NASA Briefs Media About First Arctic Oceanographic Voyage

MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-088 WASHINGTON - NASA will hold a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 8 to preview the agency's first dedicated oceanographic research voyage. During the mission, scientists will study changing Arctic climate and ice conditions affecting ocean ecosystems. The "Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment" mission, or ICESCAPE, will investigate how climate change in the Arctic may be altering the ocean's ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. The voyage will collect critical observations to compare to NASA's satellite views of ocean biology and sea ice. The data will improve scientists' understanding of this key component of Earth's climate system. The five-week voyage begins June 15, departing from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy. The ship will sail through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the northern coast of Alaska.