And another day in the Arctic. Today we had a bigger team out in the field, as we were joined by two planetologists who normally study landforms on Mars but were interested to learn more about our lake. The snow pack becomes softer every day, even though the temperatures at the lake are still low. But dirty water is pooling below the snow and keeps filling up the lake fast. We managed to do another laser scan and take some more freshwater samples to learn more about the nutrient content of the lake. Then we had to quickly make out way back as the wind and wave conditions at the anchorage were really tricky. Luckily we made it back just in time before the boat would have been beached.
We also still managed to do some sampling in the fjord close to the glacier front. A stunning 1.5 °C temperature increase in 20 m depth in the fjord in just 5 days. Things go fast, as so often in the Arctic these days. And to make our Arctic field day complete, we had a shitty 1.5 hours ride back home on our open boat, with up to 2 m high waves coming from all directions, washing over the boat and filling it in the front. That’s the great thing about Arctic fieldwork, you never know what to expect each day and you don’t have to shower in the morning as you are almost guaranteed a shower at some point during the day. Ready for another day tomorrow.