warm, snuggly polar bears!

I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to head out on a few polar bear den surveys this winter.  That's right, polar bear den surveys!  Super-exciting.  Just imagine how excited I'll be when a survey I'm on actually locates a den! 

It's pretty neat technology, you're basically using a very fancy infrared camera to look for heat signatures in snow drifts that indicate a bear.  I picture them all warm and snuggly, a white hot dot in the middle of a dark gray drift.  So far I haven't seen any dens.  No sign of bears at all, actually.  Bummer for me, but good for the bears and anyone who would possibly have to re-consider their plans due to a bear den. 

OK, so no bears, but what have I seen?  tons!  Check this IR photo out - so you know how snowmachine tracks setup after a day or so and make a nice, hard trail?  Well, as I understand it, the heat from all the little snow bits mashing against each other when you drive over them generates heat from friction.  This heat is enough to transform the snowpack, they all bond, and voila, nice hard trail.  The infrared camera used for this type of survey is sensitive enough to pick up this heat.  Here's a pic of snow that's been pushed around by a dozer making an airstrip out on the sea ice.

Just about everything is fun to look at through in infrared camera.  Here's our tucker operator.  Zip up your coat!