82° North

On May 20 we crossed 80° North and that evening during the day's recap, the plan for the next day was to travel north north north, possibly to 81°. We buzzed with excitement at the novelty, the wonder of it all, the Facebook post we'd ultimately write. And then the sobering truth was illuminated - the sea ice concentration in the Arctic is low. NASA reported, "Every year, the sea ice cover blanketing the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas thickens and expands during the fall and winter, reaching its maximum yearly extent sometime between late February and early April. The ice then thins and shrinks during the spring and summer until it reaches its annual minimum extent in September. Arctic sea ice has been declining both during the growing and melting seasons in recent decades."

The ice that should be there - it's not there.

24 hours later, we'd crossed 82°. An announcement was made while we were finishing up dinner, and we politely if not urgently finished dessert, rushed to don coats and hats, and headed to the bow of the ship to mark the occasion. I celebrated the moment with and for my students - past, present, and future - who are the reason why I was standing there in the Arctic Ocean overwhelmed with wonder and experiencing what I called, "wonder-induced ADD."

Over those days, the ship's captain and naturalists reflected on the visceral, stunning, and seemingly irreversible vanishing of ice they have witnessed over the past 20 years. Their stories are personal and poignant.

I've come to know that celebration is often married to mourning, and in their stories I heard the nuance of this complicated and conjoined set of emotions.

So while I am astounded and grateful and pretty-damned giddy that we crossed this arbitrary yet potent invisible line, I know - we know - that we should not be on a ship in the third week of May in that part of the Arctic.

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Read more about the low sea ice in the Arctic this year at
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/arctic-wintertime-sea-ice-extent-is-among-lowest-on-record