Podcast Available
The IcePod Episode Nine
Hugs, Dips in Melt Ponds, and WiFi on the Ice
To access the podcast, go to:
https://theicepodcast.home.blog/
For questions, contact:
Kirstin Werner
Email: kirstin.werner [at] awi.de
Sara Pasqualetto
Email: sara.pasqualetto [at] awi.de
The IcePod podcast announces the release of episode nine, Hugs, Dips in Melt Ponds, and WiFi on the Ice. The IcePod is the podcast about polar science and the people. Hosts talk to scientists who went on board Polarstern, the German research icebreaker, for the biggest research expedition in the Arctic, The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC). It is produced in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute and Radio Weser.TV, where the full episode with music will be played.
Episode Description:
If anybody has an idea of the uncountable number of data points retrieved during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) one-year ice drift, it can only be Antonia Immerz. Antonia is the data manager of MOSAiC, she has joined leg one and leg four onboard Polarstern, and she is one of the few lucky ones (or should we rather call her 'brave'?) who took a bath in an Arctic melt pond. In this ninth episode of The IcePod, we slightly change perspective by looking at MOSAiC from a data point of view.
Since 2018, Antonia has been coordinating the data activities and infrastructure to support the Arctic ice drift at the Alfred Wegener Institute. By taking on this role, it came together very well for Antonia who had spent her childhood snorkeling at the tropical beaches of Papua New Guinea. With Antonia, hosts uncover the perfect career development for a data scientist involved in such a big project like MOSAiC. Following her childhood dreams for the marine world, Antonia ended up just in the perfect place to combine her technical skills with her fascination for the ocean.
Now, the data is where the magic happens. 200 terra bytes of data, about 15,000 actions to retrieve data, and Antonia knows there is much more data available from the comprehensive central Arctic study that came to an end this past October. For her and the data team, the work even reaches a new level, now that everybody is interested in analyzing the data. All success relies on the human factor, and communication is key to make it work – these are some of the lessons learned for Antonia to efficiently support MOSAiC members working with the data. If you listen carefully, Antonia even whistle-blows some (not-so-secret) tricks how to potentially get access to data, even if you haven't been involved in the project earlier.
Leg four was also called the hugging leg – it probably was the only place on Earth where one hundred people were still allowed to have physical contact while the rest of us, half-face covered by masks, made a huge effort to smile-with-eyes at the supermarket's cashier or the post office lady. In the meantime, they had a good time onboard Polarstern during 'Art & Wine' nights, and acting, knitting, wood carving, or jam sessions. As a special treat of this IcePod episode, listeners will get to hear the MOSAiC song composed by Matt Boyer, Ingo Schuffenhauer, and Felix Linhardt played during the last CTD cast during leg four. Antonia was thus lucky enough to celebrate her birthday in the Arctic with great music and a party hosting around one hundred people – seeking some harmony, peace, and love in the time of Corona.
To access the podcast, go to:
https://theicepodcast.home.blog/
For questions, contact:
Kirstin Werner
Email: kirstin.werner [at] awi.de
Sara Pasqualetto
Email: sara.pasqualetto [at] awi.de