Studying fresh frost flowers (DI01959)

• Other Authors: Calvin, Carlye (Carlye Calvin) (photographerpht)
• Format: Still Image
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
• Subjects: Arctic; International Polar Year; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7bz646h

Little known outside the world of polar research, frost flowers haven't been studied much till recently. They're highly salty, which makes them potentially important in the chemistry of depletion events. This image shows an OASIS researcher working with equipment involved in the study of a freshly formed batch of frost flowers atop a patch of ice cleared the day before. The OASIS (Ocean_Atmosphere_Sea Ice_Snowpack) field project made some of the most extensive measurements ever on the chemical exchanges between polar air, snow, frost, brine, and sea ice. Part of International Polar Year, OASIS tackled a number of standing questions in polar chemistry, with the emphasis on the life cycle of pollutants that drift into the Arctic.