We’ve been at sea for two days now. At sea and at science: we turned the multibeam on as soon as we had got through the sea ice around McMurdo and had open water beneath us – a couple of hours after the crew hauled in the ropes at the station....
The sea ice is not part of our science. Though perhaps no one’s told it so – it seems to want to creep up on us from any direction, at any moment. Sea ice has been a tale of our first couple of days’ science, chasing us out of open water...
Travelled East, and woke up in yesterday. We’re in the Eastern Ross Sea, one of the westernmost parts of the World: we just crossed the 180 longitude line, and therefore the International Date Line. The ship’s operating on New Zealand time, and...
Den 30 oktober 2014 skadades ca hälften av antennerna i atmosfärradarn MARA under en storm med vindbyar på upp till 47 m/s. Dipolantennen av aluminiumrör, det övre röret på stolparna, bröts av. Delar av ställningen som håller upp antennerna...
Travelled a little too far it would seem: back to an internet-less World. We’ve entered the absolute epicentre of a satellite no-coverage zone, stuck between the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and we’re set to be here for some time. Conversation...
BBQ lunch, and an afternoon gathering up on the Bridge while we get play commentary over the phone. The internet’s down, you know…
After the first week or so, when objectives, locations, methods deployed, not to mention sleep patterns, were in a state of constant change, we’ve now settled into a phase of steady geophysics survey. The seismic survey was called to a halt...
I guess before I left I’d been worried life on board would get monotonous. There is a world of difference, though, between routine and monotony. It’s true: every day is essentially a copy of the previous. I come on shift at midnight. Take a look...
Just as there’s a whole new way of life on this boat, there’s a whole new language. Acronyms just start rolling off the tongue. We’re wrapping up the huge area of multibeam survey now, and a lot of people are rather happy they have something...
Gruppfoto efter att flaggan hissats. Foto: Lars-Göran Vanhainen Den 26 januari är Republikens dag. Då firas antagandet av Indiens konstitution från 1950 och ingen arbetar den här dagen. På morgonen kom en grupp från den ryska stationen...
We’re back in the west (or east, depending on which way you look at things). The 2nd leg of my part of the cruise has begun. The internet has returned. The Sun’s made an appearance for the first time in a couple of weeks… And begun setting...
Drygalski ice tongue in front of the Transantarctic Mountains. Photo: Sarah Greenwood You may think ice is just ice. White(ish). Frozen(ish). In the last six weeks (yes, six weeks today!) we’ve seen a whole host of many weird and wonderful forms...
I asked for some wind, to disturb the forming sea ice and give us some open water and clean data. 40 knot winds and breaking waves was not what I had in mind. The blue and white skies and seas look beautiful outside; my multibeam computer screen...
At 5 am on Monday, 45 days of science came to an end. We’d shifted our plans with the winds in our final survey area, and I guess someone had a word with the sea gods because the waters calmed down enough to get some decent multibeam data in the...
Land is in sight! The transit has been remarkably kind to us, the weather seeming to behave more or less as forecast. We’ve ducked and weaved and zigzagged our way between the pressure systems that line up to batter ships daring to sail this part...
Today Sunday 26 July, Swedish Icebreaker Oden steamed into the fjord where Thule Air Base is located on northwestern Greenland. This completes an 18 days long journey from southwestern Sweden to Thule. We have designed Oden’s route across the...
Medan besättning och tekniker lämnade Kangerlussuaq för att flyga till isbrytaren Oden, passade många forskare på att planera in arbetsmöten och utforska området – antingen till fots, med flygplan, bil eller cykel. Utsikt över Kangerlussuaq. Foto:...
Houses in front of the glacier near Kangerlussuaq. Photo: Martin Jakobsson After two nights in Kangerlussuaq I think we know the town. But we certainly do not know the amazing surrounding nature! It is rather spectacular, specifically close to the...
After waiting all day we were finally able to access our equipment and provisions. Everything is in order. We also checked the shotguns and ammunition and ran through the weapons cleaning and safety procedures with Lasse. We have been given 100...
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. Ben and Lasse took the first flight...
