Principal Engineer Andy Heiberg, veteran of numerous Arctic ice camps, led the logistic support team. For nearly 13 months, Des Groseilliers drifted over the Arctic Ocean while a total of 170 researchers from five countries and 50 institutions gathered data over a full annual cycle on how clouds, snow, ice, and the ocean interact and exchange energy. Thirteen APL scientists, engineers, and graduate students participated in various research programs. This additional fresh water could be due to a classic albedo-feedback effect, in which decreased ice coverage results in more incoming solar radiation being absorbed, which leads to more melting, and so on. Attention has now shifted to phase three, analysis and interpretation of the data, with an eye toward refining numerical models and improving remote sensing techniques.
Intriguing findings are already apparent.
Biologists found that areas where thousands of bacteria were growing on the ice 20 years ago now were barren. Detailed surface measurements revealed that seemingly identical patches of snow less than 50 feet apart had temperature differences as great as 8 degrees F. Radar and lidar measurements revealed clouds that were invisible to the naked eye or in satellite data.