Seattle

	Mass: Seattle

The Seattle mass balance site was a ponded area with a couple of hummocks nearby. The schematic shows the stake number and initial ice thickness ( ) in October 1997 for each of the gauges. (Click on the gauges to see results.) In early June, we installed 5 gauges perpendicular to the floe edge. Gauge 310 was 5 m from the edge, 309 was 10 m, 308 was 15 m, 307 was 20 m, and 306 was 27 m from the edge. Seattle was heavily ponded in the summer of 1998. For the most part, the ponded areas of 1997 were the ponded areas of 1998. In early August 1998, Seattle broke away from the rest of the floe, ultimately drifting more than 3 km from the ship. In addition to the thickness gauges, there was a thermistor string and a surface pinger at Seattle. Wall profiles were measured at the ice edge, as well as lead temperature and salinity. Seattle was also the site of a melt pond survey.
Seattle from the air, June 15, 1998.

The large changes in surface conditions during summer melt are clearly visible in these photographs taken on 10 June and 30 July.