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.
The camp was packed into our three Zodiacs a bit before lunch-time, and off we were in what seems to be good weather with blue skies. However, it took only half an hour when a storm hit us with constant rain for 20 hours and gradually increasing wind from the south – the direction of our journey. Half of it was on a very shallow river with a number of rapids (I stopped counting after the 6th) with only 20 cm water depth on which, of course, our heavily loaded boats got stuck. This journey soon turned out to fit well into a US marines Navy Seal “hell week” programme!
For us it was a test for strength, endurance and cooperation. With the boats stuck, they had to be dragged meter by meter and one by one over these bouldery rapids some 50 to 150 meters at each place. The wind getting harder and harder generated half meter high waves breaking at ours sterns and cascading us with water and filling the boats. However, we pressed on and reached our planned position a bit after two in the night, meaning a little bit more than a 14 hours journey during with a total travelled distance of 42 km – double the straight line distance due to the meandering river.
To make camp on the terrace 6 m above the river was not to think about, the winds were too strong. So we put up our sleeping tents on the beach that was a bit – but not much – better protected and hit our sleeping bags around 5 o’clock without having had any food after lunch the day before – we were just too tired.
Tents on the beach. Photo: Per Möller
After a good 8 hours sleep we made an effort to get up the kitchen tent in the still very strong and gusty wind. We managed, but with one broken tent pole and a form of the tent making its inner area only half of what it is under normal conditions. However, we could finally have a warm, decent dinner. So the whole day was spent for “survival”, but the lousy weather did not stop.
The next night the strong, gusty winds continued, and then the plentiful rain made the river rise by 40 cm. When we woke up some of the tents too close to the former water line had their tent vestibules flooded. It meant digging out level ground as close to the shore bluff as possible and relocating those tents, giving us room for a maximum 25 cm of water-level rise, or else we had to evacuate our beach location. More serious was that some of our Zarges boxes used as tent anchors also had been flooded during the night, with 10 cm of water standing in their bottoms. Logging sheets, expedition literature and some technical equipment were in different shapes of dampness, and we can only hope that it dries out. And only grey skies and rain showers the whole Thursday. Life has seen better days!
A fully loaded boat on the river. Photo: Per Möller
On Friday the wind eventually calmed down and we had spots of blue skies, and Saturday was even better. In the evening the wind was down to zero and with that came the mosquitoes. But we can live with that. We got two days of fruitful geologic work in a 35 m high river bluff 1 km from the camp. And if my guess is correct, we have a glaciation at the base, evidenced by glaciotectonic folding of sand, overlain by the true glaciation signal, a till. On top of this followed 30 m of clay and silt, deposited in a marine basin, with cold-water mollusc fauna at the base continuing into a warmer-water fauna upwards. My guess is that we have evidence of the Saalian glaciation at the base and on top of this, sediments from the last interglacial, the Eemian, to the top. We are thus back in time more than 100 thousands of years, earlier than our last glacial cycle, the Weichselian.
Kenneth also made an interesting find. Out of the river bluff further downstream bones from “half a mammoth” was sticking out, which he excitedly proclaimed to us after the find. This was a little bit of an exaggeration, but there were two gigantic teeth, still adjoined to the jawbone, a whole part of leg, a shoulder and ribs. Unfortunately – as often is the case – these mammoth remains were not sitting in their right place of deposition when the mammoth died. The remains have been sliding with the very active slope processes.
Mammoth remains. Photo: Per Möller
On Sunday it was time to relocate again to Base Camp 3. We feared for the worst having Tuesday in mind. The day started with beautiful weather – blue skies, some spread cumulus clouds and no wind. Camp was packed and we sailed off at 12 with a plan to reach a position 55 km downstream. And what a difference it was! Only the first 20 km we had the shallow waters and rapids where we had to man-haul the boats, but after that the river changed character and was mostly deep and we could cruise at comfortable speed, strong sun in our faces.
Fishing. Photo: Per Möller
The river cut trough one of the major ice marginal zones on Taymyr, the Syntabulskaya Ridge, but no good sections were seen, so we continued to our planned position and arrived at Base camp 3 (~72°52’N, 93°28’E) at 11 o’clock and put up our tents in a nice flowering terrace above the river. The kitchen tent was set up and freshly caught, and fried, sik was served a few hours later, after which most of us hit their sleeping bags.
Per Möller, Lund University