August 4-5

We just arrived at the marginal ice zone (MIZ) this morning, prime polar bear territory but have yet to see them. People have seen whales, birds and seals. It is here we saw many bears in 2001.
No aurora borealis as it has been overcast and foggy more than clear skies. I'd love to see such a display in the sky while here. We've only seen the rolling sun (over the horizon at midnight) and then up again so we have the same light level at 2am as at 2pm. We will be stationary here at the MIZ for 24h. Every one is sampling again and tired. Warm? not too bad. Today's air temp is -1.4C and water temp is 0.8C. Much lower than yesterday. Winds are expected to increase up to 15 m/s so it will soon be colder.
Several other groups are also posting blogs and pictures. Please check them at the following addresses:

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=SMLQ - Oden's position and weather
http://ascos.wordpress.com - Stockholm University polar expedition's blog.
http://www.polar.se/expeditioner/swedarctic2008/ascos - Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, information and reports.
http://www.ascos.se - Meteorological Department (MISU) at Stockholm University.