Chukchi Borderland Project
 
 
 

Daily Updates from

our Teacher at Sea


 
 

September  10

Cindy, the Styrofoam Head
 
 
 

  The day has finally arrived.  This is what you have all been waiting for and asking me about.  "What ever happened to Cindy (the Styrofoam head)?"  These are the before and after shots of Cindy.

Cindy is on the right...

 
 

Gail, Cindy, and Susan.
(Cindy is in the middle...)
  Don't say anything about my big head after Cindy is shrunk.  If you ever pick up a Styrofoam head, you will notice that it is very light.  When Cindy came back from the deep, she was heavier and a lot smaller.  Why do you think that might be?  What conditions will Cindy and the cups experience at an ocean depth of 3800 meters?

  If you have an idea, e-mail me with your best answer.

  Styrofoam cups were also shrunken.  The crew of the Polar Star, scientists, and students in Barrow, Alaska, all prepared cups for the trip.


 
 
 

Ron attaching cups and Cindy
to the CTD.

Cindy staring at the CTD.

 

...blub...blub...blub...
 
 
 


Cindy and shrunken Styrofoam cups, with one
unshrunken cup for scale.

 
 


Cindy and Gail.  Yes, Cindy is on the right.










 
 
 

A foggy day...


Great news, we saw another Polar Bear!  YEA!

 
  It was on the ice, on the port (left) side of the ship and started running toward the water.  After about five minutes, we saw it swimming on the starboard (right) side of the ship. 

 
 
 
 
 The bear climbed up onto the ice, ran about twenty yards and jumped back into the water.  Almost a perfect dive.

 
 
 
  After swimming around a little more, it performed a graceful pike dive with its rear end up into the air and its back feet following.  Nothing brings people running to the outside of the ship faster than an announcement of a polar bear sighting.
 

Side Facts: 

- Polar bears are extremely good swimmers and can travel up to sixty miles.

- Polar bears are carnivores, which means they eat mainly meat...yes, *anything* they can find.

- Polar bears are considered marine mammals.

- Underneath their white fur, the skin of a polar bear is actually black.  Why do you think it has black skin?