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!

Friday, September 23, 2016

End of Prudhoe Bay Field Campaign!

After five weeks in the Arctic, our field campaign came to a close this week! After the end of sampling, the next major task was to pack up all of our equipment to send back to Michigan. It's a long journey home, so it is important to make sure everything is secure!
Luckily the crate we designed had a ramp attached, so it was easy to just roll the instrument back in through the door of the AMF3.  

The A-ATOFMS and the rest of the equipment all packed in the hangar waiting for pickup.
It's an ~2 hour drive from the AMF3 back to Deadhorse on pretty rough roads, so we had to get a truck to pick up the equipment at the site instead of loading it into the back of our trucks. 
Lifting the A-ATOFMS into the truck. I always get nervous when the instrument isn't on the ground, but thankfully we had the help of the wonderful AMF3 techs during this process and it went very smooth. Thanks guys!
With the equipment all packed up and headed back to Ann Arbor, we made sure to take some time and get a few tourist pictures at all of the landmarks we could find.
Sign marking the end of the Dalton Highway in Deadhorse, AK.
That's all for this study! A big thanks to all of the help we received from the DOE AMF3 techs and Sandia National Labs throughout this study - we wouldn't have been able to complete it without you all!

Bonus picture: One last sunset over the oil fields.

No comments:

Post a Comment