Sampling day and night

John Prytherch (Stockholm University) and Sonja Murto (Stockholm University) in front of Oden when they are going to do their investigations of gas flows. To get the equipment out on the ice, they use sledges. In the red sledge there is a computer needed for the measurements and they use 12V batteries to power them out on the ice. Photo: Anna Stiby.

Arctic Ocean, evening 1 September, N86°02.8 W39°56.3

An easterly wind of 4 m/s is blowing and it is about -3 °C. Oden lies still in the ice under a cloudy sky while we wait for the CTD in the bow to come up from a depth of 3 300 meters so that we can continue our journey towards the next station. We are expected to arrive around 03 tomorrow, then we do further deep CTD throws and continue with ice station and network sampling during the day.

We are starting to see the end of this fantastic expedition so everyone is doing everything to ensure that we have time for as much important research as possible before we have to set course home to Sweden on 11 September. This has, for example, involved sampling even at night, where enthusiastic researchers have, among other things, drilled ice cores and sampled the seawater in the light of the midnight sun.

Today's photos show a little taste of what the researching chemists and meteorologists are doing.

Text: Maria Samuelsson, expedition coordinator

Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021

Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021
Amanda, Adam and Anna work with analysis of water samples in the chemistry lab. They determine, for example, oxygen content, acidity and how much carbon dioxide is present in the water.
Amanda, Adam and Anna work with analysis of water samples in the chemistry lab. They determine, for example, oxygen content, acidity and how much carbon dioxide is present in the water. Photo: Anna Stiby.
John launches his measuring instrument, a slightly upside-down chamber with air in it. This is used to measure how carbon dioxide and methane gas flow between the sea surface and the air. Carbon dioxide is taken up by the water from the air while methane flows from the water, where it is produced by bacteria, to the air.
John launches his measuring instrument, a slightly upside-down chamber with air in it. This is used to measure how carbon dioxide and methane gas flow between the sea surface and the air. Carbon dioxide is taken up by the water from the air while methane flows from the water, where it is produced by bacteria, to the air. Photo: Anna Stiby.
Lennart and Yannis prepare to receive water from to determine the age of the water via various chemical markers. Today it was a really cold and the foredeck was very slippery.
Lennart and Yannis prepare to receive water from to determine the age of the water via various chemical markers. Today it was a really cold and the foredeck was very slippery. Photo: Anna Stiby.
Marcus works to determine how much nutrients there are in the ice and water.
Marcus works to determine how much nutrients there are in the ice and water. Photo: Yannis Arck

Publishing date: 01 Sep 2021