Hudson Bay Memories

The town of Churchill sits right on Hudson Bay with the town beach being my favorite and most accessible spot.  CNSC is about 14 miles out of town with the whole drive being along the coast. On any trip to town, I soak in the view. I also try to get to the beach for what I call “a beach day”. This year’s visit was on a day of blue skies, reasonable temperatures, and very little wind. The Inuksuk which sits on the edge of the town beach is always one of my favorite sites. Above you see it at sunset, and below you see it on our sunny beach day.

On one of our last days in the town of Churchill, our friend Laura let us use her vehicle for the day. We took the opportunity to take a leisurely drive along the bay. Brian let me stop and get out as many times as I wished so I could get my fill of the stark beauty.

I'm standing next to this peak to give a bit of perspective to the size of these ice/snow hummocks.

Brian liked the pattern created by blowing snow.

All the while, he was keeping his eye out for polar bears as we had found these tracks the week before! Yes, a polar bear was on his/her way to the ice. After coming up for 4 years, this is the first time I have ever seen the tracks of a bear. They are very unlikely to be anywhere other than the sea ice hunting for seals.

We also got to attend the Hudson Bay Quest, a dog sledding race from Churchill to Gillam. It is a 220 mile race over tundra and through boreal forest terrain. This year there were 10 teams, and the race was set to start in Churchill right across from the bay. The start time was scheduled for about 9:30am and each team was set to leave two minutes apart. Doing the math, this was going to be a short send-off and it was. It was all over by about 10:00. The weather was perfect this year for the race with a little bit of new snowfall in the previous week. We all were very excited about getting out to see the start of this impressive race. For those unfamiliar with the race, it is a qualifier for the Iditarod.

Race Marshall

I'll end this post with two weather related photos that are directly connected to Churchill's location on the coast of Hudson Bay. First, Hudson Bay freezes over completely each winter as well as melting completely each summer. During winter, it is a regular occurrence for a lead to open up in the ice on Hudson Bay. I believe that in Churchill, a lead (open water) is likely to open up after a period of persistent southerly winds. With the open water, a great amount of moisture is released into the atmosphere, causing these clouds referred to as Ice Smoke sometimes. The photo below doesn't look exactly like it, but it was the best opportunity for the photo.

And finally, on one of our last days in Churchill, we woke up to find a heavy coating of hoarfrost on every tree branch and bush. It was spectacular. I hadn't realized it, but evidently the beauty was due to both the extra moisture in the air from an open lead plus an unusually wind free evening. Here is a bush we passed on our walk to breakfast at Gypsy's in town.

Bonus Night of Northern Lights

After the amazing lights on Monday night March 14th, we said goodbye to our last Arctic Skies group. On Tuesday night, there were only a handful of us left at CNSC- a very quiet place now. According to aurora forecasts, there was a stream of solar wind hitting Earth and probability was high for a great night of auroras. We kept looking out at the clear skies, until eventually everyone went to bed. Three of the younger crowd headed out to sleep in an igloo, and Brian headed to sleep.

Phil and two others slept here

I took one last look near midnight and the dancing lights appeared. No one left in the building wanted to get up, so I had the moment completely to myself. I did a little photographing outside, but I decided to opt for the comfort of the dome. As the colors started to dance and dart, almost like a beam of light from above, I had a 360 degree view of the heavens in complete comfort.

I brought the camera to the dome, something I've never done before. This is usually not a practical or polite thing to do with anyone else trying to share the space, but that night it did not matter. It was so much fun to experiment with ISO and with shutter speed with warm fingers. My photography skills are sadly lacking when it comes to a fast and active aurora, so usually I just look up and take it all in without fussing with the camera. In these photos (except for the ones at the top of the post, you see the lights dancing from the highest point at CNSC in the aurora dome.

Snow sculpture outside the igloo

Geomagnetic Storm Sparks Spectacular Show of Lights

My fellow volunteer Phil gazes at the skies

Last night, March 14/15, the skies over Churchill were filled with ribbons of light, tall billowing curtains of color, and pulsing coronas overhead. Like last week, it all started close to twilight. As the evening progressed, the aurora became more and more dramatic.

Checking Spaceweather.com, I learned something new about auroras, and in particular what forces brought us the visual treat of last night. It was a CIR, a co-rotating interaction region, which hit Earth's magnetic field and sparked bright auroras all around the Arctic region. Basically, CIRs are transition zones between slow and fast-moving solar wind streams.

Tonight, Earth is moving into a stream of high-speed solar wind following behind the CIR. Enjoy the rest of these photos. There will likely be another post if we can stay awake long enough to photograph it! Most have had minimal processing other than raising the exposure.

This was taken with a fisheye lens.

Snowmobile Excursion to the Boreal Forest

During each of the Arctic Skies learning vacations, there is an afternoon snowmobile excursion into the boreal forest. Churchill Northern Studies Centre sits on the edge of the tundra and the forest. I always love these excursions, as the trees give us protection and relief from the blowing winds.

Komatics were used to ferry us out to the site which was less than a mile away. A komatic is a giant sled which holds about 8 people. It is pulled behind a snowmobile. On this particular day the sun was shining and the trees were covered in snow. Actually, the trees are always covered in snow during the time we are here.

While there is very little or no snow in front of CNSC, you need snowshoes if you are going to step off from the packed snowmobile trail. Many people did try out snowshoes while others accepted a snowmobile ride through the forest.

My fellow volunteer Kate and I had some fun with a selfie (challenge with cold fingers) and reflections from her tinted goggles.

Staff members did a snow sampling demonstration for the ARctic Skies group. Each year, there is an Earthwatch team, and team members go out each day to sample the snowpack. I am always in awe of the dedication of those groups.

I always like to walk home through the forest and come out onto Launch Road. The rocket launchers are landmarks that make it impossible for even the most direction challenged- that would be me! The serenity and calm of the forest was quickly replaced with a very icy cold wind along the open roa. Hot chocolate was not far away though.

Fresh Air Frolics

Opportunities to get outside for some fresh air are always welcome. Going with a partner(s) is preferred, and we take a radio with us just in case. During the last week, I went outside on a few walks down Launch Road. Our front and side yards at CNSC feature the remnants of the Churchill Research (rocket) Range which was built in the late 50's to conduct research on the upper atmosphere. The rocket range is my typical choice when heading out for a walk.

There are two rocket launchers in background. The Aerobee launcher on the right is in the position of the last launch it made.

We all loved the clouds high above.

Our first stop was the giant snowpile made from plowed snow. A slide or possibly several slides, made for an exciting descent. I do not know this from personal experience, but it sure looks like fun.

We hiked out to one of the tundra ponds which are snow covered at this time. We haven't had as much wind I guess, for in past years many of the ponds had no snow cover. This whole area has many tundra ponds, but they aren't very deep. Mostly they are drainage for the tundra. Behind the Ramsey sign is a geocache which Brian checks regularly.

We visited some igloos constructed by an Earthwatch team (unfinished)  and a North of 58 group who had been at CNSC for a week. Some of the volunteers and participants did sleep out in the completed one.

Two of our fellow volunteers Bek and Kate slept out in this igloo. "Home 2016"

An unfinished igloo.- just needs a top

Kate, one of our fellow volunteers, is showing off some snow samples from different layers of the snow. What do you think? Hopefully I'll remember to put the info at the bottom of this post.

Kate is holding snow samples from the top and bottom layers in the snowpack.

Mostly we just enjoyed the fresh air and the beauty of the landscape. The strong prevailing winds leave constantly changing sculpted snow patterns. I'm sure you'll see more in other blog posts. Also, where the wind has swept all the snow away, I found some rocks! Couldn't resist an opportunity to include a rock photo.

And here is the info you have been waiting for about the snow samples. The snow on the right is from the bottom of the snowpack where it has morphed into larger crystals.