I was startled by the phone call shortly after midnight. Trouble at Met City. Felix had just arrived on the bridge for his night watch from 12-4am. He always takes a look around camp when arriving for his duties. And there was no 30m mast. Simply gone. So I was roused from my sleep to check on things. We had seen the crack before, and apparently it got active and pulled on some of the guy lines, ultimately pulling the mast down. Ian’s [Ian Brooks, University of Leeds] sonic anemometer failed right away, possibly from just being unplugged. Upon later inspection it is bent, can likely be straightened, re-calibrated, and put back into operation. Our met sensor remained operational the whole time, including on the surface after the fall. We will test both of these instruments against others, but it is looking like they will both live to see another field measurement. The mast itself might also be salvageable. Some bent legs that the ship can likely fix, and a few damaged sections that will just be taken out of service. Thus, it may become a 25m mast, but that would be better than nothing. Now we just need the ice to settle down so we can think about a redeployment.

After the storm, people made a bridge across a lead that opened between Ocean City and Remote Sensing Site. Alfred-Wegener-Institut / Stefan Hendricks (CC-BY 4)

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