It’s our window on the underwater world; a carefully prepared hole in the Arctic sea ice through which the science team have successfully retrieved their first seawater samples.

Two kilometres west of the Ice Base, a couple of sampling holes have been created. To the untrained eye, they’re not much to shout about, but after more than eight hours digging and drilling through the 1.5m thick sea ice, battling a continually refreezing surface in -35^oC air temperatures, they are everyone’s pride and joy and key to the Survey.  

The scientific work being undertaken is focused on the impact of carbon dioxide on the Arctic Ocean, with sampling taking place for both marine life and the CO2 chemistry of the water. A full list of the research projects can be viewed in our Science section. It is hoped that the research will offer novel “early year” data for this region.

Naturally, it was the first samples which caused the biggest excitement, and as they were hauled up from below the ice it was immediately evident there were tiny signs of life in them.

Scientist Ceri Lewis said: “It was just fantastic to start getting samples, and lo and behold, what should we find but our first visible Arctic wildlife – a large krill. This is just one of the marine creatures that could be affected by ocean acidification since its primary food source, microscopic sea-slugs, are thought to be vulnerable from the ocean’s changing chemistry.”

KITCHEN NIGHTMARES….

Meanwhile, despite her Polar experience, Ice Base chef Fran has been struggling with feeding the scientists and Ice Base personnel thanks to a frozen stove.

As she said: “ My normal home stomping ground is the Antarctic, where by comparison it is positively tropical with 24 hour daylight in the summer and sometimes temperatures of around -5^oC. Here in the high Arctic, with its dark nights and bitterly cold mornings, cooking is proving quite challenging.” 

Problem solved though, and we’re pleased to report the team say they’re eating well!

EXPLORER TEAM ENJOY A SUCCESSFUL DAY COLLECTING SAMPLES FROM UNDER THE SEA ICE

Far out on the Arctic sea ice, the explorers have also been celebrating a full day of collecting samples for the science programme.

Ann Daniels told the support team in London that they were all very excited by this first foray into the gathering of scientific data. “We’re off and up and running”, she said, “The process of collecting samples in this harsh environment is extremely hard work, so we are particularly pleased that so far the effort seems to be paying off.”

The seawater samples they’re taking with provide a valuable comparison with the fixed geo-position samples from the Ice Base, whilst the measurements and observations being made relating to the floating sea ice thickness will hopefully help modellers to get a clearer picture of how the sea ice may be changing.

At the last count, conditions for the team were reasonable (for the Arctic at least), with a short period of hazy sun during the day, a light breeze and only slight rubble on the ground. It is of course still very cold - at -35^oC – at least twice as cold as the average home freezer, and the team describe pulling their sledges across the ice fields as “like dragging a car with the handbrake on!”

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