The sun was out as we set off for our collecting trip. We packed wrapping paper, sample bags and small chisels for our assault on the concretions. We were not to be disappointed. The first few hours on the slope yielded well over 100 specimens of...
Spent the morning resting and packing our fossils for transport back to Sweden. Everything needed to be marked with GPS coordinates, labeled and inventoried ...
... site. We set arthropod traps across a landscape with scattered vegetation to target both flying insects and walking arthropods such as spiders. Despite the apparent low productivity of the site, we have already recorded several mammal ...
... last week. Not knowing when our first CTD station would be, we immediately – well, after fika – started unpacking to be prepared. But first, let me explain to you what a CTD is. CTD stands for “Conductivity, Temperature and Depth”. It ...
We worked down river as far as the ice tunnel taking GPS waypoints for the most important outcrops. We located some of the older horizons and found parts of giant ammonite, ...
... –stalked filter-feeding invertebrates that have a distinctively asymmetrical valved shell. Geologically speaking, we had also just walked through the greatest mass extinction event of all time. Over 80% of all life disappeared at the ...
... flight be for Kap Stosch or all the way back to Sweden? The doctor’s response was laconic – “you are OK to keep working, I’ll just show you how to take out your own stitches”. Looks like I am staying then. A few phone calls to both our ...
... and our effort is to collect as much data as possible but we still need to spend time with everyday duties like cooking and doing the dishes. A special task that is associated with field work in the Arctic is polar bear safety. We are ...
... as Sven. When arrived to the entrance to Petermann Fjord August 3 it was blocked by sea ice, a new ice breaking challenge for Mattias and his crew and more helicopter flights. The southerly wind that prevailed for many days had ...
... trapped underneath ice (which is very likely to happen in this waters), the buoy can wait for several years, checking every month if it is able to transmit its data. When the main task, which is sending the temperature data, is ...
... we made it as far as the mountains, but these are a no go because of the high winds. On the way out we had been joking (nervously on my part) about the rough air turbulence. If the pilot looks panicked I will panic. In the meantime I will ...
... were what we were really after though. Problem was that the site was covered by snow. We had to scratch around looking for blocks of shale. After locating three promising outcrops we dug out large blocks the size of dinner-plates up to car ...
... represents a species new to science! Henning excitedly danced around for a while with his prize before tenderly packing it for the trip home. By now Ben and Henning were getting really cold. The wind had also picking up so they decided to ...
... Later, we decided to sneak closer to observe them at a shorter distance. We were approaching them slowly, always making only a few steps and waiting for them to get used to us. They didn’t seem to care. We managed to get at a 20-meter ...
Woke up at about 0100 to shrieking wind and the tent flapping. Better check the guys. I was almost pushed over by the freezing wind when I finally got out. ...
Fog had settled in over the fjord but we were still bright and clear at high altitude. All the specimens were carefully packed and Grzegorz retrieved the now cured silicon mould ready for transport. We had a great “last supper” in the sun. The...
... uneventful. However, our welcome was completed with a warning – “keep an eye out behind you when you are walking around. There is a female polar bear and two cubs hanging around the airport”. She seemed more interested in the dump ...
Very dirty ice seen from the working deck. Photo: Sandra Gdaniec A couple of days ago we found something we have been waiting for and hoping to find during ...
Vi påbörjade vår resa mot forskningsstationen Carlini på King George Island för ungefär en vecka sedan. Att ta sig till Antarktis är en spännande upplevelse som tar tid, och ...
... hade vinden och vågorna i ryggen hela vägen, vilket underlättade passagen för oss ombord på AP Aquiles. När vi nådde King George Island var det dock för blåsigt att släppa oss vid Carlini, och vi blev istället tvungna att gå i land vid den ...
