When Roger Andersen, an oceanographer and atmospheric scientist from the University of Washington, needed help with his research, he turned to the U.S. Coast Guard. Andersen is engaged in research monitoring the drift of ice -- where it goes, what it does, its ambient temperature -- by dropping two buoys into the Arctic Ocean, 80 miles north of Barrow, to survive the freeze and refreeze cycle. Andersen had to get his buoys up north and in the water, so the Coast Guard stepped in to lend a hand.
On Oct. 12, the Coast Guard opened the doors to a C-130 and let the media on board to record the events. The game plan was to meet Petty Officer First Class David Mosley, a liaison to the media for the Coast Guard, leave Elmendorf Air Force Base at 9 a.m., do a quick skip to the Arctic Circle, and come back by 4 p.m.
Coast Guard Admiral Chris Colvin said this was the first drop the service has done for the University of Washington; they will go back to retrieve the buoy in three years' time, after the battery dies. On the flight, Colvin was reading "On the Edge of Survival," a nonfiction account of the wreck of the Selendang Ayu, a Malaysian cargo that ship ran aground near Unalaska in 2004 and needed air rescue. The training that the Coast Guard used in assisting the Selendang Ayu parallels the training used to assist with Andersen's research -- except in this instance they were dropping buoys rather than life rafts.
As the plane cruised one of the buoys was dropped -- with a huge splash -- and was expected to begin transmitting shortly afterward. The battery on the units last three years, and is rugged enough to with stand the constant bumping and scraping of the Arctic waves. This new buoy is designed to replace older models that are meant to be parachuted onto sea ice first, not in the open ocean like this buoy.
All went well until the second buoy wouldn't release, and the loadmasters refused to roll it out of the plane due to safety reasons: There is an explosive charge in the buoy that is used to sever metal cables. Andersen said the Coast Guard may make a second attempt in a couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, Mosley said on Oct. 13, the buoy has not been transmitting, meaning that perhaps it did not survive the drop.
Contact Bryan Dunagan at bryan(at)alaskadispatch.com.