“I focus on the Central Arctic Ocean, and on what researchers need to know to manage human activity in the area — something that is likely to increase because of the effects of the warming Earth.
I’m mostly interested in the water column and the physical characteristics of seawater, such as its temperature and salinity. You can get a sense of Arctic sea ice from a satellite. But if you want to know what’s changing in the water column underneath all that ice, you have to actually be there and put instruments into the water, because light and some frequencies of radio wave cannot pass through water very well, and especially not through sea ice.
In this photo, taken in 2018 in the Central Arctic Ocean, I’ve just drilled a core through the sea ice using a hand-held electric drill. From such samples, which I collect in a container and bring back to the research ship, I can investigate the oxygen isotope ratios of the water. Later, I can measure the same isotope ratios in seawater and use them to understand what proportion of the seawater is from melted sea ice, and how much is salt water.
