Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with arctic

Arctic winter photography + the aurora

elisynn — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:02:02 -0800

I'm heading up to the Yukon for three days this December, and I'm pretty excited. I'm interested in getting some nice Arctic winter photographs, especially of the aurora. Any tips for getting some good shots? I currently have a Canon G10 and a decent tripod, but not much else in terms of equipment. I'm trying to figure out what else I might need. Some sites say I should purchase a cable release, and other sites say I should have several spare batteries on hand, in case my first one freezes. I'd like to keep costs low, however, so if something's not going to be essential, I don't think I'd want to get it. I'm also worried as to whether my camera will even function in the Arctic winter.

Anyone have any tips, either equipment wise, or just general picture taking techniques for harsh winter conditions? I might be able to borrow a DSLR just for those three days, but that's far from guaranteed. Thanks!

Who the &*^% Goes to the Arctic in the Winter?

fourcheesemac — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:55:09 -0800

I need clothing/gear recommendations for a week in Barrow, Alaska. Arctic Filter: I am about to spend 8 days in Barrow, Alaska, my first trip to the arctic. Current ambient temps up there are around 0-10 degrees, -10 to -20 with wind chill, but can go as low as -30 ambient. It's dark, and mostly dry. But of course snow is a possibility. I'm not going there to hike, and will be mostly indoors, but will occasionally have to travel by snowmobile between remote locations (so figure an hour or two outside), and of course hope to walk a bit beyond town at least once, though not very far given the dark.

OK, so I get to buy decent outdoor gear on my grant budget for this, and I am carrying a lot of recording equipment with me, so traveling as light as possible is a major goal.

I haven't bought serious outdoor wear in a decade, and never for an arctic situation. Again, I don't need it to be full-bore outdoor survival gear, but I'd love recommendations for the lightest possible ways to stay warm and dry while remaining mobile, including specific recs for a) coats, b) boots, c) gloves, d) hats. Thermal underwear and socks as well. Let's say you had $1500-2000 to drop on an outfit for November on the North Slope. What would you buy? What do you own and love for serious winter situations?

Ooh, it's a bit parky... in.

randomination — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 04:22:45 -0800

Brrr. Our rented Victorian flat is getting a bit nippy. Help us insulate it. Does anybody have any good temporary insulation ideas?

Details: We're in a small flat in a Victorian townhouse. Now the temperature is dropping and autumn is in the air, it is starting to get really rather cold. Like, almost breath-turning-to-steam cold.

Obviously we'd love to knock the walls and floors down and insulate them with bits of sheep but as we are renting our landlords will probably not be happy with this. So we need some less permanent arrangements.

We are going to make sausages to stop draughts under the door, but heat seems to be particularly escaping from the top and the side of the front door. I don't know how to make a hoversausage.

As well as the front door, the floor (hardwood) is also very cold, and as for our bathroom (a one room extension, not part of the original house), I would not be surprised if an iceberg floated out of it one morning.

Oh, and we have electric storage heaters, for what its worth.

TIA

How do I find live music by up-and-coming bands in my area (NYC)?

kenzi23 — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:40:57 -0800

How do I find live music by up-and-coming bands in my area (NYC)? I'm getting interested in some indie bands and want to see them play, but they have already gotten big and are playing only in bigger venues. How do I find bands before they get big in small venues for not much money? And specifically how can I find bands of a particular type and where they are playing locally?

More specifically I'm interested in bands like the Arctic Monkeys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Maximo Park, Editors, Kaiser Chiefs etc. The are bands that don't really fit any particular category so it's hard to search by category, but if I can find a website that can help me find similar bands playing locally, that would be great! I am in the NYC area.

Five quid we'll find Starbucks there

randomination — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:54:21 -0800

Why are the north and south poles invisible in Google Earth? Just now, when I just tried to look in Google Earth, I got something that more resembled Euclid's migraines than a snowy/watery wasteland.

I understand why places like Baghdad, Pyongyang, Kashmir and my flat in south-west London are photographed in such loving detail. But are there really no satellite photographs of either pole?

Or is Google Earth just unable to handle them?

(Full disclosure: I stopped studying geography when I was 13)

Why will the ice caps melting cause the sea level to rise?

Mwongozi — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 14:52:15 -0800

Why will the ice caps melting cause the sea level to rise? If you put an ice cube in a glass of water, then allow the ice to melt, the water level stays the same - the ice displaces exactly as much water as is contained within it once melted.

Why, then, are sea levels expected to rise if the ice caps melt?

Science fiction on ice

aebaxter — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:44:36 -0800

I need recommendations for excellent science fiction books, movies, short stories (or anything, really) centered around life, scientific exploration, and/or research in the arctic, antarctica, or similar fictional extreme cold climates. Think the X-Files episode "Ice," or Firefly in a really really cold climate (I can't think of any literary examples). I realize there are many documentaries out there centered around this subject, but I'm specifically looking for science fiction.