brice loose: we have entered into this era called the new arctic.refer, refer to it as, and the ice cover retreats for much longer of the year and ice cover is often much thinner and so we can venture in, we can stay longer, we can conduct more detailed examinations. we're here with- with these multi-faceted goals in mind. so we have groups studying chemistry, we have groups studying microbiology, we have groups focused on birds and mammals, and we have groups focusing on the physical oceanography. so we have the opportunity here to come in and characterize this area, which has gone through quite a tremendous change in the last 5 to 10 years. we can start to highlight the changes that may be taking place. [talking in background] all of that will keep us going seven days a week, 24-hours a day for this entire 18-day cruise, so that we can make the most of every single moment that the ship provides us. narrator: holly morin, also from the uri graduate school of oceanography is a marine mammal scientist. she is the expedition coordinator for the studen