POLARSTERN - Log 5 - Fern vom Uni-Alltag (Teil 3)
Evgenia Bazhenova
RV ‘Polarstern’
12.08 Reykjavik- 17.10 Bremerhaven
14.08.08 I have nothing to do today so that I begin writing my diary. We are for the second day at sea but geologists can not start unpacking as the lab is occupied by geophysists.
On 11.08, Monday, we arrived at Reykjavik. But I did not get my luggage… As I understood, it could happen when you are flying with a stop. In the end, I received my rucksack on the next day one hour before the ship’s departure. But two more persons still did not get their personal belongings before the Arctic cruise…
RV POLARSTERN. Picture: AWI Bremerhaven
15.08.08 Reykjavik is a small town crowded with tourists. I even met some Russians at the hostel I stayed at. Naturally, one day in Iceland is not enough to go to the world famous locations but I hope I will return here.
‘Polarstern’ is a vessel made for people. There is everything you need. The ship looks like a tourist ferry. So we enjoy our time here as far as geological stations are planned in two weeks. Now we only have a parasound watch (for sea-floor location) for 2-4 hours a day.
18.08.08 Yesterday we had a meeting and every head of a scientific group told us something about the forthcoming work. Geophysists and geologists have the biggest plans. There is also an oceanographic, biological and meteorological group. We are now going along the west coast of Greenland but one can’t see the shore. The first geological station is planned in the Canadian archipelago area.
I am lost in time: we change the time almost every day in order to use the day light. Today we have worked on the core recovered in 1991. ????? ?????? ????? ??????????, ??????? ????????? ???? ????????, ????? ?? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????, ??? ??????? ?? ?????, ??????, ?????????? ?????????? ????? ?????????: ????????? ????????? ???????????????, ?????????, ????? ??????, ?????????????? ???? ? ??.
Core recovery of the Multicore instrument. Picture: AWI Bremerhaven
19.08.08 On 21.08 we must reach the Resolute Bay in the ?? ?????? ??????? ? Resolute Bay Canadian archipelago area and we are expecting a cyclone to meet us. The chiefs are going to organize some shooting trainings for the people who will work on the ice stations.
Yesterday there was a barbecue on the deck. There were many flags hanging on the walls including Russian. The leaders of the cruise are very attentive to the people: a tennis tournament is organized to help everyone to survive the weeks without work.
26.08.08 The chief scientist is disappointed that Russia did not allow ‘Polarstern’ to carry out some geophysical and geological research in its Economical Zone (EZ). He offered me to look for some diamonds in the sediments so that we can apply for a joint project in the Arctic. As I understood geoscientists in Germany also have some problems now as AWI has some debts. So nobody is sure about the ‘Polarstern’ Arctic cruise next year.
Women do a lot of physical work here. I am amazed when a small girl is carrying a heavy box but the men can watch her doing it. I am glad it is not the same in Russia.
31.08.08 Today is Sunday, but we skipped one day? I lost my first game in the table tennis tournament but I played against a very tall man so I am not very disappointed. The officers from the bridge have seen the first polar bear. And I would like to see a Russian ship as I know that “Akademik Fedorov” and ‘Ivan Petrov’ are now working in the Arctic.
We are now in the southern part of the Mendeleev elevation planning to make some geological stations here and after that we will go to the East Siberian Sea continental margin.
Pore water sampling from the Kastengreifer. Picture: AWI Bremerhaven
10.09.08 Oh, I was very tired in the last days. We had geostations for three days and there was not enough time for sleep. Moreover I took some samples for my diploma work from the kastenlot (big gravity core). So now I am busy with my samples. I want to do as much as possible onboard. We have already investigated some physical properties of sediments, colour and preliminary lithology so we have some data to correlate. Now geophysicists go on with profiling up to 13.09.08.
18.08.08 On 13.09.08 there was a party dedicated to the first half of the cruise gone. A barbecue was organized on the deck. It was very funny, the evening finished with dancing and singing songs. But we also have something to do. Tomorrow the second geological profile will be started. If everything is OK geologists will work for about 6 days. On some stations also oceanographers and biologists will do their measurements. Oceanographers also plan to do some work from ice floes. We are going to the north from the East Siberian sea. People saw a few swimming polar bears but almost no ice…
There is about 1 month of the cruise left. On the 6th of October the ship must be in the Vilkitsky strait. It will take us 12 days to reach this place from the planned working area. Therefore we will finish the profile, do some measurements and we are on the way home…
Polar bears went by for a short visit. Picture: AWI Bremerhaven
25.09.08 On 22.09 oceanographers worked on the ice for the whole day. Before leaving the ship everybody had a training in shooting. Oceanographers drilled an ice hole and measured some properties of the sea water. The others were playing football. Everybody had fun! Now we are doing a new geological profile. Almost at every station the multinet (for biologists) and a CTD are deployed. The sea is rather deep here so the work is rather time consuming. Yesterday the air temperature was about –10 so it is difficult to work with water.
5.10.08 We finished all geophysical and geological works on 3.10 as we entered the Russian EZ (economical zone). Only oceanographers and biologists are allowed to work here but there are no stations as they interested mostly in deep-water measurements. Exactly on the 3.10 there was the last oceanographical station on the ice. The weather was fine, the sun was shining…
The time of arrival at Bremerhaven has changed a bit and we are going to be in Bremerhaven on 17.10. But I am not upset about this as I have flight to home on 20.10 so I have a chance to visit some interesting places in Germany.
6.10.08 Today we are in the Vilkitsky Strait. In the morning we passed the Cheluskin Cape. I even had an opportunity to speak to the Russian guards as they had some problems communicating with the ‘Polarstern’ officer. And we met a Russian ship for the first time on this cruise. It was the icebreaker ‘Kapitan Dranitsin’. But she was very far in the distance so one can hardly see anything.
There was the fourth safety drill. Even safety boats were shifted to the water. In the evening there will be a Gluehwein party on the deck, organized by geologists due to the end of work.
Das ScienceLog POLARSTERN ist eine Kooperation des Alfred-Wegener-Instituts für Polar-und Meeresforschung in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft mit planeterde.de.
