Expeditions

Sometimes things go differently than planned. The expedition team is stranded in Ilulissat. A spare part for the helicopter is missing and the weather is too unstable for a helicopter flight. This means there is less time for the upcoming work on Disko Island. Therefore - recharge your batteries first!

Winter harbor of the fishermen in the ice fjord near Ilulissat

Picturesque sunset over the ocean with a view of the harbor town of Ilulissat.

After 5 days of waiting in Ilulissat - Finally: The sky clears and the helicopter is ready for the last part of the journey from Ilulissat to Qeqertarsuaq.

The last stage from Ilulissat to Qeqertarsuaq can begin!

Finally arrived at the heliport in Qeqertarsuaq! Now it's time to quickly catch up on 5 days of work!

April 2024: The first team of MOMENT and CLICCS-A1 researchers has arrived at the Arctic station.

In winter, we travel to the study area by snowmobile.

Sledging for grown-ups

Along the snow trails on snowmobiles through Blæsedalen - the valley of the winds.

The snow was pushed aside to examine the ice on the lake.

The first step in drilling the soil cores is to remove the snow cover from the soil surface.

Then drilling is carried out diligently, the surface properties are recorded and the coordinates are read in.

Lunchbreak at the expedition site.

The clothing keeps you dry and warm - even during a lunch break in the snow.

The expedition team takes frozen soil cores. These are transported to Germany intact and frozen for extensive incubation studies in climate chambers.

The drilling of frozen soil cores is carried out along the transects using a "SIPRE-corer".

In front of the Arctic Station: closing time - the work for today is done!

Teamwork! We did it! Over 20 soil cores were drilled in just 5 days! Luckily the weather played along!

The art of nature! The researchers were rewarded for their hard work with a picturesque landscape!

The study area in white winter beauty!

View from the end of Blæsedalen across the Diskofjord to Kangerluq

On June 19, 2023, the first MOMENT and CLICCS A1 expedition team received the containers with field equipment at the port of Qeqertarsuaq. Afterwards, large parts of the heavy field equipment were transported by helicopter sling transports from the port to the Red Hut or Pjetersson's Moraine.

Update from Selina Undeutsch on 06/22/2023: "Today we were at the red hut again. While there is already a decent snowmelt around the village and the Arctic station, the situation is different at the red hut. There are about 80 cm of snow there, also a little fresh snow was fallen yesterday. In addition, under the snow cover there is a layer of ice of about 5 cm thickness. Due to the positive temperatures, the snow is additionally very heavy and wet and does not carry well. It is recommended to wear snowshoes, otherwise the expedition area is almost impossible to reach."

June 26, 2023: At the ferry port of Ilulissat, Greenland, the next expedition team waits for the ferry to Disko Island. The team consists of scientists from the Universität Hamburg, Leibniz Universität Hannover and the German Research Centre for Geosciences Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam.

Tino Peplau: "Right after snow melt, some of our sampling spots are soaked with water, which makes sampling and measurements more challenging."

Update from Tino Peplau at July 1st 2023: "We finally drilled our first soil cores! The cores will be stored frozen and are shipped to Germany for further analyses."

Tino Peplau: "With our soil monitoring stations, we will measure redox potential, moisture and temperature of the soil at different spots in the research area."

The tundra landscape is heterogenous on a small spatial scale. Here, we examined how methane fluxes differ between vegetation-free "mudboils" and adjacent zones with tundra vegetation.