Iceland as a model for high-latitude dust sources – a combined experimental and modeling approach for characterization of dust emission and transport processes
Team Iceland is approaching, too. After the final loading – a close fit, as out of nowhere unforeseen boxes popped up – Thomas and Konrad make it onto the ferry Norröna. On our first stop Faroe we will service the measurement station of Eiði and meet Ingvard, our local care-taker.
After 14 days of quarantine in Nordmarka north of Oslo, William, Tor, Stine and Stephan are heading towards Ålesund where the sailboat is waiting.
A special thank you to Thor Gjermund Eriksen for the wonderful stay at your cabin. We were specially impressed by the dishwasher (secret code to open, who knows, knows) 😉
We are looking forward to seeing Jan Mayen in approximately a week. Pray for good weather! See the link below if you would like to follow our boat journey to Jan Mayen.
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:5105142/mmsi:257982930/imo:0/vessel:NESSIE
A nail-biter between Covid restrictions and relaxations, between entry restrictions and entry applications seems to come to an end soon – and it looks like the HiLDA main field campaign can be carried out this year!
While the Iceland crew is still packing and planning for places to quarantine for these who need and means of transport for those not, the Jan Mayen crew made it already to Norway and now is waiting for the quarantine time to pass (and for good weather) to cross the Northern Atlantic Ocean with the sail boat.
Stay tuned for news from this summer!
Not much time to loose. A lot of challenges have been awaiting us. Starting with determining a suitable position for the sampler, plans for a lasting mounting and wiring could be worked out. Soon we had to realize that our ground pegs were way too small for the soft defrosted grounds during summer time. As well the filter sampler inlet had to be positioned on a higher level, to avoid possible damages from spitsbergenrein. The heat was on… now with combined efforts!!
Finally, Stephan in his element! Long-standing experiences as a mountaineer paid off. The weather station could be fixed at its final position.
Meanwhile at the comfortable living room, from left to right: Mariusz, Iza, Willam, Tor and Patrycja have been planing field trips for the collection of snow and water samples in the surrounding area.
Grzegorz, who is hiding in the back of the room, has to be praised for taking care of the station. Including handling samples, applying additional settings, ensuring stable electricity supply. Nice work!
Just in time the last milestone could be reached! The final setup had been found and Hornsund was running.
A higher position based on cement blocks, oversized ground pegs and the weather station being connected to the large pole should do it! Ready on time for dinner, one more time enjoying hospitality and sitting together.
An early departure at the last day. Wind blown drifting ice blocked the entry to the water. A distant bay looked promising and appeared to be the only chance, so everyone united and helped carrying our equipment to the vessel. Stick Henningsen and the “Farm” were already awaiting us. Time to say goodbye!
The way back was much more relaxed as expected.. after enjoying nice views of numerous glaciers, our stay in Spitsbergen had come to an end.
Dear Hornsund-Crew, your great support made this possible!! We had a fulfilling time with you and the adventure of our lifetime. We wish you unforgettable days at the station and have a save trip home 🙂
Next stop was the Polish Polar Station at the Hornsund Fjord, Spitsbergen. A remote place being separated by a 15 hours boat trip from Longyearbyen. For this journey Tor and William supported the team, looking forward to collect additional water and snow samples. One last safety briefing and the equipment could be secured on the vessel called ‘Farm’. Everyone on board? There is no way back!
In the following hours, passing rough waves in a bumpy vessel challenged all of us. Our captain Stick Henningsen assured “it is like a normal day at the office”, which was hard to believe. Finally long hours at night and the steady sound of a low RPM diesel engine let us rock to sleep.
Waking up at at the final destination, there was one last task. All of the equipment had to be transported to our new home for the next two weeks. Luckily Stick Henningsen was well prepared with a crane on deck. Mariusz and Patrycja brought us safely to the shore.
It took some time to get used to solid ground again, so we decided to shift work to the next day. We enjoyed the first day meeting new friends and exploring the nearby landscape!
The next day, after a restful night, we went to the ALOMAR Observatory in order to finish final tasks and put AND into operation. Arild assigned a LAN socket and a plug socket so we could switch on. Blinking lights and a steady buzzing noise confirmed the operational state. Konrad helped us from his warm and cozy office to check the functionalities and added final adjustments. Some SD-cards had to be changed, which wasn’t a major issue.
We were frequently asked about the stability of our installations, especially if the station is entirely wind proof. Arild and Ingrid remembered us that there will be some extraordinary stormy days. Thus, we decided to strengthen our construction by attaching more steel cables. In conclusion, we did our best and hope that our instruments will withstand the harsh Arctic environment.
A first test followed immediately. During our last day on Andøya, the wind speed rose and first roads had to be closed.
First signs of mental exhaustion could be instantaneously cured by high doses of custard!
Leaving the ALOMAR Observatory behind, Stephan and Kilian headed further north for their next task. Hornsund is calling!
Thank you Ingrid, thank you Arild, and thank you ALOMAR for your help and support!
After sending some photos to Germany and proudly presenting our first achievements, Konrad suggested a “minor” improvement. He proposed to move the sampler to the edge of the rooftop, in order to minimize influences of the building.
Still suffering from the rain of the last day, Stephan and Kilian dismounted the instrument and re-erected it in order to comply with Konrad’s perfectionistic wishes. That does it!
Arild helped us finding a new position and a way to fix the station at a slightly different ceiling. Benefiting from our previous experiences, the station was taking shape.
This time, the weather co-operated. In a time slot with minor rain, cable connections and adjustments inside the filter sampler could be finished.
Suddenly, while tidying up our workplace, a rainbow lit up in the sky. A sign of success? Feeling quite enlightened, we returned to the guesthouse.
… Stephan and Kilian crossed the Arctic Circle heading North in order to visit the Andøya Space Station. The fourth BLM-Station will be mounted on top of the ALOMAR Observatory.
At a first stopover we met Ingrid Hanssen, who warmly welcomed us and arranged a meeting for the next day, where we should realize how perfectly everything was already set up:)
In the next morning Arild Danielsen picked us up at the base station and we drove together to the Alomar Observatory, which is located on top of a coastal mountain at 376 m above sea level.
Arild introduced us to the facility and plans could be forged out. The shipped box containing the instruments was already located in the storage room, the railing on the rooftop looked promising to fix the devices and with more tips from Arild, nothing should stop us from start working… besides rain and cold windy weather. But not today! No Excuses! The next second we found ourselves standing on the rooftop being dressed in waterproof clothes and also being slightly overwhelmed with the speed of the events.
First success could be achieved. The filter sampler found a position and could be fixed windproof at the ceiling. It should not be the final position… But that is another story and shall be told another time.
The trip to Grímsstaðir was successful, even though Konrad in the cold 10 m/s north wind of 4 °C could only shortly put his healing hands on the station. At first, it was not clear what caused the malfunction, but leaving the station working behind us, we travel towards Reykjavík. A data analysis in the night then reveals the problem – overheating, what a surprise! The sun and nearly 20 °C managed to raise the OPC inside temperature to 57 °C, forcing the system into a safety shutdown. So on the next trip, we need to bring some shade. Meanwhile, a temperature-controlled temporary laser shutdown needs to do the trick.
Back in Reykjavík, we try to turn the moose into an elephant by adding a trunk for deep waters, before we head home for a short vacation. Stay tuned for vol. III in August…
A tough week lies behind us, for which reason there were no posts. At Monday, we visited the potential site and made a preliminary placement plan. In the evening, with the help of Brian we brought the two heaviest pieces – the filter sampler and the wet deposition collector – up to the place. It took 20 minutes of driving for 500 m distance, as the ‘road’ is extremely rocky.
On Tuesday, we had to learn that due to electricity restrictions we need to move by 50 m to another place. So, another place, another plan. As Brian had to leave in the morning, we had to ask for local support to carry over the wet deposition sampler. Nevertheless, in the afternoon we placed the instruments and bolted them into the rocky ground. Gísli, the technician of the Ríf station, is fortunately an elecitrican and helped us preparing the connection. In the evening, we had most of the systems in place.
Wednesday was reserved for cabling, internet and electricity connections, which took most of the day. In the afternoon, just before the forecasted rain arrived, we could switch on and start with the software setup. As the internet worked flawlessly, this could be done by Konrad while sitting in the warmth of the guesthouse.
Thursday started with a lot of rain, giving us the opportunity to finalize the remaining dry deposition sampler prototype. While Thomas was in the basement preparing the mechanical parts, Konrad programmed the system and learned quite a bit about stepper motor technics. By two in the night, finally the system was ready to go.
Today we introduce the station setup and the sampling work to the local caretakers of Ríf Research and cooperating orgnisations, Hrönn, Linda, Jóhanna and Ágústa. They volunteer for the station care, so many thanks for that! While currently all their work is still done from the office in the guesthouse, in near future they plan on having a small lab in the local school building. Today’s plans foresee the mounting of the dry deposition sampler, but the weather isn’t favorable for electricity connection yet, delivering considerable wind and rain. So we wait until a weaker raining period, before we can finish the station setup in the evening.
All in all, the week was strainuous, but successful. Some sad news arrived, however, from the OPC in Grímsstaðir, which suddenly started producing weird results. Konrad suspects that it swallowed a fly, but nevertheless we have to go there tomorrow and check what we can do.