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Taking Scientific Measurements21 viewsGerman Maximov collecting the measurement of direct solar radiation. Image credit: EWG.
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Ice Hazards20 views"Pedestaling" occurs in summer because structures shade the ice and snow beneath from the sun's heat. Although this supply bag offers an example on a small scale, pedestaling frequently occurred around buildings and large structures. Image credit: EWG.
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Taking Scientific Measurements20 viewsTwo station members traverse the snow survey line measuring snow density by weight. Image credit: EWG.
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Ice Hazards19 viewsMost of the time, the only way to deliver supplies to the North Pole stations was by plane. Weather conditions in the sky could be just as harsh and extreme as conditions on the ground. Here, a biplane is grounded after an accident near the Kara Sea in 1981. Image credit: EWG.
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Ice Hazards19 viewsDuring summer, moving around camp became difficult, as melting snow formed large puddles (melt ponds) and channels everywhere. Image credit: EWG.
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Ice Hazards19 viewsHere, melt ponds encroach on many of the buildings in the camp. Sometimes, inflatable boats were used for transportation. Image credit: EWG.
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Taking Scientific Measurements19 viewsDetermining instrument location by theodolite. A theodolite is a high-precision surveying instrument. Because the ice floes rotated and changed in topography as they drifted, undergoing freezing and thawing, station members needed to regularly determine the position of the instruments relative to each other and to North. Image credit: EWG.
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Arctic Buildings18 viewsAround some buildings in the summertime, "pedestaling" occurs because structures shade the ice and snow beneath from the sun's heat. Each subsequent summer adds to the height of the pedestal. This building on NP-22 reached 5 meters in height after seven years. Image credit: EWG.
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Arctic Buildings18 viewsAlthough summers posed the hazards of melt water, the winters posed problems with deeply drifting snow. In winter, windblown snow had to be cleared from the entrance of this aerological (radiosounding) hut. Image credit: EWG.
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Arctic Buildings18 viewsDue to changes in the ice floe surface, it was not uncommon for camps to relocate to more stable ground. This photograph was taken during the rebuilding of the camp NP-22 in 1980. Aluminum tent poles are at the right, and an overturned boat is at the left. Image credit: EWG.
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Ice Hazards18 viewsA small lead (or crack in the ice) has opened in the foreground. New leads, which form under wind stress when the ice diverges, were a constant threat to the camps. Camps often had to be relocated due to the sudden appearance of an ice lead through the middle of the camp (unless the crack appeared during summer and was simply a melt channel). Image credit: EWG.
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Ice Hazards18 viewsWhen a pond melts, a whirlpool forms, emptying the pond in minutes. This photograph of a melt pond whirlpool is from NP-6. Image credit: EWG.
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