Polar Bear Sightings and Our Expedition’s End
Jessica Robertson, U.S. Geological Survey Public Affairs Specialist
On Monday I saw three more polar bears! First we saw two bears cuddled together on a piece of multi-year ice. As we passed by, they took a swim in the ocean. To come back to the surface after diving into the water, they had to break through a thin layer of sea ice. We saw some ice and water splash up, and then they appeared again. At one point, one of the bears was sliding across the thin ice, and accompanying this post are some pictures of them lying on and walking along the thin ice. About a half-hour later, we saw another polar bear strolling along the ice. He was farther away, and when he occasionally took a dip in the ocean, everyone would look around at each other trying to figure out where it went. This was an exciting sight, especially in the final days of our journey.
This chapter in our effort to map the Arctic seafloor has come to an end. Several of us are departing Healy today and heading back home. We are taking turns loading into the helicopter and heading back to the airport in Barrow, Alaska.
The past couple days have been spent cleaning and packing, but the hardest part has been saying goodbye. Spending a month at sea brings close friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. I am going to miss all of the friends I have made along the way, but I am sure we will keep in touch!
The U.S. Coast Guard has certainly made our journey on Healy pleasant. The collaboration between the U.S. and Canada in this endeavor has been very successful, enhancing the ability of both countries to collect data in this remote area. When we first saw Louis appear through the fog a few weeks ago, I will never forget the excitement that filled our ship as our joint expedition began. As we watched Louis sail away a couple of days ago, it was a bit lonely peering out and seeing only the endless sea ice and water again.
In the end, we are one large step closer to mapping the Arctic seafloor and understanding the underlying geology.
I want to thank and express my appreciation to those who helped me understand the research and operations onboard Healy, as well as everyone who contributed to making this site available.
If you have any questions about this expedition, please contact me at jrobertson (at) usgs.gov. Remember, I will no longer have access to my healy.polarscience.net account.
Don’t forget to check back for video footage too!
Jessica Robertson
-
- Two polar bears taking a swim in the Arctic Ocean.
-
- Polar bears swimming in the Arctic Ocean.
-
- Polar bears in the Arctic Ocean. One polar bear is swimming and the other one is walking along young ice.
-
- Polar bears watching our ship sail by.
-
- Two polar bears cuddled up at the edge of a piece of multi-year ice.
-
- The polar bear to the left is lying down on young sea ice while the other one takes a swim.
-
- You can tell this is a piece of multi-year ice by the bright blue color underneath.
-
- Pieces of multi-year sea ice in the Arctic.
-
- Piece of multi-year sea ice in the Arctic.
-
- A polar bear is taking a stroll along the Arctic sea ice. This bear was spotted by itself.
-
- The entire science crew onboard Healy poses for a picture. We may look a little cold since, in addition to the chilly Arctic temperature, it was snowing that day.
-
- The entire science group and U.S. Coast Guard crew during our expedition on Healy.
-
- Every member of the science crew received the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal certifying that, in support of polar research above the Arctic Circle, we served aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy.
Comments
No Responses to “Polar Bear Sightings and Our Expedition’s End”
Leave a Reply
Comment policy
Follow the Journey
Participating Organizations
[...] Geological Survey: a blog , Arctic Chronicles, has a posting with video of a polar bears taken during a 2008 expedition to [...]
[...] Polar Bear Populations in Decline By Andrew C. Revkin USGS Polar bears swimming in the Arctic [...]