Lomonosov Ridge, Arctic Ocean, September 5, 2025

My name is Cristina Bernárdez, and I work as a high school teacher in Lysekil. Right now, however, I have swapped the classroom for an icebreaker! I am aboard Oden, breaking through the ice at the Lomonosov Ridge, in the heart of the Arctic. My goal on this expedition is to bring polar research back to my students – and hopefully to many others. I ask questions, take photos, listen, and learn as much as I can about what the scientists do and why.

Collecting materials for teaching

Because internet access is limited on board, some of my fantastic students at home are managing my accounts. Thanks to them, the whole school can follow what I am experiencing here. At the same time, I am planning how to use everything I see and learn in my teaching – and gathering material for future lessons.
I am also collecting plankton samples for my students to examine. Since plankton biomass is low in the Arctic, I need to filter many liters of water to concentrate the organisms. All the data the ship collects at short intervals – position, water and air temperature, and more – will also be a valuable tool for the students as they explore the Arctic Ocean.

At the ice edge with the researchers

Sometimes I get to take part in sampling, which is the best way to really understand the scientists’ work and results. Two days ago, I joined a helicopter flight to an ice station to assist Lina Rotermund from Dalhousie University in Canada. The flight itself was breathtaking – a new perspective on the icy landscape I had been observing for weeks. We flew ahead of Oden, which later caught up with us, making the return trip easier and shorter. The pilot and scientists chose a site suitable for sampling and safe enough to work on for a few hours.

Lina and I worked at the ice edge, secured with harnesses and a line attached to an ice drill a few meters from the edge. We lowered a Vertical Microstructure Profiler (VMP), an instrument with ultra-sensitive probes that measures temperature, salinity, and small variations in water movement (shear) several times per second. This allows scientists to examine every centimeter of the water column, down to 500 meters, and understand how well-mixed the water masses are. The instrument must fall freely, so the line cannot be taut – requiring speed and focus during deployment.

A quiet and serious landscape

It felt reassuring to have a polar bear guard nearby, especially when my eyes were fixed on the water and concentration was total. The hours were intense, and my sense of time disappeared. The only distraction was a small seal that surfaced several times, curious about what we were doing.

The landscape was indescribably beautiful. Quiet. Serious. Towards the end, the sun broke through, and when everything was packed back into the helicopter, we had a cup of hot coffee and savored the magical feeling of standing on a drifting ice floe in the middle of the Arctic.