronto at 6am tomorrow morning.
As the intensive phase of the 2019 Canadian Arctic ACE/OSIRIS Validation Campaign draws to a close, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the staff of ECCC's Eureka Weather Station, without whom our campaign would not have been possible.
We wish to thank:
- Scott McCormick, the station program manager during our stay in the Arctic, who welcomed us, oversaw accommodations, and made our stay a pleasant one.
- Dean Prior and Flora Neiley who made incredible meals for us, considered all our dietary restrictions and preferences, and never failed to keep the fridges stocked up with delicious food.
- Jay Roberts, Roger Critch and David Shortt, who kept the lights on, the station warm, and the roads clear.
- April Lazar, the Senior Aerological Observer, and Laura Werden and Bobie Anne Runzer the meteorological technicians, who kept us informed of weather conditions, launched the ozonesondes, and kept us updated on their status.
We appreciate their hard-work, commitment, and good company, and their presence certainly had a positive effect on our morale and the campaign as a whole.
We would also like to thank the Canadian Space Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, NSERC, the Northern Scientific Training Program, and CANDAC for continuing to financially and logistically support the Canadian Arctic ACE/OSIRIS Validation Campaigns. The opportunities that come with being in Eureka are unmatched. The useful data we collect, in addition to the irreplaceable learning experience for us all, is only possible because of the support these organizations have provided.
Finally thank you to all those who've read these daily reports. We hope that you've enjoyed keeping up with the progress of the campaign and our time in the Arctic.
Cheers,
Tyler Wizenberg
[On Behalf of the 2019 Canadian Arctic ACE/OSIRIS
Validation Campaign team]