Jeff Bowman had never heard of
frost flowers when he decided to study them to earn his
PhD in oceanography at the
University of Washington. But, as it turned out, they are a ubiquitous, spectacular marvel at both poles, forming whenever the conditions are just right, with superchilled air hitting newly formed
sea ice. The result is
salt crystals in the seawater forming structures in the frozen
sea water, atop the sea ice: frost flowers.
Acres and acres of them.
Photo by Matthias Wietz
Jeff Bowman was on an icebreaker in 2009 near the North Pole when his research team encountered miles and miles of new ice, covered with these frost flowers, each about one to two inches tall. The ice appears black to the eye, enhancing the visual effect. While it looks like rippled open water, the newly-formed sea ice is about three inches thick.
The team disembarked to collect samples of some of the flowers, which, it turned out, are teaming with bacteria. They also had surprising chemical properties, including very high levels of mercury, and formaldehyde, Bowman said.
His research team is still trying to understand just what these frost flowers are up to, chemically and biologically. But one thing that seems certain is whatever these flowers are, there are going to be many more of them as the area of perennial sea ice in the arctic shrinks. That means new sea ice forming on open water, blooming with frost flowers.
For more on Bowman’s research, here is a link to his blog.
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For 125 years, the National Geographic Society has supported field-based
research, conservation, exploration and education that has provided the
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Shell was forced to quit in the US Alaskan Arctic this year after a series of dangerous and humiliating failures. But now Shell has a Plan B to enter the Arctic through Russia, and it’s urgent that we spread the word before it’s too late. We need you to share this video to expose Shell’s ruthless new plan, and ask your friends to sign the petition to save the Arctic from oil destruction:
Increasingly desperate to plunder the Arctic in any way possible, Shell has made a deal with the devil: partnering with monstrous Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom to access the Arctic through Russia, where laws are lax and corruption is rife.
Arctic Campaign
Greenpeace
—————–Copy and paste this text into an email for your friends—————-
Friend,
Have you seen this petition to save the Arctic? www.savethearctic.org. I’ve signed and you should too.
The Arctic is under threat like never before. As polar sea ice melts faster than ever, huge oil companies like Shell are rushing to profit from Arctic oil at any cost. An oil spill would have deadly consequences for this fragile environment, destroying the home of Indigenous communities and amazing species like polar bears.
Help us declare a global sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the North Pole, and a ban on offshore drilling and industrial fishing in the whole region. Join our 3 million-strong movement now at www.savethearctic.org.
Thanks!
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Last year a polar bear mother had to swim 687 kilometers to reach the sea ice for food. Her cub didn’t make it.
Make an urgent gift today and help support our campaign to protect the polar bears and save the Arctic. |
687 kilometers. That’s the longest a polar bear mother had to swim last year to reach the sea ice and hunt for food. Her cub did not survive the trip.
Things aren’t getting any easier. In fact, this year Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level in recorded history — smashing the 2007 record. Meaning that polar bear mothers had even farther to swim than last year.
Now scientists are saying the Arctic Ocean could see ice free summers in the next decade if current trends continue. That means there won’t even be anywhere for polar bear mothers to swim to find food.
But for Big Oil the melting Arctic is not a warning sign. It’s an invitation. These companies hope to cash in by drilling for more of the oil that is causing the warming in the first place. We can’t let that happen.
Help us protect polar bear mothers and their cubs by making an urgent gift today to support our campaign to declare the high Arctic a global sanctuary.
Our goal is to permanently ban oil drilling and industrial fishing in the Arctic and to establish the area around the North Pole as a ‘global commons.’
We’ve already mobilized over two million people from around the world to save the Arctic in the last six months. Momentum is on our side and the oil companies that want to drill are feeling the pressure.
Just a few weeks ago, Shell announced it was stopping its drilling program for this season after investing seven years and $5 billion. Thanks to Mother Nature, its own incompetence and the millions of people who have taken action to save the Arctic, its plans have been put on hold.
And while it was a moment to celebrate, the sea ice news makes the importance of our campaign all the more clear. Time is running out. Sea ice is melting at record rates and Shell will be back again next year. Carmen, we need your support to save the Arctic. We can’t do this without you. Make an urgent gift today and help support our campaign to protect the polar bears and save the Arctic.
Greenpeace doesn’t take a dime from corporations or governments. All we care about is doing what is necessary to save the Arctic. But our plans for the rest of this year and 2013 — along with the fate of the polar bears that call the Arctic home — all depend on your support.
I know our campaign may seem ambitious, but we’ve done it before. In 1991, a Greenpeace effort much like this one helped establish Antarctica as a world park and off limits to commercial extraction. With your support I know we can do it again and this time save the Arctic.
Polar bear mothers shouldn’t have to swim 687 kilometers for food.
For the Arctic,
Dan Howells Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaign Director
P.S. If the Arctic sea ice continues to melt and if the area around the North Pole isn’t put off limits to oil drilling, polar bears don’t stand a chance. Support our campaign to protect the polar bears and save the Arctic by making your most generous donation today. |
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