Daily Reports

Position: 82° 07.80' N, 09° 44.2' W, temperature -1 °C, air pressure 1028 hPa, wind 8 knots from the E. Ice drift 0.1 knot towards S. Made a frame on port deck and put 1000 meter Kevlar line in. Reported to Polarstern with a summary of the past events.

Position: 82° 09.90' N, 09° 56.4' W, temperature +2 °C, air pressure 1027 hPa, wind 11 knots from the SSW. Ice drift 0.2 towards E. The Chief Mate and three of the Polarstern crew arrived by helicopter with equipment for cargo transfer. The priority was the disposable dangerous goods (used oil, batteries, empty fuel drums). Polarstern was now on station about 20 nautical miles to the west of the ice camp and each helicopter round trip was of the order of one hour.

Position: 82° 11.50' N, 10° 13.4' W, temperature +1 °C, air pressure 1029 hPa, wind 3 knots from the N. Ice drift 0.2 knot to the SE. Made a CTD cast to 1000 meter depth in the morning. Captain Wunderlich and the Chief Scientist arrived by helicopter at 1045 hours from a position about 11 nautical miles to the south of the ice camp. The purpose of the visit was to gather information about the situation at the ice camp for later consultation with the AWI logistics in Bremerhaven. From our standpoint, pick-up of the cargo would be a great help.

Position: 82° 13.57' N, 10° 27.8' W. Temperature +2 °C, air pressure 1026 hPa, wind 1 knot from the ENE. Ice drift 0.15 knot towards the SE. Polarstern was now at 81° 36' N, 06° 36' W. The cruise had taken advantage of the ice situation and moved the grid of geological stations to the north relative to the initial plan. An e-mail from Chief Scientist R. Stein informed us that there would be another geological station farther north and the Captain and the Chief Scientist would like to visit the ice camp by helicopter tomorrow morning. Had a shower in the sauna in the evening.

Position: 82° 14.08' N, 10° 35.3' W, temperature +4 °C, pressure 1023 hPa, wind 2 knots from the WSW. Ice drift 0.1 knot towards the SSE. The azimuth of the hovercraft was determined to 147 degrees from GPS measurements. At 0950 GMT the AWI Polar-5 aircraft was overhead and a brief contact was made. At 1800 hours, the data logging of the radiation flux instrument was terminated, and also for the weather station at 1915 hours (Norw. Summer time). All the equipment were dismantled and packed. Our remaining fuel is 45 liter of gasoline and 1600 diesel including Jet A-1.

Position: 82° 16.73' N, 10° 41.5' W, temperature -1 °C, air pressure 1021 hPa, wind 8 knots from the NNW. Ice drift 0.2 knot towards the S. Made a CTD cast down to 1000 meter depth. We moved cargo to the top of the pressure ridge that was formed by the destructive event in late March. This is considered the maximum safety to avoid being submerged as the summer melt progresses. A polar bear was walking around near the camp most of the day.

Position: 82° 22.85' N, 10° 51.6' W, temperature 0 °C, 1017 hPa, wind 8 knots from the NW. Ice drift 0.2 knot to the S. Overcast, rain during the middle of the day. Made one CTD cast to 1000 meter water depth. The hovercraft azimuth is now 148 degrees. Had a polar bear around the camp all day. Audun sorted food and repacked. We had to take down the Norwegian flag which has been flying from the mast on top of the hovercraft since 30 August 2014, because the rope broke. A new flag was put in.

Position: 82° 25.00' N, 10° 54.3' W, temperature 0 °C, air pressure 1014 hPa, wind 10 knots from the SSW. Ice drift 0.2 knot towards E. Sun shine until the afternoon and overcast in the evening. A polar bear visited the camp. The bear appeared timid and kept at a distance. The animal was mostly interested in fish we had to dispose of. Responded to the e-mail from AWI-logistics that we did not anticipate their assistance would be needed considering the separation between the ship and the ice camp.

Position: 82° 25.14' N, 11° 04.7' W, temperature 0 °C, air pressure 1024 hPa, wind 3 knots from the SSE. Ice drift 0.1 towards SSE. A CTD cast was made to 1000 meter water depth. The azimuth of the hovercraft is now 144 degrees and was 141 degrees yesterday. Audun spotted an Arctic tern in camp. Received an e-mail from AWI-logistics which expressed their understanding that our contact so far had been to explore possibilities not asking for assistance . The cruise plan suggests a minimum separation of at least 100 nautical miles between the ship and the ice camp.

Position: 82° 26.83' N, 10° 47.8' W, temperature 0 °C, air pressure 1024 hPa, wind 4 knots from the N. Ice drift 0.15 knot to the S. Continued engine maintenance and dismounted the compressor , air hoses and air bottles. The lead that opened behind the hovercraft and was closing at the beginning of the week is no at least 500 meter wide. For the first time we replenished our drinking water supply from the melt ponds. There is no detectable taste of salt. The azimuth of the hovercraft was 163 degrees on Friday and was now measured to 141 degrees.