Author: Margie Turrin4

Margie Turrin, is Education Coordinator at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory where she develops and runs science education projects for groups from informal community education, to K12 and undergraduate students. Her projects and publications range from engaging students and the public in the polar regions, understanding our Earth and environment, human interactions and impacts on their environment, Hudson River education, biodiversity, mapping and spatial skills assessments. Visit website »

Anatomy of an ‘Ice Station’

Completing an “Ice Station” means collecting samples over a wide range of Arctic water and ice conditions. Each station means a major orchestration of people and resources.
Arctic Magic: One Research Vessel Multiplies to Hundreds

The Arctic is magical, that we know, but when one ship multiplies to hundreds of small boats we really see the effect that Arctic magic can bring.
A Week of Firsts for This Arctic Nation

We are closing in on a week of intense focus and excitement for GEOTRACES and for the United States around the Arctic. President Obama became the first sitting president to visit Alaska, the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy with US GEOTRACES scientists completed the first unaccompanied US surface vessel transit to the North Pole, and…
It’s as Clear as Mud

For the sampling GEOTRACES is doing in the Arctic there is a specific goal of collecting just the top few dozen centimeters of sediment and the water just above it. Although the plan was good, things don’t always go perfectly.
Scouring Arctic for Traces of Fukushima and Cosmic Rays

Sounds like the basis for a great scifi thriller…”scientists scour Arctic, hunting for traces of nuclear fallout and ejections from cosmic ray impacts”. In reality this thriller theme is the actual core of the GEOTRACES mission.
Moving into the Realm of the Polar Bear

When we venture into the Arctic for research for most of us there is the lingering hope that a polar bear will appear on our watch; at least as long as we are safely outside of its reach.
Tracing the Arctic

The land surrounding the Arctic Ocean is like a set of cradling arms, holding the ocean and the sea ice in a circular grasp. Within that cradle is a unique mix of waters, including freshwater from melting glacial ice and large rivers, and a salty mix of relatively warm Atlantic water and the cooler Pacific…
A Texas-Sized Block of Ice…

The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest of the Antarctic ice shelves, measuring just under the size of the state of Texas. It is several hundred meters thick, although most of this is below the water surface. Along the ~ 600 kilometer front edge of the shelf, the ice towers up to 50 meters in…
This Bird Flies South for the Winter

Migrating south in the winter is a behavior that Antarctic scientists share with many species of birds, although the scientists fly just a bit further south. For the IcePod team it was time to join the migration so they could test their equipment in the most challenging environment the Earth has to offer.

Anatomy of an ‘Ice Station’

Completing an “Ice Station” means collecting samples over a wide range of Arctic water and ice conditions. Each station means a major orchestration of people and resources.
Arctic Magic: One Research Vessel Multiplies to Hundreds

The Arctic is magical, that we know, but when one ship multiplies to hundreds of small boats we really see the effect that Arctic magic can bring.
A Week of Firsts for This Arctic Nation

We are closing in on a week of intense focus and excitement for GEOTRACES and for the United States around the Arctic. President Obama became the first sitting president to visit Alaska, the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy with US GEOTRACES scientists completed the first unaccompanied US surface vessel transit to the North Pole, and…
It’s as Clear as Mud

For the sampling GEOTRACES is doing in the Arctic there is a specific goal of collecting just the top few dozen centimeters of sediment and the water just above it. Although the plan was good, things don’t always go perfectly.
Scouring Arctic for Traces of Fukushima and Cosmic Rays

Sounds like the basis for a great scifi thriller…”scientists scour Arctic, hunting for traces of nuclear fallout and ejections from cosmic ray impacts”. In reality this thriller theme is the actual core of the GEOTRACES mission.
Moving into the Realm of the Polar Bear

When we venture into the Arctic for research for most of us there is the lingering hope that a polar bear will appear on our watch; at least as long as we are safely outside of its reach.
Tracing the Arctic

The land surrounding the Arctic Ocean is like a set of cradling arms, holding the ocean and the sea ice in a circular grasp. Within that cradle is a unique mix of waters, including freshwater from melting glacial ice and large rivers, and a salty mix of relatively warm Atlantic water and the cooler Pacific…
A Texas-Sized Block of Ice…

The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest of the Antarctic ice shelves, measuring just under the size of the state of Texas. It is several hundred meters thick, although most of this is below the water surface. Along the ~ 600 kilometer front edge of the shelf, the ice towers up to 50 meters in…
This Bird Flies South for the Winter

Migrating south in the winter is a behavior that Antarctic scientists share with many species of birds, although the scientists fly just a bit further south. For the IcePod team it was time to join the migration so they could test their equipment in the most challenging environment the Earth has to offer.