Need help unpacking...

after your trip? Then let these guys help!

Could this be the solution...

to reducing bat mortality near wind turbines? Scientists have now discovered that radar signals might drive bats away from the low pressure wake generated by the rotating blades, which in turn ruptures the capillaries in their lungs causing fatal hemorrhaging.

Here's the research article in full: The Aversive Effect of Electromagnetic Radiation on Foraging Bats—A Possible Means of Discouraging Bats from Approaching Wind Turbines.

Remember, bats need friends.

Heading out for a week...

to teach the summer field course Battle Between Lava and Life - field trip to the southern Oregon Cascades. The course is fully enrolled with 20 students and the weather forecast looks fantastic.

No blogging this trip, but I'll post some pics upon return.

Recent impact site on Jupiter...

has been imaged by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope (HST) yesterday (click to enlarge.) Although the space telescope is not in service yet, and is still undergoing instrument checkout and calibration, astronomers siezed the moment and used the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 to take a close look at the rapidly changing dark spot in the Jovian atmosphere.

Wise words...

Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.

-- Thomas Edison

Coleoptera can be colorful...

and highly iridescent because of the microstructure of the outer layer of their exoskeleton.

State geologic maps...

in digital format and capable of being imported into Google Earth as overlays are available from the USGS.

Great source of...

international geologic maps: Geopubs Ltd. I found them useful in preparing for my excursion to Norway and Svalbard. Fast service and prompt delivery (and I receive no kick-back for plugging them here.)

Cassini finds new evidence...

for a liquid interior of the Saturnian moon Enceladus. Moreover, spectroscopic analysis of the icy plumes show that ammonia is a prime constituent. Here's the technical abstract.

Extraordinarily busy day...

today as I prepare for departure on Saturday to teach a week-long field class on southern Cascade volcanoes. Will catch up on some interesting items tomorrow.

It's getting crowded on the summit...

of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii as it has been selected as the site for construction of the world's largest optical telescope with a 30 m diameter mirror. This location is already host to 12 telescopes, several of them are already among the largest instruments on Earth.

I visited the 13,803 ft (4,207 m) summit to see this astronomical heaven in August 2007 when I snapped this image of the Subaru (Japan) and Keck I and II (U.S.) telescopes getting ready for their observing session for the evening as the sun was setting:

Learn more about the astronomical observatories at Mauna Kea.

Moth evades predation by bats...

by confusing their echolocation as demonstrated in these videos. Cool.

It's field work Wednesday...

as I head over to the Rathdrum Prairie for a round of groundwater level measurements. I should be able to obtain some data, but it's the middle of irrigation season so I anticipate many of the wells will be pumping.

CT scans as artwork...

as shown in this gallery of images prepared by a radiologist.

Please turn up the heat...

in Al Gore's home town: Coolest July 21 recorded in Nashville as cool wave continues in Tennessee.

Wise words...

There are no physicists in the hottest parts of hell, because the existence of a "hottest part" implies a temperature difference, and any marginally competent physicist would immediately use this to run a heat engine and make some other part of hell comfortably cool. This is obviously impossible.

-- Richard Davisson

Doomsday delayed...

yet again: Large Hadron Collider Suffers More Leaks.

Guess I'll have to prepare for my fall term stratigraphy and sedimentology class after all.

Resilient Earthling microbe...

could likely survive on Mars: Tough Microbe Has The Right Stuff for Mars.

Methanosarcina barkeri is a hardy bacterium that can live in oxygen poor environments, produces methane, tolerates wide variation in temperature and can endure long dry spells. So, why not on Mars?

I heart extremophiles.

Drinking and driving...

may soon have an entirely new meaning: Power Your Car with Pee. So, I wonder, how many cups of coffee will get me from Cheney to Spokane? To southern Utah?

Now, if someone will just invent dehydrated water it will make backpacking a lot less effort and considerably more enjoyable.

This seems appropriate...

for celebration of the first landing and human footsteps on the Moon: massive MoonPies.

Key stats: 55 pounds and 45,000 calories!

Evaluation of hazardous faults...

in the Intermountain West region has just been published by the U.S. Geological Survey. Open-File Report 2009-1140 is available on-line as a free download at the linked web page.

New term added...

to the geological lexicon: neptunian eruption.

This demonstrates what I like to tell my students (borrowing from P.D. Krynine), that "geology is the triumph of terminology over common sense." Actually, I think this can be said of all sciences.

Did something just whack Jupiter?

Advanced amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley photographed the feature from his observatory in Murrumbateman, Australia on 19 July - a black smudge in Jupiter's clouds near its south polar region (image is inverted) similar to the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts of 1994.

More here: details and observational updates.

UPDATE: Confirmed by NASA/JPL astronomers using the Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii; image shown below:
And here's a good, comprehensive article about the discovery.

New science target...

for Mars rover Opportunity has just been identified: clay-bearing rocks.

"The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has found clay-bearing rocks lying directly in the path ahead for the Mars rover Opportunity, giving the rover the unexpected chance to sample a totally new rock type that could have provided a wet, warm, and non acidic habitat for the formation of early life on Mars."

It's a valuable, er, opportunity, for Opportunity. Fingers crossed.

Ancient cartograph...

has been authenticated and dated to about 50 years prior to the voyage of Columbus. It clearly shows that Norsemen and other northern European explorers made it to North America (click to enlarge) as Hudson Bay and the St. Lawrence River are obvious features depicted on the continent (upper left corner.)

How were these explorations and discoveries possible? Why, climate warming of course. The Medieval Warm Period allowed for easy high-latitude westward expansion of Norse settlements and explorations.

Curse like a sailor...

if you're in pain, according to new research that suggests swearing makes you feel better.

#&$@*! right it does.

Stop the presses...

Glaciers Not Melting As Fast As Once Thought

Someone should tell Al Gore.

Reflections on my recent travels...

to the Arctic:

• The ASUS netbook is a terrific traveling computer: image-management/tweaking and blogging in a compact package. Plus it contained my PowerPoint lectures that I delivered aboard ship. Many passengers were inquiring about the teeny PC. I think I may have sold a few.
  
• The Canon G10 is a great field camera but lousy for wildlife photography. Its wide angle capabilities plus the macro mode are awesome, but when using the telephoto the image quality degrades. Not complaining - just the facts. There is no substitute for a good long lens on a DSLR for capturing wildlife.
  
• Don't forget nail clippers and Gold Bond powder next time.
• Need to bring more mid-weight layers when venturing north.
• Northwest Airlines sucks. Big time. Every aspect.
  

Hope this helps fellow/future travelers!

An image of Earth...

from space showing Crater Lake, Oregon (click to enlarge; north towards upper right.) Technically, it's not a crater at all, but a caldera that remains after the eruption and collapse of Mt. Mazama that occurred around 5,677 (± 150) BC.

In one week I will be co-teaching a fully-enrolled field course at this volcano. Can't wait. From the arctic to the volcanic!

Image credit: Astronaut photograph ISS013-E-54243 was acquired July 19, 2006, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using a 400 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center.

If only dung could talk...

think what it could tell us about ancient ecosystems.

Apollo landing sites...

on the Moon have been imaged by cameras on the recently launched LRO. Cool.

I doubt these new high resolution images will convince the conspiracists that believe the Moon landings were faked by NASA.

Wise words...

Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.

— Paul Theroux

I'm home...

and good night. A Dutch woman sitting next to me on the long international flight had b.o. Sheesh. I guess that was my penance to have had such a wonderful trip.

40 year anniversary...

of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon occurs on this day. I recall, as a child, sitting in front of a black & white television watching the early manned spaceflights, from the first Mercury missions to achieving the Moon. Truly historic stuff.

Here are links to a series of articles recalling the voyage of Apollo 11 published in Popular Mechanics:

Part 1: Launch Day - 16 July 1969
Part 2: To the Moon
Part 3: Landing Day
Part 4: Lunar Exploration
Part 5: The Trip Home
Part 6: Spashdown

Related: the missing "a" in Armstrong's first words.

There are real trees...

outside the hotel in Oslo where I am spending the night. Real. Tall. Trees. Something I haven't seen in well over a week!

It's amazing to think that the nature of world travel these days provides that I'll be sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night - half a world away in Cheney, America. Amazing. The hardy Norwegian polar explorers Amundsen and Nansen would role over in their graves if they only knew.

Finally, to use an Arctic analogy, this blog has presented only the tip of the iceberg of this wonderful and adventurous travel experience. Thanks to all the readers who followed along. Blogging will be light tomorrow and the next as I reenter civilization, decompress, and make up some sorely needed sleep.

Last glance at the polar north...

as we board our charter flight from Longyearbyen to Oslo. I snapped this pic of the Borebreen glacier shortly after take off:

Longyearbyen's industrial origin...

as a coal mining town is still evident, especially from the bay, where coal still fires a power plant that provides heat and energy to the remote community of about 1,600. However, typical Norwegian charm dresses up the somewhat dingy landscape as the following picture shows:

I wonder if there's a law in Norway requiring that no two neighboring houses are allowed to share the same paint color? Furthermore, arctic cotton springs forth in the tundra where snowmobiles are parked during the off season bringing even more contrast to the gray scene:

The farthest point north...

attained during this journey was reached Tuesday evening when the ship toured St. Jonsfjorden for one more glance at this deeply glaciated and desolate landscape. There is little else between here and the North Pole.

Arrived in Longyearbyen...

a short while ago to meet a charter flight south to Oslo. I'll post more updates at the hotel upon arrival.

The walrus haul-out...

at Poolepynten on Prins Karls Forland was nothing short of spectacular this afternoon. Countless walrus were enjoying the sunny afternoon on a sunny gravel beach while others were bathing in the shallow offshore waters. Our group was able to approach within 10 m without disturbing the giant marine mammals.

These two curious walrus swam right up to the beach and entertained us for 20 minutes or so before swimming on their merry way. I'd say we watched and photographed about 60 in total.

Mini-pan of the calving ice front...

from the day before in Bellsund. Six images are stitched together in order to assemble this amazing scene.

Grazing reindeer...

greeted us at our landing in Belsund Fjord early this morning, absolutely fearless of our presence. A very good start to the day.

What. A. Day!

Where to begin? This trip has certainly built to a crescendo at this point and we have one more expedition day at sea. But this day will be difficult to top. To whit:

We cruised into the most distant portion of Hornsund Fjord to the calving face of the Samavinvagen glacier were the captain of the Clipper Adventurer nestled the craft within about 200 m of the glacier.

After lunch we put the Zodiacs in the water and engaged in some touring, and I captured the following iconic image of the Arctic Ocean: the turquoise blue glacial ice berg:

In addition, let's not forget the surrounding rocks. Spitsbergen is sliced by a series of north-south trending thrust faults, and here's a snap of older limestones that have been pushed atop younger shales:

And believe it or not, an arctic fox was nipping at the heals of a polar bear that was rooting around close to its burrow:

The trip's not over... stay tuned!

Hansbreen glacier...

is seen here off the port side of the ship as we make our way into Hornsund Fjord. The calving front of the tidewater glacier is estimated to be about 40 m high.

Calving tidewater glaciers...

in Hornsund Fjord on the southwestern side of Spitsbergen are the primary goal of tomorrow's explorations near the top of the world. More marine mammals are also anticipated.

Long day. Turning in early.

Two bachelor walrus...

were found slumbering in the sun on a sandy beach after about a one mile hike from our landing site on Edgeoya Island south of Kapp Lee this afternoon. We were able to approach slowly, from down wind, to about 50 m distance. While the one on the right took notice of our presence, neither were disturbed at all by our visit.

Here's a close up of the one on the right:

Spectacular. Awesome. Magnificent.

I see sea ice...

all around the ship as we navigate the complex channels and passageways of the Svalbard archipelago. We paused momentarily to look at another polar bear lazily sunning itself on one of the ice floes.

Cruising toward Kapp Lee...

on Edgeoya Island in search of sea ice (pack ice) and seals and walrus. The Clipper Adventurer is an ice rated ship (not a breaker) so this should be, well, adventurous. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: We entered the Freemansundet channel past Kapp Lee earlier this morning and indeed have encountered pack ice. One floe had a bearded seal out sunning itself but unfortunately it did not tolerate our presence. We've since turned about and are heading down the channel back towards Kapp Lee, with the intention of a landing and hike sometime after lunch.

The reward goes to...

passenger SN for spotting not just the first polar bear of the expedition that we visited earlier this morning, but she also announced an additional sighting of a polar bear mother and her cub later in the day on the cliff top above our afternoon landing site.

A glacier walk...

was arranged in the mid-afternoon where passengers had the opportunity to march up the surface of the Kovlekifjellet valley glacier.

Scouting a landing site...

with expedition leader Mike Messick (right) and co-leader Peter Harrison (left) prior to the passengers coming ashore. Our purpose is to assess the safety of the landing area (bears) and the nature of the beach. In addition, specialists like myself have a chance to determine where interesting features may lie so we may direct the passengers in a more efficient manner when they arrive.

Those are Triassic age shales and cross-bedded sandstones in the looming cliffs, many of which are fossiliferous and contain pelecypods (clams,) bits of petrified wood, and trace fossils (worm burrows.)

The first polar bear...

has been sighted! The ship can't approach any closer than about two miles so Zodiacs are being lowered to the water. Gotta go!

UPDATE: Here it is, close in from about 60 m off shore...

And here's a context shot...

Land ho!

I was fortunate to be on the bridge just moments ago, chatting with the chief officer (a Ukrainian fellow who is helping me polish my Russian language skills) when the fog lifted and we caught our first glimpse of Spitsbergen.

I am excited to be here beyond words!

Excitement is growing...

as we race across the Barents Sea towards Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. Our objective is Isbukta (Ice Bay) on the southeastern tip, with the goal of sighting marine mammals including seals, walrus and, of course, polar bear. Fingers crossed.

Update: Just returned from the bridge. Position: ~76.3 degrees north. Sea temperature: 1 degree C. Water depth: 246 m.

Relicts of a whaling station...

from a bygone era were discovered at the conclusion of a long cross-country hike on the eastern side of Bear Island. In addition to the metal boiler you may note the large whale bone in the lower right part of the image (click to enlarge.)

No polar bears were encountered hence my group refers to this as "bare" island. No worries as we'll likely be in pack ice at the southern end of Svalbard by tomorrow morning which will increase the potential for sighting the great Arctic predator.

Sedimentary rocks...

consisting of Ordovician dolomites greeted us upon arrival at Bear Island (click to enlarge.) The ledgy carbonate rocks provide abundant nesting sites for staggering numbers of shore birds including skuas, puffins, guillemots, gulls, and other varieties.

And yes, I was "blessed" once again by a generous gift of air-dropped guano by countless birds in flight during our late morning Zodiac excursion of the cliff faces.

A peek at my...

modest but comfortable accommodations aboard the Clipper Adventurer during this expedition. All of the staff are single bunked on this voyage which makes life very enjoyable.

Thar she blows...

early this morning as we observed at least four feeding humped-back whales and a pod of about eight dolphins. The captain brought the ship to a full stop while passengers spent an hour photographing this wonderful encounter. We are now about three hours from arriving at Bear Island.

NOTE: I expect to lose the ability to connect via the Internet as we move further north. I'll certainly continue to post when I am able, but future updates may not occur before arriving at Oslo around 15 July.

Ferrying passengers...

back to the Clipper Adventurer at the conclusion of our visit to Nordkapp. At present we are underway to Bear Island (scroll down to earlier post that includes an expedition route map; half-way to our ultimate destination of Svalbard) and we expect to arrive mid-morning tomorrow. Just moments ago we enjoyed a number of white-beaked dolphins running along side the ship as we cruise at full speed to the northwest.

In addition, we expect to make a Zodiac tour of several birding sites in the morning after our arrival and make a landing later in the afternoon for extended hiking and photography. Indeed, expedition leaders are outfitted with appropriate measures to repel polar bears should we encounter any. Stay tuned - the adventure is just getting underway!

Shirley Metz...

is an extraordinary woman and a co-leader of this expedition. Why is she extraordinary besides being a terrific person? Well, she was the very first woman to ski to the South Pole, an accomplishment she achieved in 1989. Like I said: extraordinary.

So here she is, enjoying a waffle at the northernmost cafe in Europe!

Nordkapp, Norway...

is the northernmost point of Europe. I seldom insert myself in my photographs, but this is such a special geographic location I couldn't resist. To prove it, here's an image of my GPS receiver at this unique spot:

Sammonoy Island...

was visited by a number of our passengers for birding, photography and hiking. The display of wildflowers was stunning to say the least.

Roald Amundsen...

is regarded as one of Norway's greatest sons, perhaps second only to Fritjoft Nansen. This statue in Tromso captures the visage of this heroic polar explorer, and the continuously perching gulls keep his hair perpetually white.

The "open bridge" policy...

during this voyage is terrific (click to enlarge.) The captain, the dapper fellow in the center of this image, has just returned from dinner. He's been more than willing to answer all my curious questions as to the operation of the ship and the use of the navigational instruments. Fascinating.

Trollsford Fjord...

was visited near the end of the day, shortly after dinner. I'd say it was at sunset, but the sun never sets this time of year at this latitude.

Another lousy day...

in Norway! I shot this multi-image panorama at port in Reine just prior to our departure for Stamsund (click to enlarge.) That's our ship, the Clipper Adventurer at dockside.

This will never happen again...

at five minutes and six seconds past four o'clock a.m. on this day:

04:05:06 07/08/09

I hope you enjoyed the fleeting moment if you were awake!

Hat tip: DH

This reconstructed Viking long house...

was paid a visit this afternoon by the passengers and crew. This immense structure is located at the Sacred Heights (Lofotr, Borg) archeological site near Stromsund, Norway in the Lofoton Islands. Such a house could hold 50 to 70 people and their livestock, and is dated to the 900s AD.

Can you imagine spending a winter in such a shelter?!

The fishing village of Reine...

is surrounded by pyroxene monzonite peaks that rise to ~ 1,000 m that are etched and faceted by valley glaciers (click to enlarge.) It has to be one of the most scenic places I have ever visited. The passengers and staff went on a several hour walking tour of the village this morning with local guides, examining the fishing industry and cod drying racks.

Kjerrengoy is a historic trading center...

in the Lofoten Islands (click to enlarge.) We made a wet landing (no dock) at this well preserved site where the guides are dressed in clothes typical of the era, and demonstrate making fish cakes and flat bread among other activities. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful exposure to early Norwegian life.

Preparing the Zodiac fleet...

for a birding excursion around Vedoya Island; note the sea stacks in the background (click to enlarge.)

The high point of the outing for me was witnessing sea eagles passing food while in flight, from the male to female, in a spectacular cartwheeling maneuver.

Vega Island...

is a recently designated World Heritage Site and we made landing in Zodiacs at the village of Nes to tour exhibits related to the eider down industry. Villagers would care for the eider duck in an extraordinarily tender symbiotic relationship where the villagers would protect the ducks while on their nests from predators, and at the same time carefully remove the down feathers from the perimeter of the nest. The female would pluck additional down from her breast to line the nest, to be subsequently harvested. It takes about 70 ducks to provide 1 kilogram of down ($900 US), enough for a large duvet.

The Arctic Circle...

was crossed, approximately 66° 33′ 39″ (or 66.56083°) north latitude, at about 2 am this morning as we proceed northward on our voyage. Here's a link to more information about this significant geographic demarcation. Ahoy, we have arrived in the land of the midnight sun!

The captain and crew...

of the Clipper Adventurer hosted a welcome dinner for passengers and expedition staff this evening, and also wished us all a happy 4th of July. A wonderful time was had by all.

We are presently cruising north to Vega Island and its archipelago for a visit to the village of Nes where we will make landing with the Zodiacs. Once ashore we will tour an eider down factory and go on a walkabout.

Birds, birds, birds...

galore! Kittiwakes (shown here, click to enlarge,) puffins, sea eagles, cormorants, gulls, eider ducks, guillemots, razorbills, gannets and more were all visible during our close approach via Zodiac boats early this day. Biologists estimate that approximately 500,000 birds nest on the sea cliffs on the west side of Runde Island, and this image captures but an infinitesimally small fraction. Yes, we did get "blessed" by the birds during our photo tour.