October 8, 2012

And We’re Off: Arctic Ocean Diaries No. 1

USCGC Healy in port at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska.Image courtesy of Master Chief Tim Sullivan, USCG

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Last Friday the US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy sailed from the gorgeous shelter of Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, in the Aleutian Islands, bound north for the Arctic Ocean.

Healy is a research vessel carrying 38 science crew on this cruise. I’m working with Jeremy Mathis, a chemical oceanographer, and his lab, from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He’s collaborating with Bob Pickart from WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), a physical oceanographer. They’re jointly investigating how a changing climate might be affecting the chemistry of ocean and atmosphere in the Arctic. I’ll write more about that later.

But for now we’re just hunkering down while Healy makes the 1,000-mile long transit from Dutch Harbor through the Bering and Chukchi Seas to the first research stations in the Beaufort Sea. We should arrive after three days, depending on weather. You can check out the view from Healy‘s Bridge from this webcam, which updates hourly.

So far the Bering Sea is being really kind to us. Fingers crossed.

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This is how change happens.

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This investigative reporting takes time too. Months of research. Weeks of writing, editing, and fact checking—and putting together the photography, art, video, and audio that tell the stories in a new way, illuminating new perspectives and voices.

We can afford to take our time because we don’t report to oligarchs or corporations. We report to you, and for you.

And the stakes are high. Democracy is on the defense. We’ve been exposing corruption and scandal for five decades, and this is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. Will democracy prevail? We won’t wait for time to tell—independent journalism is essential for democracy, and we’ll keep doing our part to amplify the free press.

So, we’re asking: Will you join the fight? Mother Jones has been here for 50 years, and we need your support to fuel the future of investigative journalism. Mark our 50th anniversary with a gift of any amount.

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