NASA Briefs Media About First Arctic Oceanographic Voyage
WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT on
Tuesday, June 8 to preview the agency's first dedicated oceanographic
research voyage. During the mission, scientists will study changing
Arctic climate and ice conditions affecting ocean ecosystems.
The "Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic
Pacific Environment" mission, or ICESCAPE, will investigate how
climate change in the Arctic may be altering the ocean's ability to
absorb carbon from the atmosphere. The voyage will collect critical
observations to compare to NASA's satellite views of ocean biology
and sea ice. The data will improve scientists' understanding of this
key component of Earth's climate system.
The five-week voyage begins June 15, departing from Dutch Harbor,
Alaska, on the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy. The ship will sail
through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the
northern coast of Alaska. More than 40 scientists will use an array
of instruments to sample the physical and chemical characteristics of
the ocean and sea ice, as well as the biological characteristics of
the microscopic plant and animal life that regulate the flow of
carbon into and out of the sea. A second voyage is planned for 2011.
The teleconference participants are:
- Paula Bontempi, ocean biology and biogeochemistry program
manager, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Kevin Arrigo, ICESCAPE chief scientist, Stanford University,
Palo Alto, Calif.
- Don Perovich, ICESCAPE co-chief scientist, U. S. Army Engineer
Research and Development Center Cold Regions Research and Engineering
Laboratory, Hanover, N.H.
To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact Steve
Cole at 202-358-0918 or stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov for dial-in
instructions. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on
NASA's Web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio
For more information on ICESCAPE, visit:
http://www.espo.nasa.gov/
Source: NASA
