Highlights from Cleanest Air on Earth Expedition, Part 1!

Last year, during our first Cleanest Air on Earth Expedition voyage, we spend 65 days collecting data in the Southern Ocean. As we get ready to head south again, check out these highlights!

Location: 
Southern Ocean, Antarctica
Location Data: 
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Photos

Hi everyone! Last year, I participated in a research campaign to study the Cleanest Air on Earth. That journey involved traveling all the way to Tasmania, Australia, boarding a ship, and sailing off to the Southern Ocean
The RV Investigator is a 300-foot-long ship designed for ocean research. You can see the mast at the front of the ship which holds some of the atmospheric instruments that measure wind speed, air temperature, and precipitation amount
The ship had about 40 crew members and 40 scientists on board. Here is a picture of all of the scientists for the voyage
My main job on board the ship was to take measurements of atmospheric qualities. One task we did several times a day was launching weather balloons, which measure different properties like temperature, pressure, and relative humidity as the balloon rises
During the voyage, we were far enough South to see icebergs. This was one of the highlights of the voyage for me
Another task we had was swapping out the filters for the aerosol instruments. Inside the upside-down bucket is a container with a filter in it. It pulls air through the filter and then the filters are later processed to see what aerosols are in the air
There were so many cool-looking icebergs and every iceberg was different!
This was one of my favorite sunsets of the voyage. You can see the outlines of icebergs on the horizon

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