NASA to Go Boldly ... to the Arctic

A NASA mission is about to go boldly into the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean in the space agency's first oceanographic research voyage to the top of the world.

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The five-week voyage begins June 15, departing from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy. The Healy's field observations will allow scientists to make connections between the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice in order to unravel the inner workings of Arctic Ocean ecosystems. Researchers will compare the ship's observation to NASA's satellite views of the Arctic Ocean biology and sea ice, which tell only part of the Arctic climate change story, Bontempi said.

The ship will sail through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the northern coast of Alaska. Along the way, forty-three members of the science team will sample 50 to 100 stations and even disembark for extended periods to work on the sea ice. They'll study everything from the Arctic Ocean's optical properties to the physiology of phytoplankton, tiny creatures that serve as the basis for much of the marine food chain.

The scientists will use an array of instruments to sample the physical and chemical characteristics of the ocean and sea ice, as well as study the microscopic plant and animal life that regulate the flow of carbon into and out of the sea. The researchers are looking beyond measuring simply how hot the ocean is, but rather are focusing on measuring the light available for use by phytoplankton in producing energy to see how warming effects the ocean's food web.

Arctic sea ice is at its lowest point in thousands of years , as has been observed in satellite images. The ocean has warmed significantly over the past 16 years, particularly in the Arctic, causing substantial melting of sea ice. Ice cover was so low in 2007 that the fabled Northwest Passage between Russia and Asia opened "We're essentially blowing the lid off the ocean," said ICESCAPE chief scientist Kevin Arrigo of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

Arctic sea ice is now retreating 28 days earlier in the spring and advancing 17 days later in the fall than it was a decade ago, Arrigo said. Arctic sea ice is typically between 5 and 6 feet deep, with a foot of snow on top. This thickness only allows less than one percent of sunlight shining on the ice to penetrate into the ocean. As the ice thins, more sunlight passes through, which causes the starting point for food production in the ocean to begin earlier and earlier.

Climate models project that changes in the ice cover may accelerate in the future, with a possible transition to ice free summers later by 2040, Perovich said. These changes are quite pronounced in the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea and have consequences for the Arctic Ocean ecosystem, potentially affecting everything from sea ice algae to polar bears. ICESCAPE will record sea ice measurements every two hours to help improve the accuracy of sea ice models. At the end of the first expedition on July 21, the Healy will return into port in Seward, Alaska. A second voyage is planned for 2011.

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Brett Israel was a staff writer for Live Science with a focus on environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, a master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and has studied doctorate-level biochemistry at Emory University.