by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Today we parked against the MOSAiC floe, just outside the Fortress on a large shoulder of first year ice. An overcast day with little contrast, but generally warm out. It was a day for exploration, for assessing the state of the floe. Two teams were assembled… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC It’s been a 7-week journey to this point. Perhaps we can call it a commute. But now we are finally at our MOSAiC ice floe. I can see it with my own eyes. Some orange flags here and there with various installations around. I’m still trying… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC I saw our flux station today, the one that’s been operating at the MOSAiC floe. A window of favorable flight conditions allows Markus and I to fly out to explore the floe and assess the conditions. We’ve been pouring over satellite images, identifying different ice floes… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC With high ice pressure we continue to be stopped in the ice. The ship cannot make much progress under these conditions and it is just not worth the effort to keep trying at the moment.  So the ship is waiting until somewhat more favorable conditions to… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC After a few days of great progress, making more than 100 miles into the ice, the ship is now stopped. The ice has pressure, which makes for difficult movement. And so instead we must wait. Only about 30 miles to go until our MOSAiC ice floe,… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Déjà vu. At about 11:30 ship time today Markus and I stood on the P-deck above the bridge on Polarstern and looked out across the approaching sea ice edge. We did the same back in September as Polarstern embarked for the first time into the ice… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC Anchors up, and underway. After a few days of turnover, we are now on our way. We’ve said goodbye to our Leg3 colleagues, after absorbing as much information as possible on their experiences, the state of the instrumentation, and ideas on how to proceed. Then a… Read More

by Radiance Calmer, a CIRES postdoctoral researcher. The Maria S. Merian is currently side by side with the Polarstern. People from Leg 3 and Leg 4 are very busy with the handover, going through the instruments, the location of the materials, the data system, etc. The crew of the Polarstern, the Sonne and the Maria… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC After 5.5 weeks in transit, we are finally onboard of Polarstern. What a long journey it has been just to get to this point…. And our journey is really just beginning as we still must complete this turnover and then cruise up north into the ice… Read More

by Matthew Shupe, CIRES/NOAA scientist and co-coordinator of MOSAiC All of the ships have assembled and we’ve entered the fjord. It’s truly beautiful; mountains in every direction. Snow capped. Jagged. We’ve had some sunny days here, after many days of overcast and fog. The sun definitely lifts the spirits, and builds the excitement. Now we… Read More