These will help to hold the ship against the ice so that we can still use the gangway, and may help prevent the ice from shifting if a breakup occurs. Because we are nearing the summer solstice when the sun is highest, both day and night, the melting will accelerate. I hope the new runway holds up. The ripples on the melt ponds don't yet have whitecaps, but they're lapping at the edges. This only helps the snow and ice melt more quickly.
Some researchers can no longer get to their instruments by snowmobile.
Richard Vander Kolk's and my daily trip to the ARM radiometer stands has turned into a game of picking the best path. Every now and then one of us picks a spot where we sink up to one knee in slush. Today we had help from the bridge directing us via radio to favorable walkways. These trips are necessary to keep the radiometers level and aligned with the sun. After all, getting good data is the reason we're here.