NASA is on the lookout for nearly 100 rubber ducks. These ducks were released in the arctic ice earlier in 2008 in an attempt to track the progression of ice cap melting in the arctic.
Scientists with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in September released the $2 rubber ducks through holes in the ice caps on the western coast of Greenland and hope that the ducks would float along the liquid surface below and eventually surface in the open water, revealing the path of meltwater as it flowed from beneath the ice caps. So far, none of the rubber ducks have been spotted, but NASA is requesting the public remain on the lookout. Each duck is marked with an email address and a little extra incentive for the finder to contact NASA:
NASA is offering a modest prize of $100 to the first person who finds a duck. The ducks have an email address stamped on them, together with the word “reward” in three languages, including Inuit.
The ducks may have become stuck in the ice, followed an unforseen track, or simply gone unoticed in the fast, cold northern ocean currents.