People
43-DAY
TRAVERSE OF
ICE SHEET
MichaelC.Stewart'06,USCG1600-tonship'smasteroftheR/VKittiwakeinHomer,Alaska,
and his twin brother, Dr. Nate Stewart, a cold water marine biologist at Boston University, were
integral members of the field team of 4 that conducted major scientific research on a 2,400-
mile traverse of the Greenland ice sheet from April 24 to June 06, 2013. The other two members were Dr.
Chris Polashenki, a research geophysicist, and Dr. Zoe Courville, a research mechanical engineer, both of
whom work for the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab.
The crew flew from New York City to Kangerlussuaq to begin their Sunlight Absorption on the Green-
land Ice Sheet Experiment (SAGE). The logistics for a 43-day traverse and scientific exploration were
mind-boggling and involved three snow machines, sleds ful of gear, scientific equipment, fuel and food.
In fact, they took so much with them that they had to make a quick run to a drop-off point north of their
route to store some of their supplies; otherwise, the weight alone would have slowed their progress. At
the end, when they returned to Summit Station, al they had left were coffee and toilet paper!
Along their route, the team measured black carbon, snow density, sunlight absorption, and changes
in the specific surface area of the snow. Nate Stewart said, "Snow is incredibly effective at scattering
and absorbing sunlight, and as a result, is critical to the energy budget of the Earth. The Greenland Ice
Sheet is, in effect, a massive natural solar reflector." Knowing how much snow sits on the ice sheet from
year-to-year and measuring snow melt regularly helps scientists understand the Earth's complex climate
system. The twin brothers kept a detailed blog well-worth reading at coldregionscience.wordpress.com.
LOWELL '56 & FENDERSON '56
TEAM UP TO SAVE SHIP
BilLowel'56andDaveFenderson'56 WhenFenderson'56,whowaschiefengineeron Nowtheshiphasbeenreleasedfromdrydock
teamed up once again to save the USS
the CASSIN YOUNG from 1957 to 1959, heard of
with her hul in good working order. She has
CASSIN YOUNG DD-793 from going to
the possibility of the ship's demise, he contacted
returned to her place of honor with the National
the ship breaker's yard. The ship, famous for her
his classmate, Bil Lowel '56, a retired Bath Iron
Park Service at Charlestown, MA thanks to the
war record (she was hit twice by kamikaze fighters
Works (BIW) vice president. Bil took the time to
combined efforts of Dave Fenderson, Bil Lowel ,
who caused great loss of life but she managed to
meet with present BIW management to describe
and BIW who would not let the National Park
fulfil her wartime obligations), was delivered to
the situation in ful . Without hesitation, the BIW
Service give up on her. You can see the USS CAS-
the Boston Naval Shipyard in 1980 at Charles-
management made valuable contributions to the
SIN YOUNG history at http://www.nps.gov/bost/
town, MA as a memorial to those who built
hul repairs.
historyculture/usscassinyoung.htm.
Fletcher Class destroyers at the Boston Navy Yard
during WWII and the sailors who served aboard
them. Her berth has traditional y been next to the
USS CONSTITUTION.
Hul plating and other serious problems forced
the National Park Service to put her in drydock
for repairs in 2010. A thorough inspection re-
vealed that sections of the hul needed replace-
ment; consequently, serious consideration was
given to sending the CASSIN YOUNG to the
scrap yard.
mainemaritime.edu
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