The bow of the Akademik Fedorov as we sail north in the High Arctic. Photo: Jessie Creamean, Colorado State University
Ah, the beautiful, brilliant aqua blue of pristine crystals. And no, I am not referring to the color of something a certain chemist makes from a certain hit TV series based in Albuquerque … I am referring to one of the most vibrant blues I have ever set eyes on, originating from multiyear sea ice in the vast waters of the Arctic Ocean.
Katy Gavenus looks through binoculars at sea ice from the deck of the Akademic Federov icebreaker
Each hour, two of us go up to the deck above the bridge and spend 10 minutes watching the sea ice within about 1 nautical mile of the ship. Then we record our observations. We do this during the day and also during the night. There are lots of volunteers on the ship, so we rotate through...
This week: The MOSAiC expedition begins its drift! And: How do you prepare for a year-long Arctic research expedition? Photo credit: JR Ancheta, UAF

Explore this unit composed of four lessons designed to provide high school students with the background knowledge and understanding of the ocean, Antarctic science, food webs, climate change, and ocean acidification.

Photo by Michael Van Woert, NOAA/NESDIA

Polarstern's location this morning, from https://follow.mosaic-expedition.org/
We are now on day 10 of the cruise. We spent it parked near a likely ice floe of about 2x3 km size and are considering it as a site for the central observatory. Surveys will continue tomorrow. Most of the other sea ice we've encountered in the area is thin (~30 cm) and soft, soaked with seawater, and thus not very promising for an ice camp.
Sea ice over edge of Polarstern icebreaker, Photo: Sebastian Grote/AWI
We finally hit sea ice and it is AMAZING. The glow is so strong that it felt like the sun was rising at 3 am. Our ship slowed down to 10 knots. We are switching time zones again! The ice is all broken up and beautiful. I have taken so many pictures...

Baking at Sea


The RV Polarstern parked in ice. Photo: Stefan Hendricks/AWI
Scientists on Polarstern are searching for...