Day 2: some pictures

Today has been our first full day in the field. We set out about 9AM in about -33 degrees C (wind shield -42C) with out tools to measure everything you ever wanted to know about snow. Obviously, the secret is in the layering and making sure that no skin is exposed during transit on the snow mobile. We surveyed two different sites, a polygonal peat plateau and a tundra site. Both had relatively shallow snow cover (up to 40 cm, Canadians do everything metric so I am counting on you to convert temperatures and distances.) but we were fully exposed to wind and sun, which can be quite strong. The process is not that complicated but it takes time and a great deal of attention to detail. It really is a skill to tell various layers of snow apart. I added a picture below with all the snow categories for the unbelievers out there.
We also trekked onto Hudson Bay, which is obviously frozen solid, to see a ship wreck. On the way we encountered many tracks of wolves and foxes. One wolf was spotted (see photo), which is a rare occasion.
At night we had a lecture on climate change and it was interesting to see how the data we have collected is being used in the studies. I will forward a copy of the lecture to Mr. Walters (too big to put on the blog)
One thing that has become very clear is that people up here spend a very large amount of time eating. Breakfast (at 6:45), lunch (12) and dinner (5:30) all consist of enormous amounts of high calorie food. I guess beach season up here is pretty short.