We use cookies to improve your experience, some are essential for the operation of this site.

Helicopter pilot Geir Akse removing a flag from the ice.

Helicopter pilot Geir Akse removing a flag from the ice.
Helicopter pilot Geir Akse removing a flag from the ice.
Helicopter pilot Geir Akse removing a flag from the ice.
Helicopter pilot Geir Akse removing a flag from the ice.
Comments (0)
75375
Linder, Christopher
Helicopter pilot Geir Akse removing a flag from the ice.
Still Image
08/13/2007
graphics/agave2/cl_20070801_agave07_icebeacon_005.jpg
Doesn't helicopter pilot Geir Akse look a little like he's re-enacting the famous photograph of marines planting the flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima? Actually, he's un-planting a flag used to mark an ice buoy station. Throughout the research cruise, helicopter pilots put out equipment on ice floes that sent signals back to the ship on where the ice floe was. By tracking the signals, Oden's crew could monitor the direction and speed of the ice pack. Getting a handle on how the ice was moving was critical for all science operations. It not only helped the crew maneuver the ship most efficiently though the ice pack, it also helped the crew put the ship in the right place at the right time so it could drift over targets on the seafloor that scientists wanted to investigate. As Oden and the ice pack drifted, the helicopter pilots continually had to go out, pick up ice buoy stations that were drifting out of range of the ship, and reposition them closer to the ship. But this buoy won't be repositioned anywhere, because we're heading home.
Photo by Chris Linder
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Labels
This item includes these files
Image
Image
Collections