Iced in
My last time in Ny-Ålesund was January 2015, and what I remember most is the sound of the wind. The air vibrates as it passes between the buildings and snarls in loud, dissonant tones, like every member of an orchestra rebelling against the conductor at once. The Ny-Ålesund wind is fierce.
In our first 24 hours on station, the wind has actually been been pretty calm. I was pleasantly surprised and hoping this meant we could go out on the boat. But friends, this is the Arctic, and when one thing goes right, there are about 50 million other things that can go wrong. I knew better than to get my hopes up. This ain't my first rodeo.
My team met for breakfast and discussed the weather conditions with the skipper, Erlend. He said there was some sea ice on the surface of the fjord that would make it difficult to operate the boat. We should wait a few hours and see if anything changes. My team agreed to his plan and used the extra time to finish setting up our equipment.
After lunch, I met with the skipper again. He had checked the harbor several times, he said, and there was no change. I asked if I could accompany him to the dock, and he agreed. As soon as I arrived, I could see exactly what he was talking about. A strong west wind had blown sea ice floes into the harbor overnight, and they were growing into a solid layer as the day went on. Teisten was iced in.
Not wanting to give up, I asked if we could use the boat's strong engines to drive through and break up the ice. This might be possible, answered Erlend, but then if the ice re-froze while we were sampling, we would be unable to get back into the harbor and would be stuck at sea. Obviously not a good idea.
As a final test, we tried using a small zodiac to break up the ice in the harbor. Maybe if Teisten got stuck at sea, we could use the zodiac to clear a path and allow us to get back to the dock. Erlend started the engine and began driving back and forth in place near the dock. After about 5 minutes, it became clear that the zodiac could not break free of the ice. Reaching over the side of the boat, Erlend picked up a piece of ice and laid it on the dock for me to see. I measured it with my fingers and estimate it was 8 cm (3 inches) thick. Definitely too much for a zodiac to handle.
We're iced in today, but I'm optimistic for tomorrow. The wind tonight should be from the east, which means the ice could get carried away from the harbor, setting Teisten free. We will see what the conditions are like in the morning!
In our first 24 hours on station, the wind has actually been been pretty calm. I was pleasantly surprised and hoping this meant we could go out on the boat. But friends, this is the Arctic, and when one thing goes right, there are about 50 million other things that can go wrong. I knew better than to get my hopes up. This ain't my first rodeo.
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| Sea ice near the dock in Ny-Ålesund |
After lunch, I met with the skipper again. He had checked the harbor several times, he said, and there was no change. I asked if I could accompany him to the dock, and he agreed. As soon as I arrived, I could see exactly what he was talking about. A strong west wind had blown sea ice floes into the harbor overnight, and they were growing into a solid layer as the day went on. Teisten was iced in.
Not wanting to give up, I asked if we could use the boat's strong engines to drive through and break up the ice. This might be possible, answered Erlend, but then if the ice re-froze while we were sampling, we would be unable to get back into the harbor and would be stuck at sea. Obviously not a good idea.
As a final test, we tried using a small zodiac to break up the ice in the harbor. Maybe if Teisten got stuck at sea, we could use the zodiac to clear a path and allow us to get back to the dock. Erlend started the engine and began driving back and forth in place near the dock. After about 5 minutes, it became clear that the zodiac could not break free of the ice. Reaching over the side of the boat, Erlend picked up a piece of ice and laid it on the dock for me to see. I measured it with my fingers and estimate it was 8 cm (3 inches) thick. Definitely too much for a zodiac to handle.
We're iced in today, but I'm optimistic for tomorrow. The wind tonight should be from the east, which means the ice could get carried away from the harbor, setting Teisten free. We will see what the conditions are like in the morning!
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