Sunny and snowy weekend, second 24-h station and arrival at the North Pole today (Monday 16th) evening with North Pole celebration and Lindy Hop on the ice



For the last few days we have been really lucky with the weather - the sun has been shining and occasionally we got some light snowfall from the thin clouds. For each day we have had a helicopter flight - Saturday morning our group went out (without me) for flux measurements and yesterday a deep-sea camera and longlines were setup and now (Monday morning) they are out again with the helicopter to retrieve the instruments. 







Yesterday during the day most of us had a relaxed day - except for the fishing people and those working with the Bean net. As we are reaching the North Pole later today (Monday), there are several small things planned for the celebration - and thus yesterday everyone were sitting in the bar, painting on small cups which was sent to 4 km depth last night - as a small souvenir from the North Pole. These cups shrank to the size of shot glasses as being influenced by the pressure in the ocean depth. We also had time for dance practise yesterday - and decided to do the first filming of the Northpole dance on the helicopter deck in the late afternoon - having the ice, helicopter and the sun in the background. It was absolutely amazing to see this many happy dancers joining the dance (25 people + people filming, live guitar and saxophone)! We filmed it four times - today we will do it ON the ice! Right now, we are located at 89.92 N! Once I receive some photos of our dancing, I will post them also here for you to look at and be amazed of.

Furthermore, we decided to have our 24-h station (location B) just a few hours away from the real Northpole - this position was reached Sunday night at 4 am - as being the beginning of our 24h station. After the beam net we had a lot of CTDs, starting in the late afternoon and continuing over the whole night - a lot of people have been awake 24 hours and went to bed today after breakfast. 

For us others who were not busy with CTDs and water sampling over the night, with helicopter flights or busy with the morning CTDs today, we will be going out on the ice during the day. The first SAS group is already out on the ice, and the afternoon Ice station is dedicated for project ice work. Me and John will also go out on the ice today afternoon for 3-4 hours, bringing all our equipment for gas flux measurements over ice surface, in meltponds and leads, as well as take some water samples. The plan is that the Ice station will end by 5 pm, whereafter we will be transiting to the Northpole (takes a couple of hours). 

So, today will be a busy day for everyone - working on the ice or on the ship, in the lab or with the CTD (or sleeping after a long night). But we are all supposed to be ready by dinner and then looking forward to reach the North Pole approximately around 7.30 pm later today evening. There is a North Pole celebration planned for everyone - the idea is to go out on the ice and take a group photo, have a BBQ, perform some games AND dance Lindy Hop on the ice. I truly wish that the weather stays as beautiful as it is now - however I am a bit afraid it will change later in the afternoon with higher risk of fog.

Having this said, I cant describe how excited I am to reach the Norhpole today evening. I will update you all about our celebration, dancing and experiences at the Northpole during the next coming days - right now I need to go and prepare for the ice work.




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