We are at 87o 21.34N 001o 27.22W, The air temperature is -2.6C, foggy, and the wind is at 6.9m/s. Yesterday was a disappointing day. At this time yesterday, at 87N, we had found an ice floe with the ship's radar, circled it and were testing its suitability; we were delighted. However, despite its size (8x10km) and its ice thickness (2-3m), the ice edge kept crumbling every time the ship went next to it; time was spent making a small harbor for Oden. However, when the helicopter was finally able to fly (no fog!), the ice floe had so many melt ponds, so close together and probably too deep (judging by the color), that the ice floe was deemed unsuitable for the deployment and, by the end of the day, we sailed north again. We "sailed" or better "broke ice" through the night.
We have now found and circled a 2nd ice floe. By noon Oden was tied to the ice floe and 2 groups went exploring for possible sites for the meteorology/physical oceanography camp and the lead ice camp. A lead was selected about 2km from Oden; soon, a very curious seal appeared and stayed in the lead while Paty checked salinity and ice thickness. By 1500, the heli was slinging boxes to both camps. By 1600, a polar bear was sighted at the lead camp by the Polar staff who were there receiving the boxes from the helicopter. All ice activities were suspended, all people called in to the ship, the gangway raised, and the heli chased the bear away. And it started to snow heavily. The combination of bad weather and a polar bear significantly slowed all ice activities and many of us have spent the afternoon and evening waiting for clearance to be given. In the case of the lead, we wil start again tomorrow
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