CryoSAR Arctic 2024

    Team Icebird24. (from left to right) Jeff, Dwayne, Alan, Kyle, Martin Richard, Nils, Christian and Arttu   Day 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24. Preparing for, and departing from the Polar 5 and Icebird 24 campaign. Day 20 (Sunday 28th April) was a prep and packing day. First up: the corner reflector. There is always a bit of a risk when you leave gear in cold, icy and windswept landscapes for a few days (or more) that it a) blows away, b) is eaten or c) both a) and b). Luckily, the corner reflector remained intact and fcaing due west as we left it a few days before.   Jeff and Nils happy that the corner reflector remained intact. Second;: dismantling and packing up the CryoSAR hardware. This was expertly completed by Dwayne, the aircraft mechanic / engineer who pays attention to the weight and balance equation of the survey aircraft. When equipment is installed or removed, it is essential that the aircraft is complaint and correctly balanced so that there is no threat to the aerodynamic stab

  Day 19. Devon Ice Cap and Haughton Crater. This was the last day of flying. The weather tomorrow looks not so good. And we will have to de-install our gear so that the remaining group can continue onwards to Eureka and Station Nord.  The weather looked a little iffy the night before but on Saturday morning the weather looked good so the decision was made to give it a go. In the end, the flight conditions were great and we were able to make a successful transit to Devon and then up and over the ice cap, starting at a 1000 m agl from the north west to the south and then following the previous Cryosat transect from the Ice cap's apex to the southern margin. The pilots tracked the line perfectly while attempting to keep the height above ground level constant - no mean feat given the convex surface of the glacier.   Devon Ice Cap flight track. The eastern track is from north to south and was for CryoSAR acquisitions at 1000 m agl and the western track was from south to north for the A

  Day 18. Pond Inlet SmartICE survey. Having waited at the PSCP fcilty for four days, on Friday we were able to get out and fly. Pond inlet is about 600 km from Resolute Bay, or just over two hours of flying at best speed. The goal was to fly the SAR at our normal 1000 m above the sea ice, and then fly a low survey with the snow radar and the lidar at 500m asl. The flight there was nothing short of spectacular. The flight took us along the Northwest Passage and then over the northern coast and northern tip of Baffin Island (Canada's largest island) - the Brodeur Peninsula, then over Arctic bay, before descending into Pond Inlet which is the channel between Baffin and Bylot Islands. This takes in some text-book high Arctic scenery which is absolutely stunning.    Northern coastline of Brodeur Peninsula from over the NW Passage   Northern coast of Brodeur Peninsula. The geological strata alon the slopes are a stunning feature of this landscape   Northern edge of Brodeur Peninsula   S