Daily Reports

Position: 88° 22.3' N, 85° 11' W, temperature - 34° C, air pressure 1027 hPa, wind 4 knots from N. Ice drift 0.5 knots towards west. We worked on building new work space; putting on the roof and building enclosing lee walls of snow blocks. The sauna is housed in an annex. The 24-hour full moon makes a very special out- door working environment.

Position: 88° 27.3' N, 84° 17' W, temperature - 23° C, air pressure 1014 hPa, wind 15 knots from the E. Ice drift 0.2 knots towards SSE. Work on the new work space and hydro hole continued. Found the compressor compartment totally packed with windblown snow. Cleared out the snow and put heat on.

Position: 88° 34.7' N, 85° 58' W, temperature - 24° C, air pressure 1043 hPa, wind 8 knots from the E. Ice drift 0.1 knots toward south. Moved two large wooden boxes and six Zarges boxes of food to the new camp area and moved five fuel bladders across the recent crack at our temporary storage area. The weather station was now 15 meter from a pressure ridge and was rigged down and moved to the new camp area.

Position: 88° 36.6' N, 84° 08' W, temperature - 23° C, air pressure 1038 hPa, wind 28 knots from ESE. Ice drift 0.3 knots towards west. A new crack has opened 0.5 meter half- way between the new and old camp area. The thermistor string is now 7 meters from the major zone of ice ridging and we mounted an attempt to get it out. Drilled a hole next to the frozen in upper chain and was able to hook on to it and recover the 300 meter string safely. Lost the weight at the end because of a corroded shackle. Will await instruction on how to download the data before redeployment.

Position: 88° 33.5' N, 70° 59' W, temperature - 23° C, air pressure 1017 hPa, wind 10 knots from S. Ice drift 0.1 knot towards northeast. Made a ski sled and moved the generator and some materials to the new site. Put up a new generator shed.

Position: 88° 35.8' N, 64° 52' W, temperature - 14° C, air pressure 995 hPa, wind 12 knots from NE. Ice drift 0.3 knots towards south. Had problems with getting the hovercraft engine to respond to the throttle position. Consulted Griffon Hoverwork. Problem was a loose wire and also in the end a parted pipe connection to the intercooler. Moved the hovercraft to a site 300 meter away where the new camp will be. To bed at 0330 hours.

Position: 88° 40.8' N, 63° 31' W, temperature - 18° C, air pressure 995 hPa, wind 28 knots from ESE. Ice drift 0.3 knots towards west. The strong wind with gust up to 40 knots had created snow drifts around the hovercraft and filled the lift fan intake completely. Dismantled the work space around the abandoned hydro hole and moved the materials to the temporary storage area. Mobilized the hovercraft to move to a better site, but could not achieve sufficient rpm's. Need advice to tackle the problem.

Position: 88° 45.3' N, 59° 07' W, temperature - 32° C, air pressure 1008 hPa, wind 13 knots from NNW. Ice drift 0.2 knots towards south. The generator would not start and repair took all morning. Continued to haul equipment out of the demolished storage area and move fuel by pumping. Rescued the large 14 m x 9 m tarp from the remains of the ice hangar.

Position: 88° 55.8' N, 60° 54' W, temperature - 21° C, air pressure 1003 hPa, wind 28 knots from E. After resting from 1200 hours to 2000 hours, moving cargo and pumping fuel continued without stop until Sunday at 1500 hours.

Position: 88° 59.4' N, 56° 44' W, temperature - 31° C, air pressure 1020 hPa, wind 10 knots from E. Ice drift 0.1 knots toward south. Emptied and recovered two fuel bladders caught in a pressure ridge. Kept moving the fuel farther away from the active area. Also started moving food and equipment.

Position: 89° 06,9' N, 57° 03' W, temperature - 38° C, air pressure 1017 hPa, wind 6 knots from ENE. Ice drift 0.1 knots towards south. Skirt control repaired. Had problems getting the hovercraft off the bed created by six weeks of idling in the same spot.

Position: 89° 11.24' N, 61° 11.8' W, temperature - 30° C, air pressure 1009 hPa, wind 13 knots from NNW. Ice drift 0.3 knot towards southeast. Shooting seismic reflection all day. Continues work on the wall to improve work space. The large through- going crack has widened to 15 meters and pressure motion started. Most of the fuel pillows are now isolated on a separate floe with 15 meter wide lead in between.

Position: 89° 09.0' N, 71° 44.5' W, temperature - 20° C, air pressure 1027 hPa, wind 27 knots from WNW. Ice drift 0.4 knots towards east. Shooting seismic reflection all day. This is the position of the outcrop of the major unconformity. Recovered the dredge, only one rock specimen with sharp edges recovered. The Kevlar line had disintegrated between 100 and 200 meter, we had to cut the line after recovering the dredge. Airgun started to fire only occasionally, had to recover the gun for maintenance.

Position: 89° 06.2' N, 83° 42.0' W, temperature - 26° C, air pressure 1035 hPa, wind 15 knots from NNE. Ice drift 0.2 knots towards east. Shooting seismic reflection all day. Deployed the camera sled at 0130 hours in 1450 meter water depth. Obtained about 30 minutes of video with sled moving. A half meter long eel- like fish came into view. During the afternoon, we moved over an area looking like a slide scar. Deployed the corer and let it hang at 1000 meter in anticipation of a suitable target.