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

A snow-angel is a must.

End of May: The sun warms the ground. The snow thaws away and exposes the transects. This allows you to take a short breather while the Licor does its work and records the greenhouse gas fluxes on the soil surface.

At the end of May, the first snow melts and the first tips of the shrubs appear.

We need to cross the Red River over this bridge to get to Blæsedalen, our study area.

This is a source of drinking water for the inhabitants of Qeqertarsuaq. It is located right next to the Arctic station. The locals fill up their water canisters here.

Greenhouse gas flux measurements on an Earth Hummock in August.

This small intact soil sample with vegetation was taken with a ring sampler. It is now transferred to a jam jar (microcosm) and the change in the methane and nitrous oxide concentration in the microcosm air is recorded on site.

In August, the clouds are often very low on the mountains, like here across from the harbor of Qeqertarsuaq.

The tasks are well organized. While one person reads off the start time of the measurement, the second person checks the start temperature in the chamber at the same time.

Here, a flume is installed in a small stream to collect the run-off water for analysis.

View from the Red River over colorful autumnal tundra vegetation towards Arctic Station.

September: Greenhouse gas fluxes are measured at the soil surface on transect 3 north of the moraine.

September: Soil sampling in the autumnal red tundra vegetation

A bicycle is loaded with soil samples and mesocosms. This allows the mesocosms to be transported from the Red Hut to the Arctic Station.

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.