The waves never stopped rolling in, so we had to stay put during Monday, the planned departure day back to Khatanga. Constant strong wind from the northwest during 4 days, and with no tendency to stop. So alternatives had to be planned; was there any possibility to get out a Mi8 on Wednesday?
The week started as the last ended, with marvellous weather; blue skies with only a few cumulus clouds.
The weather is fine and our camp re-location is a ‘go’. It’s nice when the weather is good, because packing wet soggy tents, clothes, sleeping bags, etc., is NO FUN! After a few false starts, we manage to select solid ground for our second camp – it is a good location, both practical and scenic. Det här är del 2 av 2.
Wow! After a really long flight with a re-fueling break in Tura (not too common for a plane!) we arrived in Khatanga. The time change of 6 hours left many pretty zoned, but we still unload all the gear, get it to the hotel, and grab dinner before we settle into our hotel rooms. Work today involved 1) splitting our field gear out from the glaciology group, 2) buying and packing up food supplies, and 3) sorting our personal gear. My team of five is 'lean 'n mean', very efficient and finished with the job in no time – WE ARE READY TO GO! Det här är del 1 av 2.
Monday came with chilly winds and fair enough weather, good for geological digging and documentation. We had a go at our previously discovered river section within eyesight from our camp.
After the thunderstorm Sunday night the rain continued on and off on Monday until noon, and then blue skies again. All had a rest, sleeping until the brunch was served, and after that sorting up the mess after the storm. The evening was beautiful, comfortably warm and with a light breeze. We had our dinner outside on the river terrace; fried shir, boiled potatoes and melted butter, quite superb! However, it was hot again on Tuesday, more than 25 °C.
Most of the week has just been blue skies, beautiful Taymyr cumulus clouds over our head, and then changing wind speed; no wind mosquitoes, hard wind sand in our ears when working in sections.
Monday saw decent weather and we made good geologic work by logging two sections with marine sediments hosting a very rich mollusc fauna. This was the first time ever that I have found paired in situ Clamys islandica on Taymyr. This indicates that the sediments probably date back to the last interglacial, some 115–130 thousands of years ago. On Tuesday it was time for a shift to a new base camp. We knew about a good section about 20 km in a straight line further downstream and decided to aim for that spot as our Base Camp 2. A decent stretch for trimming in boats, with load and expedition members. It would under normal circumstances take us some 5–6 hours.
So, we are back in Khatanga and taking up the final field-work part of my project Taymyr revisited – a quest for Eurasian Ice Sheet margins and Late Quaternary megafauna extinction, funded by the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.
Det har varit ett par intensiva dygn i Khatanga. Mer än hälften av alla Pers plastlådor hade spruckit under frakten, vilket förstås inte alls var bra då det är där all torr mat ska förvaras i båtarna. Vi lyckades frambringa någon hel back i Khatanga, men annars har silvertejp och soppåsar kommit väl till pass.
Vi hade en trevlig sightseeingdag i Sankt Petersburg igår tillsammans med Elena och blev sen hämtade av Oleg i god tid till flygplatsen. Vi sitter nu på Krasnojarsks toppmoderna flygplats med WiFi och väntar på nästa flight till Khatanga.
The season actually begins long before you get to the field. A proposal more than 1 year in advance, the logistics, permissions, equipment, flights, etc., done by the great folks at the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. Even with all this preparation things can go wrong!
