North Pole, 17 August

Yesterday Oden arrived at the North Pole. It was generally a smooth ride to get here, with unusually little ice and a lot of open water. The science party and the crew gathered on the bridge to celebrate the arrival at the North Pole with live music and snacks. We were all very excited, and at 09:55 UTC Captain Erik Andersson sounded Oden’s horn to announce that we had arrived. This year feels extra special to me, as it is my third time visiting the North Pole, and once again it is 16 August. I have therefore been to the North Pole three times on 16 August, and I think this record is quite unique! I will celebrate my own “North Pole Day” for the rest of my life.

After the celebration on the bridge, the scientists were eager to go out on the ice for sampling and measurements. We moored to a stable ice floe with 1.3–1.7 m thick sea ice. Participants in the ECR programme went out on the ice to practise measuring sea ice properties as well as drilling and sampling ice cores. The ECR programme provides early-career researchers with unique opportunities to gain practical experience of polar fieldwork and collect data for their research. Overall, it was a very successful day of research; many of the work packages now have large amounts of data and samples to process, and the students are well prepared for more work on the ice in the coming weeks.

When I talk to people about what it is like to work as a scientist in the Arctic, I usually get a lot of questions about the North Pole. I guess it is because it is both a mythical place and a point in the Arctic that most people can relate to. One thing that I can tell you is that mysterious things happen at the North Pole: drones and other scientific equipment easily lose track of their position, pictures do not end up in the order in which they were taken, and birthday settings on social media offer surprises. For me as a scientist, the most magical thing about the North Pole is the thought of the 4,200 m of seawater beneath my feet – what is happening down there and how is it affecting our planet Earth? At the North Pole, all directions lead south, you can choose any time zone you want, and we are 20,004 km from the South Pole. It is a reminder that although we may feel very small and remote standing here on top of the world, our planet is not endless.

Greetings from the North Pole!

Hanna Farnelid
ECR Program Coordinator