We are now staying put in the ice. We are waiting for a possibility to go back to Herald Canyon. We were there a few days ago and did not manage to get any work done. The swell was too high, and so was the risk of damage to our equipment. Therefore we, instead, went back into the ice and are now working on summing up, writing the cruise report and catching up on some sleep. A cruise report is meant to make a summary of what we actually have accomplished during this expedition science-wise. How many samples we have taken, what kind of data, where, preliminary results, all in an overview but with details about the sampling and analytical procedures. The changes we made from the original plans were sometimes substantial due to circumstances. These are really easy to forget so it is vital to write them down while you can still remember. Each work package has delegated to each and every one of us to contribute so laptops are really clicking away now. Every corner is taken and people are getting things together. Taking extra pictures of equipment arrangements to get it all in there.

In other words, this situation is really chaotic despite the calm Still, we do some more sampling, but we are in a limbo at the moment. We have bottles prepared in “Julia and Henry´s methane corner”, but we don´t know. We can´t really pack everything yet, so – yes, much in between.

A few days ago we when we were about to leave the ice I was sad. I loved the ice, (still do J), and was not looking forward to open water. However, when we left the ice edge there was the best send-off I think anyone could have imagined. Me and Christoph Humborg were discussing data in the main lab when I get a call – two polar bears on starboard. We jumped out, I grabbed my binoculars and we saw them. Cool! They sort of disappeared and then Christoph laughed and said  ”OK, let´s go and see some walruses”. I have been really keen to see a walrus, and said – yeah! Sure thing. We stood up in the front, and guess what. Walruses! We saw three instantly. We shook our heads and laughed heartily. What a silly coincidence. We tried to ring some people on the internal phones, and saw that several were already out. Good.

After this, I went to get my camera and took some photos, but I could never have imagined what I would see next. In total I think I have now counted over 150 to 200 walruses in large hoards on the ice. AND, I counted in total NINE polar bears! Nine! This was insane. They were everywhere. Some were sleeping/resting. One was sitting back on an ice float going up and down with the swell. One was eating a walrus, pretty bloody fur around the face. Some were white but most were yellow. One was a really dirty shade of yellowy gray. One was sitting peacefully on the ice, and we came by with this monstrous metal ship, and it looked at us and frowned (if they can do that... haha) and jumped off the ice float and swam away. Can you believe this? I almost can´t, and I was there. I had my phone and tried to get hold of everyone. Despite this, there were people on board that missed this event. Sorry guys. I feel bad, but it was difficult to leave and try to find you. I tried the phone! I was out for a long time, and even after the actual excitement had cooled off we were still excited. I was lost for words and stated this many a time to my colleagues out on deck. Many people had the chance to see all this and thousands of photos were taken. The ice edge – that´s where it all happens.


 

The open water gave some new experiences. Swell. Swaying of the ship. Securing of equipment had to be looked over again, and it now became quite clear that heavy gear and things that will soon have to be moved into storage for leg 2 while we are away and people do other things on board, would have to be moved large distances across the ship. This felt suddenly a little more daunting a task when the ship was moving. In the ice we are so spoilt with stable conditions. Sure, the frequent shudder and vibrations, and sudden almost quaking from heavy ice breaking, but not this rolling up and down.

It was decided rather quickly when in the open water that we would continue in a grid that we had drawn, but not do any deployments of CTD or sediment coring equipment. After a while we also decide to go back to the ice edge – for the stable conditions to await a possibility to go back and do the work we wanted. This is where we are, and for now it does not look as if we will go back to Herald Canyon, but rather head for Barrow straight away. We will have to wait and see. The times of arrival on Barrow, and the flights etcetera are fixed times, so we can´t go back early. Of course we would rather take every opportunity we can to get more data while we have the chance!


 

I have not turned my night shift back to a day schedule, but tried to stay up for important meetings, and discussions, but mainly tried to keep my shift. This has been good. Tiring to not stick properly to the shifts, but on the other hand I felt I got more done during the more quiet nights. There is also a very good reason to work in the UTC-night here. Guess what? This is actually the local DAYTIME. And for the first time now I have seen the sun set here in the Arctic. It actually got darker, and for the first time I felt sleepy during the “day” (local night). (Note the difference between sleepy and tired. Tired is a state of your body/mind, but the sleepy feeling is induced by being in the dark... ) The sun was down for almost an hour and a half! HA! Short night wasn´t it... :)

One day I had 4 hours sleep during the UTC-day, and then tried to sleep in the UTC-night too, but woke up at four in the morning totally awake. Heavy head still, so I chose not to go down to my computer. Instead I went to my favourite place – the bridge. First had a nice chat with the acoustics team for a while, and then hung out with Mårten at the steering wheel for a couple of hours. This was a lot better than staring at the cabin ceiling. We chatted away on life and were trying to catch a sight of Wrangel Island at the same time. The captain came up, and we notified him about it – and silly us – it was staring us right in the face. Well – not that easy to spot I guess, but we had been trying too long maybe. It was a lot larger than we (or me) expected. Somewhere I read that it is the island of mist and fog, and it sure was that night! A large pale silhouette. At least I have seen Wrangel Island though. That felt really good. Land again.  40 nautical miles away, but still. You could see it. Wrangel Island is the island where the last known mammuths lived. There are apparently tusks still left in many places there! This is awesome. Imagine that. Mammuths...

You know. The reality up here is not easy to grasp. Animals living on top of something that will melt away, in something that is so sparse that at times they can actually starve to death. To adapt to living conditions where you might only get to eat rarely – or suddenly there is food everywhere. A barren, dry, salty, misty, cold area of very large distances. I was in owe! I looked down at the ice. It is tempting to take a leap and jump onto it. See how it feels. Take a swim in one of the turquoise melt ponds. Next second I imagine what would happen. I would most likely miss the spot I aimed for. It would be probably impossible to grab onto the ice float I wanted, they are way too high, way too much ice, the water way too cold for any fine motor to work. I would not make it, even up onto the top. This is the harsh reality. Makes me feel small. Nature is great. I am right where I want to be. The Arctic is cool :)

Despite this: Today I really miss my kids. Hello guys. If you are there. You are the best! Until next week. Keep it cool, (haha!).