NEEM > Field diaries
Field diaries
NEEM is closed and we are out
2012-08-11
It has been a dramatic day. The plane was scheduled to arrive at NEEM at 1045; but due to technical issues the departure from Kangerlussuaq was delayed.
Final day of packing. Tomorrow we fly out – hopefully
2012-08-10
It has been an unusual day. Outside, a group cleaned the camp area and packed the last items. Inside the dome, a group was busy cleaning the kitchen and the first floor.
Sunshine and suntan
2012-08-09
It has been a wonderful day. It was nice and cold with lots of sunshine.
Blizzard has passed – back to work
2012-08-08
Luckily this was not a multi-day blizzard. When we began to work weather was fine again, and nice cold for a change.
Camp is shrinking
2012-08-07
NEEM camp is condensing, and today a big task is completed.
Temperatures took a welcome step down
2012-08-06
We were about to become tired of walking about in slush in the gloom of
dense overcast ...
A rainy day at NEEM
2012-08-05
Today it rained at Noon. Most of the day temperatures have been over 0°C.
Last Saturday celebration at NEEM
2012-08-04
We celebrated the last Saturday evening at NEEM with a new heat wave arriving.
Preparing to close the science trench
2012-08-03
The drill trench is not anymore. And we are preparing to close the science trench.
Packing continues - this time in sunshine
2012-08-02
Packing down camp equipment onto heavy sleds has its own rhythm.
NEEM camp is changing
2012-08-01
Today we finished packing all drilling equipment onto a heavy sled, and the area around the former drill trench is now clear of cargo.
Yet another meltlayer has formed in 20 cm depth
2012-07-31
As testimony to the unusual warm weather since mid-July, another layer of
refrozen water has formed in the past three days.
Wet games
2012-07-30
The ice block throwing competition was postponed, because the blocks were melting!
NEEM icelympic games are on
2012-07-29
None of us here at NEEM can follow the Olympic games,so we have created NEEM icelympic games.
A rainy and windy Saturday
2012-07-28
We woke in the morning to the patter of raindrops on tents and on the dome.
NEEM gets hit by another heat wave
2012-07-27
As forecasted NEEM today was hit by another heat wave.
A gloomy day became nice
2012-07-26
All afternoon we were digging and chopping ice.
The “drill trench” is now just a hole in the ground
2012-07-25
On this gray and snowy day we removed the last infrastructure from the
drill trench.
We got an extra plane today
2012-07-24
As the 109th needed another training mission, Skier 32 paid us a visit at
Noon. We were told about this the day before
Last scheduled plane in this period
2012-07-23
The packing down in the drill trench goes fast. Sunday until late and
Monday morning everybody was busy.
Goodbye to the winch
2012-07-22
The winch is too heavy for the cat to lift into the Skier so the skiers need to winch the pallet into the aircraft.
The winch is moved out of the drill trench
2012-07-21
The heavy winch has to be pulled out of the drill trench by the inclined
ramp that has been opened.
The final cut
2012-07-20
Today Paul, Helle, Rune, Alejandra and Allan left us – we will miss you.
The final ice core
2012-07-19
The termination of the NEEM deep drilling after 6 years is a big event.
A very interesting day
2012-07-18
With the drillers, loggers and seismic teams the camp is running full speed.
Fly Day
2012-07-17
Finally we have had a cold night and the snow surface is hard again.
Barbeque in the Blue
2012-07-16
Today a day with temperatures below zero, sunshine and no wind.
Same story again…
2012-07-15
News?? Observing pit, moving ice blocks, removing ice from drill. All reported the last days.
Waiting for cold weather
2012-07-14
The unusual warm weather continues and it is clear that we will need to wait until the surface cools.
Friday the 13th – not a good flight day!
2012-07-13
If you are superstitious don’t fly Friday 13th ….
Even warmer!
2012-07-12
Going into the third day with + temperatures.
Rainy day
2012-07-11
We woke up to a totally overcast day with rain!
Tropical NEEM
2012-07-10
At 06:00 in the morning the weather was -10 °C and the preparations for departure of Polar 6 started.
Receiving NEGIS and Polar 6
2012-07-09
The morning was used finishing the snow blowing of the ramp to the drill trench and removing the snow blocks from the ramp.
Happy Camp
2012-07-08
After a brunch with omelettes and pancakes the day started gently.
NEEM Drive-In Cinema features TRON
2012-07-07
Saturday evening – the long waited fun time of the week. For the first (and probably only time) NEEM opened the skidoo Drive-In Cinema.
The mysterious eighth camp member
2012-07-06
The mysterious eighth camp member Motohiro has been absent from the
pictures the last days and today he will be featured in the NEEM Diary.
Paul’s Birthday
2012-07-05
One more day preparing the camp to be packed. All in camp (except Sarah who produced food miracles) united forces to empty and free the Carpenters Garage.
4th of July
2012-07-04
Today was 4th of July, so we planned an American meal with barbequed chicken, potato salad and blueberry pie.
Busy and wonderful day
2012-07-03
Not much news to tell because the packing just goes on.
Packing NEEM
2012-07-02
Again a very nice and sunny day with low winds and we decided it was the day to take the sauna garage down.
Sunny Sunday
2012-07-01
Sunday morning is always peaceful and the sunny weather made it reall nice.
Our first Saturday at NEEM
2012-06-30
The day to dig the 2m deep pit has come and Paul, Helle, Motohiro, Alejandra and Rune finds a spot on the line of the clean area 2 km from camp.
Outdoor day
2012-06-29
Again a wonderfully warm and sunny day. We settled on small tasks today and all were busy in camp.
Red Dome packed
2012-06-28
The low winds made this a perfect day for outdoor work and we decided to take the red dome down.
Big change in camp
2012-06-27
Skier 95 arrived to camp at 10:15 with 6 new NEEM’ers and picked up 11.
Water under the ice
2012-06-26
It appears that the deepest part of the borehole is filling up with water that freezes in.
A final day of high winds?
2012-06-25
After another day of blowing snow, high winds, complete overcast, and high temperatures the skiway is not in a good condition to receive an airplane.
A large stone in the borehole
2012-06-24
Today Steff and Trevor went down with the rock drill to investigate if ice
has formed in the deepest part of the borehole. .
Preparing for Monday storm and Tuesday flight mission
2012-06-23
The weather forecast predicts stormy conditions for Monday, just before the flight mission scheduled for Tuesday..
Preparing for Tuesday flight mission
2012-06-22
The weather is still collaborative and we’ve spend the day preparing for the flight scheduled for next Tuesday.
The Sun reappeared!
2012-06-21
Hurrah, after a week of overcast we saw the Sun today!
‘Any improvement is temporarily’
2012-06-20
It is now definitely summer time at NEEM with today’s temperature reaching a maximum of -1.1°C.
Pebbles from below
2012-06-19
We had high winds all day and could not do much outdoor work. .
More snow, more wind, and more snow drifting
2012-06-18
The day started out with overcast and snow showers, but winds were low, so we optimistically started blowing the ramps free of snow.
A calm day - good for moving stuff
2012-06-17
Today the high winds had disappeared and we could inspect the new dunes of freshly deposited drift snow all around camp.
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Stormy weather
2012-06-16
Today we had storm with average wind speed around 30 knots (16 m/s) occasionally rising to 35 knots.
Marathon drilling and trench dismantling
2012-06-15
Windy conditions with snow, drifting, and white-out did not permit much surface work to be carried out today. .
Waving goodbye to Polar 6
2012-06-14
This morning we said goodbye to the Polar 6 DC-3, its friendly crew, our Euronews visitors, and our AWI colleagues..
Establishing the North East Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) camp
2012-06-13
A final Polar 6 shuttle brought four scientists to the remote NEGIS site some 400 km SE of NEEM...
Crew exchange, DV visit, and sediment cores
2012-06-12
Today we received a C-130 from Sønderstrømfjord (SFJ) that brought us new camp personnel plus a large group of interested Distinguished Visitors. .
Put-in of the NEGIS camp begins
2012-06-11
This year NEEM camp is also a staging station for a remote camp on the North East Greenland Ice Stream. .
Water rationing day
2012-06-10
Early Sunday morning we discovered that the ladies urinal was leaking water...
Saturday in very nice weather
2012-06-09
Although people stop working earlier than normal, a lot was accomplished today.
We have got basal material
2012-06-08
One day after her arrival, Christine is already happy to have obtained a series of samples central to her research.
Finally the LC-130 came
2012-06-07
Waiting for good weather conditions pays off. Today we had a very successful mission...
We prepare for the arrival of an LC-130 tomorrow
2012-06-06
Lou spent the entire day today driving the Pistenbully up and down the skiway to till in the new snow in preparation of the plane tomorrow.
LC-130 flight cancelled and Basler flight cancelled
2012-06-05
Today weather turned bad. It has been cloudy with snow most of the time.
To fly or not to fly
2012-06-04
It looks as if the good weather is coming to an end.
A busy and successful Sunday
2012-06-03
Most people in camp were up and about at 8.00.
A little unusual Saturday
2012-06-02
Simon and Trevor had originally signed up as cooks for the Saturday evening dinner; but as plans have changed
A day with changes of plans
2012-06-01
Polar 6 arrived this afternoon in splendid sunshine. On the way here, it picked up detonators for seismic studies in NEGIS camp...
A gloomy day with a gloomy technical fault
2012-05-31
Well, actually the bad weather returned with thick clouds, snow and blowing snow. We had to cancel a planned flight of Polar 6.
36 hours of bad weather over
2012-05-30
We cannot believe our luck. A big change in weather as we experienced yesterday is normally associated with high winds and severe snow drift
Adverse weather
2012-05-29
Summer has arrived to NEEM, bringing clouds, snow and very high temperatures.
Big changes today
2012-05-28
Weather changed today. While the day began almost as usual, the weather
changed rapidly in the afternoon.
Sunday activities
2012-05-27
After a good party Saturday night, activities in camp began with the departure of Polar 6 on a radar mission.
It is Saturday and we have a full house for dinner
2012-05-26
Although it is Saturday, there is a lot of activity in camp and in the air space over the North Greenland ice sheet.
Work in camp on track and aeroplane operations on track
2012-05-25
The fine weather continues to help us a lot.
17 for lunch and 27 for supper
2012-05-24
An interesting routine is developing. In the morning we send off two
aircraft
Welcome to NEEM airport
2012-05-23
It has been a very busy and successful day.
Tomorrow NEEM will turn into an airport
2012-05-22
Today we were notified that three aeroplanes intend to fly to NEEM tomorrow.
We got one more day before next flight
2012-05-21
Work progresses in a fine pace; but still everybody in camp is happy of getting an extra day for preparation before the flights.
Preparations for flights and more crew in full swing
2012-05-20
Most efforts in camp are now centered on preparing camp for a large number of people arriving Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Saturday night
2012-05-19
It is Saturday, and this means that people get a shower and dress up for Saturday night dinner.
Camp opening is well under way
2012-05-18
The day began with good byes.
NEEM camp now fully operational
2012-05-17
Today the last small problems were solved, and the camp is now fully operational.
Day two at NEEM
2012-05-16
Most things went fine on this beautiful second day at NEEM.
First group arrives at NEEM on schedule
2012-05-15
This year the put-in happened on schedule.
Put-in crew arrives in Kangelussuaq
2012-05-14
Today 7 NEEM crew members arrived in Kangerlussuaq from Copenhagen.
NEEM field season 2012
2012-05-10
The NEEM field office in Kangerlussuaq is now manned and the 6th. NEEM field season on the ice is starting up
