Thursday 14 August 2008

We are at 87o 19.4N 003o 51.04W, The air temperature is -2.0C, foggy, and winds of 9-10 m/s. As the ice floe drifts southwards, on average, it spins and sometimes actually heads towards the north for a large part of the day. The combination of wind, spin and drift filled our sampling site at the lead with ice and we could not deploy our remote controlled boats that sample the very surface layer of seawater. We assembled and tested them in the hut by the lead's "open" water. We spent 4h out, with lunch brought from the ship (sandwiches, dry soup and hot chocolate envelopes, several thermos with hot water, and cookies). Andy is still trying to fix and re-soder the data cable for the underwater light meter and a diagram received today from the manufacturer will be very helpful. A picture taken from the helicopter shows our lead!