by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC There are these beautiful days out over the Arctic ice. Vibrant blue sky with a piercing sun. Today was one of those days. Warm out, and the sun overpowering. Just like with a strong wind, I found myself turning away from the sun when possible. When… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Our flux sleds have turned out to be great scientific tools. The measurements themselves have been super reliable. Consistent and steady. No icing. The primary issues have been mitigation of icing on the exhaust for the fuel cell…. And ice dynamics. We can work to improve… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Our big event today was raising the met tower. After a couple days of installation and sorting out a few instrument issues, we then ran the tower in the down position for another day to intercompare the different instruments while they all sat at the same… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC I’ve been getting frustrated and exhausted lately. So many tasks to get done to get everything set up and fixed. Added responsibilities in being the co-cruise leader. And there are not as many people here now that they understand how the system works, both from the… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC The ice around us, at least on the Fortress, is filthy. In many locations it is brown with sediment. Many small rocks have been found, suggesting that this ice was initially formed as land-fast ice along the Siberian Shelf. A recent satellite radar image shows that… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC We have lakes. These are no simple melt ponds but are more like lakes. With some wind there is even a bit of chop out there on the water. They are so nice and blue, especially at those times when the sun is shining. In the… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Wow, it has been intense out. The skies cleared, leaving us bathed in full sun all day.  Full bright sun, nearly twice as bright as a typical sunny day back home because of the high albedo surface. Photons coming in from all directions. It’s time to… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Parties are fun. Particularly on Polarstern when they pull out the barbecues on the working deck and make the web lab all nice inside. Tables, a bar, music, and a fantastic spread of food. Many options for the BBQ, various meats, fish, veggies, potatoes. Each person… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC We ran into the floe. Directly. While scientifically we decided it would be best to moor to the floe along the ship’s port side to facilitate CTD operations, others onboard have been concerned about the Polarstern’s ability to hold its position alongside the floe in the… Read More

by Radiance Calmer, a CIRES postdoctoral researcher We are almost there! The initial floe, where the previous MOSAiC legs set up their installations on the ice, is only few nautical miles from us. However, we are taking our time to study the floe and decide where will be the best position for the Polarstern to… Read More