8 April, 2002

Weather: Cloudy
High 29
Low 11

Breezy Day at Poker Flat

MST pond, the primary study site on Poker Flat Research Range is always the first pond we visit. This morning, the air was rather nippy especially with several unexpected breezes. Surface temperatures at each transect measured roughly between -10 to -13 šC but with mild winds, the wind chill dropped pretty quickly. My nose and cheeks became fairly pink and chapped.

Heat Flow calculations At Your Own Risk

Beware: Fourier heat-conduction equation often causes permanent pencil marks from constant erasing and scribbling, small grooves in your forehead from using fingers as a head rest, mild headaches from squinting with confusion, a hoarse throat from arguing with the calculator, and much more.

To prevent the above symptoms, see recommendations from Geophysical Institute's Ice Doctors: drink 3 mugs of coffee, eat 8 pieces of chocolate truffles, take a 20 minute nap for each calculation, and work without adult supervision. If the symptoms continue, immediately refer to your primary ice doctor.

Here We Go!

If we have a thermal conductivity of 0.0638 W/m/K (Watts per meter per Kelvin) and a temperature gradient of -12.4242 šC/m (Degrees Celsius per meter), we multiply the two values to find heat flow.

The final answer will be -0.7926 W/m2 (Watts per meter squared). See tomorrow for more problems. It is highly recommended you digest this information and get a complete physical check-up by tomorrow from an ice doctor for more heat flow calculations.