Blogs

We worked down river as far as the ice tunnel taking GPS waypoints for the most important outcrops. We located some of the older horizons and found parts of giant ammonite, Otoceras, which would have reached the size of a bicycle tire.

I måndags när vi flög in över området såg det ut som om det bara bestod av gammal sjöbotten och sten utan vidare biologiskt liv. När vi landat frågade piloten oss vad vi skulle göra i denna stenöken, ”här finns ju inte ett liv”.

We all joined Oden Wednesday last week. Not knowing when our first CTD station would be, we immediately – well, after fika – started unpacking to be prepared. But first, let me explain to you what a CTD is.

After settling our camp in Hall Land, our team started the scientific sampling that is essential to be able to measure the ecosystem structure of this very High Arctic site.

We trekked to the far side of Stensiö Plateau today (approximately 4 km) to find an access out onto the north facing cliffs along the coast. We are again trying to locate the “Stegocephalian horizon” to find more fossils of aquatic temnospondyl amphibians.

Spent the morning resting and packing our fossils for transport back to Sweden. Everything needed to be marked with GPS coordinates, labeled and inventoried so that we have an accurate record for the registers in Uppsala.

Today was exhausting but productive. We decided to tackle our second objective, which was to sample the famous “Stegocephalian horizon” on the far side of Stensiö Plateau.

The sun was out as we set off for our collecting trip. We packed wrapping paper, sample bags and small chisels for our assault on the concretions. We were not to be disappointed.

After leaving Thule Air Base we had a smooth ride up to Smith Sound in Nares Strait where sea ice clogged the entire passage northward. This happened somewhere around 78°30’N.

Our project, Arctic Islands, broadly aim at evaluating the potential effects of such marginalization on ecosystems properties and the ability to deliver critical ecosystem services in Arctic environments.

The weather has cleared but it is still chilly. Yesterday was certainly not wasted. We climbed up the nearest peak and circled round the valley. It is fairly clear that the upper part of the succession is not exclusively marine but rather comprises a complex sequence of shallow near-shore to lagoonal-deltaic and fluvial rocks.

Woke up to the sound of pounding rain on the tent roof. Warm and dry in the sleeping bag, but it means a muddy introduction to the work, or worse being grounded until the weather clears.

Forskare och besättning arbetar hårt med att göra all utrustning klar för provtagning. Trots det hårda arbetet så är det många som inte kan låta bli att beundra den vackra omgivningen.

We flew in two shifts this afternoon from the Danish military airstrip at Mestersvig. We got to Mestervig first by Twin Otter aircraft from Constable Point and then packed our gear onto the waiting helicopter.

After waiting all day we were finally able to access our equipment and provisions. Everything is in order.

After two nights in Kangerlussuaq I think we know the town. But we certainly do not know the amazing surrounding nature!

Medan besättning och tekniker lämnade Kangerlussuaq för att flyga till isbrytaren Oden, passade många forskare på att planera in arbetsmöten och utforska området.

All of the scientific crew that will take part in the Petermann Glacier 2015 expedition will travel to Greenland tomorrow in order to meet up with Oden in Thule.

Det är ett litet samhälle, nästan som en liten by, som har färdats genom den Arktiska oceanen. 70 människor har sedan embarkering i Barrow varit våra kollegor, kompisar, vänner och familj. Vid ankomst och avmönstring för forskarna i Tromsö löses stora delar av detta samhälle upp.

Här kommer mitt sista resebrev från SWERUS-C3. Allt praktiskt forskningsarbete är avslutat och vi har endast resan över en liten bit av Karahavet och Barents hav kvar.