Anchors Aweigh for MOSAiC Leg 1
On board ship, 22 September 2019, by Marcel Nicolaus |
On departure day it once again became clear to many of us just how long the planning and preparation phase for MOSAiC had been. Since the first meeting in 2011, the ideas and plans gradually became more and more concrete and detailed, and the entire international MOSAiC community put an unbelievable amount of work and energy into this unique project. And now, at last the time had come: at 8:48 pm on Friday 20 September 2019, Polarstern set sail from Tromsø. Countless plans and concepts will now be put into practice, and will either prove to be sound or need to be adapted. Our journey to the starting region in the Arctic is a suspenseful one. Unlike Nansen 125 years ago, we’re fully equipped with a wealth of maps and information. That being said, though we have a good idea of what awaits us there and where the sea-ice drift will take us, we can’t know for certain.
We did it: all 64 researchers and well over 1,000 pieces of cargo are now securely on board Polarstern; this in itself was no mean feat. And our second ship, the Akademik Fedorov, is also underway. She had to wait for the very last cargo deliveries, and left the next morning at 10 am. Now we’re heading for the pack ice together, where we’ll set up our ice camp and the network of measuring stations.
The last few days and weeks were very strenuous and filled with hard work, not just in Tromsø, but in the rest of the MOSAiC world as well. Although leaving wasn’t always easy, on the whole we’re excited about the expedition. Our departure was a milestone, which we celebrated with our families, project partners and invited guests. “This time it’s a real expedition,” explained Captain Schwarze during his first address here on board, adding, “There are many more uncertainties than usual, many aspects are new and unique, and even the exact date of our return is unknown.” His words were an apt reflection of the unique sense of anticipation on board.
Though Polarstern was modified for this experiment in a number of ways, unfortunately she couldn’t be made any bigger. The ship has probably never been packed so full of equipment. Loading at the port was like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle – it seemed that no two crates had the same dimensions, and no-one knew beforehand how everything would fit on board, or where we would find the space. But in the end we managed to find room enough for it all. Now we expect to reach the sea ice on 26 or 27 September, after which we’ll ram our way though to the ice floe. In the meantime we’ll be settling in on board, preparing our workrooms, and sorting through all the instruments and equipment. Eight years ago, when the idea for MOSAiC was first born, who would have expected this day to ever come?
Readers comments (5)
Lionel Playford
Best wishes to all involved in this historic and important mission. As artist in residence on PS102 I know how exceptional the ship and its crew are. Wish I could be there to witness the mid-winter full moon over the sea-ice much as I did in Nov 2016 when I drew and painted the view from the monkey island of a brilliant ‘super’ moon over the sea (no ice in the English Channel on that occasion), a painting now in the possession of your ship! See it on my art-science blog below.
Dudley Jehan from Guernsey Channel Islands
I have followed you on Sailwx app since your departure and check on your progress every day. This is the first time I’ve followed a northern expedition as my time between 1959-65 was with BAS in Antarctica. One disappointment, Akademik reported her position on Sailwx until 22nd Sep but not since. It would complete the picture to know where she is in relation to you. Regards and keep safe
R Moore
Please post a weather report daily with temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, dew point, wind speed and direction. I suppose the wind direction will be South if you get close to 90 degrees N. Thanks
Folke Mehrtens
Dear R Moore
you can find few weather data in our MOSAiC WebApp. More detailed data are given as near real time data on this website.
Kind reagrds from the Alfred Wegener Institute’s press office
Folke
R Moore
Dear Folke Mehrtens,
Thank you. So interesting to see the pattern and flow from hour to hour together with the slow progression of location change and seasonal change. The images of the ship on the flat expanse of ice make the scene look other worldly. The color palette of change from snow to sky in the absence of direct light would be like being in a snow globe. So be careful and I hope the gemultlichkeit level is high for all.