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Bad news

Taking it easier today after two long days on the glacier. Managed to sample four stations close to the glacier fronts with water samples and CTD profiles. The subglacial water started flowing and the fjord turns brown. Loads of wildlife as an effect of the nutrient flux into the fjord. Kittiwakes everywhere, seals on the icebergs and five minke whales close to the boat. Even managed to drive by my mooring today. At least the buoys were still intact, if the sensors in 50 m depth are still alive and not iceberg smashed yet, is a completely different story. We have our nightmare day ahead of us tomorrow. The laser scanner needs to go down the glacier to catch the plane on Thursday. Earlier than I had hoped for and with the worst timing imaginable. Now that the glacier is full of deep, pooled water everywhere, that has not starting flowing of the surface just yet. We already took down a palette with a small inflatable Zodiac in the storage earlier and discussed if we should bring it on the glacier tomorrow to cross the meltwater pools on the ice surface. No final descision on how we proceed tomorrow has been made yet. Gonna be lots of long discussions during breakfast and a shitty, wet, cold and long day ahead. Reminds me why so many people prefer modeling or remote sensing to study glaciers.