Welcome to the Pratt Lab blog! Dr. Kerri Pratt is an assistant professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Earth & Environmental Sciences and faculty associate of the Program in the Environment at the University of Michigan. We study the chemical interactions of atmospheric trace gases, particles, clouds, and snow, with a focus on the Polar Regions and wintertime environments. Our interdisciplinary research has relevance to climate change, air quality, and human health. As an analytical chemistry lab, we primarily apply novel mass spectrometry techniques to our field research. We invite you to follow our adventures in (and outside!) the lab!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Melting Barrow!

The spring is a special time of year for any place. Usually, the leaves start to come out, the flowers begin to bloom, the bees are buzzing about.

Well since Barrow has none of those things, spring is a bit different experience:
THE SUN. ALL. THE. TIME.
May 20th, 11:30 pm, out at the shed
One of the fruits of the Barrow spring transition is the eternal sunlight. The sun stopped officially setting on May 10th, but it's been twilight in the really late hours for weeks prior. That night we decided to catch the last sunset and sunrise.
Sunset, 2:01 am...
Sunrise, 2:41 am.
Unfortunately, it's usually cloudy, but occasionally you get some more direct sunlight and things look really pretty! Here are some better pictures:
Watching the sunset around 12:30 am, a few days prior.
Midnight sun, was a little chilly!
A rare, sunny morning out on the tundra

All of this sunlight starts to warm things up. And when things warm up, some things, like all of the snow and ice, melt! Probably the most surprising parts of Barrow was how FAST the snow melted. It doesn't take long at all.
May 6
May 7
May 8
May 9

May 11
May 12
May 13


















































Above is my attempt at a time lapse from May 6th to May 13th. Temps started rising on May 9th, and we had record warm temperatures on May 11th (41 F was an all-time record for the first half of May). As you can see, it didn't take long for everything to melt!


Unfortunately, with all the melt water, the roads become filled with potholes! They are absolutely everywhere. A little reminder of our roads at home...
Our poor truck took some serious abuse


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