Dr. Ted Makysym of the British Antarctic Survey leaves an ice mass balance buoy (IMB) packed away in a yellow pelican case on sea ice in the Amundsen Sea. The device will drift with the ice, calling home four times a day with a weather report. Once the sea ice disintegrates, the low cost IMB will stop functioning. This is the first deployment of these systems in the Antarctic. Sea ice plays a key role in the global environment -- reflecting heat from the sun and providing a habitat for marine life.
