RV Polarstern 2003

My main research cruise in 2003 was on board the German icebreaker RV Polarstern. This was part of the SAMS GreenIce and the AWI WARPS projects and the cruise was ARK XIX-1b. Polarstern pushed her way into the ice pack north of Spitzbergen and was allowed to drift for two weeks. Unfortunately the Trans-Polar Drift of sea ice wasn't working and we ended up going around in circles rather than being ejected in Fram Strait!

Spitsbergen:

Adventdalen in Spitsbergen before the cruise.	Finger rafting of new ice in Advent Fjord off Longyearbyen.	Longyearbyen from Advent Fjord.
Polarstern in Advent Fjord.	Svalbard pygmy reindeer.

Ice Camp 1:

AWI drilling team with Polarstern in the background.	Bow view of Polartstern from the ice.	A field shelter (called a "tomato" for obvious reasons) and Polarstern in the background.
View of Site 1 and the Tomato from Polarstern.	Crack! The next morning a lead had opened up right through the field site and the Tomato was in danger of disappearing into the open water.	A team was lifted over the side to attach the Tomato to the crane and get it back on board.

Ice Camp 2:

Part of the fieldwork involved overflights by aircraft. Here is "The Falcon" collecting meteorological data at frost smoke height!	The SAMS team were deploying strain- and tiltmeters to measure waves in ice. Here Martin and Duncan are digging some holes.	It wasn't always sunny! In the foreground is a field tent of Russian vintage with Polarstern in the murky background.
After a hard day's work...	This is how not to use the hot water drill. Trying to open a large hole in two-metre thick ice.	Martin pulling a kayak containing an EM ice thickness measuring system.
Icehenge.	Our transport to the field site, over a kilometre away across the floe, was a skidoo with a sledge or two attached.	Our taxi to and from work every day.
The airborne EM ice thickness measuring system being towed beneath the helicopter.

Sunset photos:

Although the sun did not set at this of year at this latitude it did get low enough for some nice lighting effects. Here is one of our marker flags in the polar "desert".	The low sun also highlighted patterns formed by the wind in the snow crust.	Me on the remains of an old ridge.
The ice obelisk and Polarstern lit up by the sunset.	Shard of ice silhouetted against the sunset.	Martin sitting on the ice shard.
Polarstern framed by a gap in an ice ridge.	Sunset with halo caused by light refracting through frost smoke.