Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 10:55:19 +0000 (GMT)
From: Jason Goodman <sci5@knorr.whoi.edu>
To: seadiary@MIT.EDU
Subject: Ice
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970222102759.28092B-100000@mike.knorr.whoi.edu>
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56 34' N, 56 34' W
Winds: 25 m/s, Temp -6 C
Seas: Building

  Every time I write one of these, I have to go upstairs to the computer 
which records the above information, and memorize it before coming back.  
The ship's position was a bit easier this time.

  Tonight we've been heading toward the ice pack against the Labrador
coast.  The goal is to go as far into the ice as we safely can.  The
weather was absolutely gorgeous.  Cloudy, but you could see the horizon,
and the moon peeked through the clouds once or twice.  Completely calm
seas, making our work easy.  Then, at about 2 a.m., when we were about 10
miles from where the radar satellites say the icepack begins, the wind
picked up. In twenty minutes it had gone from 10 knots to 40, gusting to
50.  Within an hour the seas had gone from barely 1 meter to 6 meters
(crest to trough), and are still building.  The German weather guys tried to
launch a weather balloon: they inflate them in an enclosed hangar and then
toss them out into the wind.  The sudden blast of the wind ripped the
balloon to shreds the moment it left the hangar.  Got it on video, too.  I 
learned a rather rude word in German.

  Needless to say, we're not going into the icepack in this weather 
(though dawn just happened... I can count the number of dawns I've seen 
on both hands.)  The bridge says there are a few ice chunks near us, and 
they saw an iceberg 6 miles away a few hours ago.  I looked out the 
window, and the whitecaps look just like floating ice.  I can't tell the 
difference: I hope they can.

  Some of the crew managed to capture the owl (which is a bad sign for his
health).  They put him in the chemical van on out on the 02 foredeck.  So
he's in there with the hydrochloric acid and the drain cleaner, but he's
warm and sheltered.  He drank some water, and was hissing and bristling 
at anybody who tried to come in, which is a very good sign.  As suggested 
by Sarah's mom via e-mail (and mine as well), they're going to try to 
feed him some raw chicken.  He may have to stay there until the end of 
the cruise, when we go past Newfoundland: the ice prevents us from 
getting anywhere near the Labrador coast, where he probably came from.

  Thanks for all your letters!  I got nine in one day.  I apologize if you 
feel I've guilt-tripped you in my last message, but I do appreciate the 
correspondence.

				J