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14 January, 2002Hello from Fairbanks, Alaska! On my way to the Geophysical Institute to meet with my Principal Investigator, Dr. Martin Jeffries, I realized morning sky was still dark as midnight. The sun finally rose around 10:30 am. Before I knew it, it was 3:30 pm and the sun vanished for the evening. This was the longest night of my life. Topic of the Day What is heat flux? Heat flux (also known as heat flow) is the energy flow from the bottom of the ice. Heat flux is the function of thermal conductivity and temperature gradient. To determine heat flux, we need the following information: snow depth, temperature of snow surface (Ts), temperature of snow base (Tb), and mass/volume of snow sample. Why is this topic important? The regional and global climate is rapidly changing. Over the past 100 years, the annual air temperature on rivers and lakes in the Northern Hemisphere has increased 1.2 degrees Celsius. Imagine how this impacts our world. Snow floes (floating ice) are getting smaller each season and ice break up is now 5.5 days earlier today than in 1917, leaving less space for resting seals. The health of polar bears is impacted due to lack of food (seals). And this is only one example. WORDS OF THE DAY Congelation Ice - black ice Snow Ice - white ice
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