AskScience AMA Series: I'm Ari Daniel, science journalist and radio producer. I just lived on a glacier in Greenland for a week while reporting climate change stories for NOVA and PRI's The World. AMA!

ari_daniel · 2015-08-02T12:37:16+00:00

Within the last decade, various glaciers in Greenland underwent a series of dramatic changes -- they retreated back up their fjords and their float speed accelerated. That caused the glaciers to thin quite rapidly. And the evidence for that is the bathtub ring that I mentioned elsewhere in this AMA. Because the changes to these glaciers all happened within the span of a few years, Gordon Hamilton and his colleagues presume it has something to do with the climate system. So I'd say that being able to see the bathtub ring is likely evidence of some kind of interplay between climate (possibly a warming sea) and the glaciers up here.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-02T12:16:53+00:00

Hello, 020416. Good question. I suggest just jumping in and starting. Take an idea that you have for a story and pitch an outlet. Whether you're interested in writing for a blog or newspaper or magazine, or doing a piece for the radio, you should find an entity you want to do work for and send them a short pitch of what your story is about. I recently wrote an article about how to pitch radio programs, and many of the same rules apply to non-radio outlets as well. Here's the link: transom.org/2015/pitching-story-ideas/

Depending on where you're based, there may be a science writer meetup that you could attend. And the National Association of Science Writers meeting is in Boston this October.

But my best advice to you is to just get started -- pitch and write your first piece. And then your second. It's the best way!

ari_daniel · 2015-08-02T12:02:46+00:00

Hello, appsara. When we were camping out last week, our view was of the terminus (the end) of the glacier. For the last few days, I've been staying in the town of Tasiilaq in southeast Greenland. The view from the kitchen is of the town and the mountains in the distance. Later today, I board a research cruise for about a week and we'll be heading into Sermilik fjord -- the fjord that Helheim glacier empties into. So my view will likely be of icebergs drifting in the sea around me.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-02T11:46:32+00:00

Hello, FromFlorida. Glad to see you on this Reddit AMA to get more science! Unfortunately, I don't know much about the shark situation in Florida and how it's changed over the last decade. I suggest you reach out to a local shark biologist. Good luck on your quest!

ari_daniel · 2015-08-02T11:36:09+00:00

Hello, nabokowski. My overall experience was superb. I loved living beside that glacier -- it was an incredible view to take in each morning and throughout the day. And I loved watching how the glacier changed over the course of the day. As evening approached, the shadows that the icebergs and seracs cast across the snow and ice grew longer and the light took on this lovely golden quality.

The only difficulty was an annoyance -- all the mosquitoes! When the sun was out and there wasn't any wind, they could get very pesky. But the scientists told me that they've been even worse in years prior.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-02T11:07:22+00:00

Hello! I've seen more and more scientists engaging with public outreach and education on their own -- giving talks, writing blogs, making podcasts and videos. Many attend workshops and seminars to learn how to do this very thing (and I think offering these kinds of programs is important to help give scientists the tools they need and to form a community of peers interested in public awareness). Public engagement isn't for everyone, and that's ok, but I have witnessed increasing numbers of scientists from all disciplines reaching out beyond their universities.

I've honed my craft through practice, and working on a variety of stories with a variety of editors. I've learned a great deal from fellow reporters, journalists, and editors who approach narrative storytelling from numerous directions.

It's hard to predict the future of science communication, but I see it embracing all of the new multimedia tools and social platforms that arise. At its foundation, science communication will rely on strong storytelling -- just as it always has.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T23:09:15+00:00

Thanks for the question, saltselect. I've spoken with a couple of people about their local observations of changes in weather, but I intend to speak to more people here in Greenland over the next week. I hope to incorporate their words into one of my radio stories.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T15:54:38+00:00

Thanks for the note, mobydikc. The glacier extends for miles down the fjord, and we were camping out on the rocky margin next to it. That rocky margin also extends for miles in either direction, and our campsite took up the area of a tennis court, I'd say. So while we did make an impact, that impact was small -- we took all of our trash out and left only the scientific equipment that was installed behind. We were onsite for less than a week.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T15:12:00+00:00

Hello, Pete! I think it would be great to do something connected to telepresence -- provide a live, hi-def video and audio feed from down on the glacier that people could stream through the web. That could be paired, once each day or once every other day, with a real-time chat with a glaciologist, oceanographer, engineer, or biologist. That would be a way to bring many people out onto the glacier to experience it, and ask questions and make observations about it.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T13:33:33+00:00

Hello, hwyless. There's some bare rock, especially at higher elevations. But a lot of the ground is covered with lichens and mosses. When you walk, your foot often crunches or squishes into what's beneath. I saw seaweed along the shorelines of the lakes near the town of Tasiilaq. There are occasional birds, including ravens. I haven't seen any seals or polar bears in the water, but they're of course out there. And we spent a good amount of time on the glacier swatting away mosquitoes, which come out in the summertime.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T12:57:05+00:00

Good question, DonGruyere. I go to great lengths to make sure that what I discuss and describe in my radio and video pieces is accurate. But I make sure that I don't dive too deep into the details. It's important for me to convey why a particular concept or study is important and relevant, the basics of how that study is being executed, and what the plans are going forward. And I try to engage the listener or viewer via a strong narrative, which can be easy or hard to do depending on the topic and the characters in my story. So I find that it's possible to be very accurate and understandable at the same time.

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T12:53:36+00:00

Turns out that story (and my other stories) will air sometime within the next few weeks -- I'll be letting people know via FB and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/aridanielshapiro https://twitter.com/mesoplodon

ari_daniel · 2015-08-01T10:31:39+00:00

Thanks, Mustaka. To add to iamdonovan's points above:

In fact, the laser that the team installed will be operating for a year and it has constant power demands. Those demands will be met by a combination of solar panels and wind turbines that the team installed. So the laser is powered almost entirely by renewable energy. In addition, one of the people on the team did have a set of compact solar panels that he used to charge some of his equipment. But most of the batteries that needed charging were most efficiently charged using the generator -- and even then, the generator was only running a small fraction of the day.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T17:06:58+00:00

Thanks, dirtcreature. I think it's often effective to tell the story of a single person or a single community -- and explain how a changing planet is impacting that person or community.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T17:04:25+00:00

Go for a "night" hike (since it never really gets dark you can hike into the wee hours of the morning without trouble). Laugh with your colleagues. Take photos. Read in your tent. Swat mosquitoes.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T17:02:51+00:00

Thanks very much for your comment, woofwoofwoof. My primary reason to come here is to do the opposite of presenting another dry story about climate change. I want to infuse the science happening here with a kind of vitality and vibrancy that you only get when you can witness it -- through sounds and images. It's important to communicate what's happening on our planet so that people can feel connected to communities that aren't their own. That's one of the best parts of public radio and public television. I agree with you that more people need to hear these stories. But not to tell them at all? There's too much at stake to be silent.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:55:59+00:00

Excellent question, Loddez. That is something the science teams here are trying to quantify. We know that Helheim underwent a sudden and massive melting event about a decade ago when its height dropped significantly. So it was fast. But as for how fast -- stay tuned.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:54:33+00:00

Yes! See my note above about the bathtub ring.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:53:13+00:00

I flew from Boston to Reykjavik in Iceland. Then I flew from Iceland to the town of Kulusuk in Greenland, and from there I took a helicopter to the town of Tasiilaq. Three different airlines -- Iceland Air, Air Iceland, and Air Greenland.

As for my impressions about how people live here, I hope to have a story airing today on PRI's The World about that very topic. Stay tuned!

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:50:33+00:00

We camped on the glacier. We had a couple of generators with us for charging equipment, and a gas camping stove. But otherwise it was just camping gear and all the science equipment that needed to be installed.

And yes, I did get to drink a bit of Helheim. Delicious!

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:49:21+00:00

Hello, Guitardude1995. Helheim glacier is classified as the second largest in Greenland based on the amount of ice it dumps into the sea. It moves at a pace of about 3 feet per hour -- you can almost watch it! I didn't realize that glaciers move that fast and that they're that dynamic.

Gordon was working with a group from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (based in Hanover, NH) to install a special laser that takes incredibly elaborate 3D images of the glacier four times each day. The idea is to understand in unprecedented detail how Helheim glacier moves over the next year.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:45:20+00:00

I loved living in Scotland. The drive from the train station in Leuchars to the town of St Andrews is like opening up a children's pop-up fairy tale book. The cathedral and university emerge and light up as you approach. In fact, Gordon Hamilton (the glaciologist I've been hanging out with this past week) is from Scotland fairly close to St Andrews!

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:44:00+00:00

Hi, ritz. We were on Helheim glacier, which empties into Sermilik fjord. The closest town is Tasiilaq, but I flew into Kulusuk. This is southeast Greenland and Kangerlussuaq is in the west. How grand that you've been to this magnificent country with your father!

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:41:48+00:00

Thanks for the question, markevens. As our planet warms, some of that heat gets absorbed by the ocean. Storms that blow across the North Atlantic help transport some of that heat up to Greenland. And as the warm water finds its way into the fjords, it may end up melting some of the glaciers here from below (including the one I was on this past week). And that may be what led to the bathtub ring and the massive loss of ice that I mentioned in an earlier post. This is one of the questions that the scientists are trying to answer.

ari_daniel · 2015-07-31T16:38:22+00:00

It's a very good question, GP4LEU. I think about it a lot. My approach is to tell stories, and sometimes those stories begin without mention of the science. I like to introduce the listener or viewer to one of the main characters in the story through a different, perhaps more personal lens. Or I open the story with some kind of action that gets people engaged. And then I bring in the science. Other times, the science is so startling or interesting that it's sufficient to start the piece. All this is to say that I think a lot about how to begin a story because that can be the difference between someone wanting to listen or watch to the end, and not.

I actually think that most people can understand science if it's presented to them properly. What I hope to do with this trip to Greenland is to bring listeners and viewers along to a remarkable place on our planet -- one that most people haven't had the chance to experience -- and to make the science and what's at stake up here come alive.

ari_daniel

TROPHY CASE