NEEM > Field diaries > Field season 2010

Field season 2010

NEEM field camp is closed for the season 2010

22 August 2010

After a very succesful and exciting season the NEEM camp has closed down. The camp will open again in May 2011.

Hectic activity in Kangerlussuaq

19 August 2010

As everybody are now out of camp, the time has come to prepare the Warehouse and the Office in Kangerlussuaq for closing.

Last pull out

18 August 2010

Due to bad forecasts the departure of the flight to NEEM was scheduled early in the morning.

Packing down and first pull-out flight.

16 August 2010

Monday was spent packing down and cleaning up in camp.

No time for rest

15 August 2010

We got boxes and people everywhere! Eventhough it is Sunday the camp is full of activity from early on.

Prominent guests for morning coffee

14 August 2010

Today we had a couple of prominent visitors from the 109’Th Air National Guard.

First weatherport packed down

13 August 2010

The luxury of having relative many camp structures and not that many people and plenty of space is now over.

Goodbye to our visitors and back to packing down.

12 August 2010

Usually it takes some days for the body to get accustomed to the cold...

Prominent visit and Raclet

11 August 2010

The Norlandair 3 Twin Otter returned with a very prominent group of guests led by Frederik Paulsen.

Camp Century Drilling

10 August 2010

Today was the day to drill a 30m ice core and sample a 2m surface pit at Camp Century.

Sunny cold autumn weather

9 August 2010

We woke to a cold and calm day...

Stormy Sunday

8 August 2010

The wind was still high today so activities where restricted to be inside buildings or in the trenches.

Hold onto your hat!

7 August 2010

This Saturday morning at 2 am we experienced the highest winds for this season with average wind speeds of 30 kt and high wind speeds (gusts) up to 40 kt.

High winds stops the shallow drilling

6 August 2010

The NEEM2010 S3 core is being drilled at the shallow drill site 3 km from camp.

Generator stop

5 August 2010

During the last weeks an oil leak has been observed in the very central parts of the generator.

The NZ intermediate drill comes out of the garage

4 August 2010

The NZ intermediate drill is ready for a drill test and it is moved to the 5 m deep inclined trench we have prepared for the drill behind the mechanic garage.

Bryn’s Birthday

3 August 2010

Another good and productive day. A 5m deep inclined trench was prepared just behind the mechanic garage for the test of the NZ drill.

GPS net revisited

2 August 2010

Lars started the long skidoo rides to revisit the GPS stakes today.

Testing new drills

1 August 2010

The ‘orange team’ Alex and Darcy from New Zealand are assembling their new drill in the Carpenters workshop.

Saturday and Brittle Ice

31 July 2010

The processing team are doing a brilliant job in keeping all the pieces together in all the many cutting lines of the ice cores in the science trench. Heather is cutting the strip of for stable water isotope sampling.

Shallow drilling

30 July 2010

The weather has been good and the first shallow ice core NEEM 2010 S2 is reaching it’s length of 100m.

Camp changes gear

29 July 2010

Yesterdays goodbye to 23 and hello to 8 has changed the activities in camp. The New Zealand team got their drill and they have taken over the carpenters garage to assemble the tower, winch and drill.

Big Skier day

28 July 2010

After the excitement yesterday it was right back to operations. Skier 90 came to NEEM with 30 passengers – 22 as day visitors.

Bedrock!!!

27 July 2010

After a few runs with no penetration and totally grinded down cutters we made the decision to terminate the deep ice core drilling. We celebrated this with a glass of champagne

Sun and ground fog

26 July 2010

Today we had ground fog and snow in the morning, but later it cleared up and became as nice as yesterday.

Visit by Skier 92

25 July 2010

As weather has improved dramatically, we could receive Skier 92 today. The plane arrived with 14 Greenland, Danish and US Science and Education visitors that were given a one hour tour of camp.

Drilling rocks

24 July 2010

Over the last days drilling has been most cumbersome with many broken cutters and several unsuccessful attempts to bring cores to surface.

Formula 1 Pit stop for ice core drills

23 July 2010

The pebbles and mud in the ice wear down the drill cutters and core catchers. Between every run they need to be sharpened.

Reaching basal ice

22 July 2010

Today the first ice core drilled showed strong bands of basal material. A study of the black material revealed that it mainly was conglomerates of mud. A 4 mm pebble was also found.

Cooking in the storm

21 July 2010

During night the wind picked up to 25 knots and we woke to a stormy morning with the outdoor toilet upside down. The Dome is a warm and cozy building and 3-4 have been busy in the kitchen today cooking excellent meals for us. Most work is in the subsurface trenches and could continue regardless of the weather.

A DV visit and crew exchange

20 July 2010

Today we had Distinguished Visitors (DVs) in camp and an exchange of personnel.

Celebrations

19 July 2010

Ice core lengths are of course measured in meters. Whenever the drilling,
the processing, or the CFA lab passes a round depth, such as 1000 m, it is
time for a celebration.

A quiet Sunday

18 July 2010

A Sunday where drilling has progressed well, with cores of 1-2 m length, processing of the deep ice has been in good progress in the science trench, and the CFA has worked on calibrations and started packing down equipment.

Borehole logging, 2500 m logger depth, 2200 m CFA depth, and a great Mexican dinner

17 July 2010

Last night, a second borehole logging was carried out in order to measure the temperature and the pressure at the bottom of the hole.

Approaching bedrock

16 July 2010

Today the snow storm calmed down and we got warm overcast weather.

More wind, more snow, much more ice core, and a birthday

15 July 2010

Today the snow storm increased and we had wind speeds of up to 28 knots and drifting snow in 5 m height.

Snow, drift, and long ice cores

14 July 2010

Today camp woke up to more windy conditions than we’ve had for several weeks.

On track

13 July 2010

After the drill got stuck on Sunday and part of Monday was used to filter the borehole, it is nice to see freshly drilled ice core in the drill trench again today.

The grey processers

12 July 2010

The ice core processers are really struggling to cut samples from the very brittle ice. Every core is a puzzle and the internal breaks fracture when the core is cut.

A stuck drill

11 July 2010

Since Friday night drilling has been progressing well with most runs retrieving cores of 2 m or more. After several standard runs this Sunday, the drill did, however, get stuck

The most fantastic ice bar

10 July 2010

Saturday in camp again. During the last days an ice bar has been prepared with a polar bear, shelves for the bottles and seats for the guests. On top of the bar frozen ice hands.

The NEEM post office

9 July 2010

Although many analyses of the ice core are made at NEEM, most of the core is actually split into samples that are packed in ice core boxes and shipped to different labs for analysis.

A NEEM science meeting

8 July 2010

Today a ‘science meeting' was held in camp where many of the available NEEM profiles were presented in preliminary versions.

Processing the brittle ice

7 July 2010

As the ice core processing is progressing faster than the ice core drilling, the processing line yesterday shifted back to process some of the Holocene brittle ice.

Comfortable life

6 July 2010

It is a week since the last mission to camp and the camp is falling into routine.

Drilling the 'warm ice'

5 July 2010

The ice core currently retrieved at NEEM is ‘warm' in two ways:

What kind of ice are we drilling?

4 July 2010

Everyone involved with the NEEM project is of course extremely excited to know what kind of ice that is being drilled these days.

Studying the physical properties of ice

3 July 2010

Ice core climate records such as temperature proxies, past greenhouse gas concentrations and the impurity content of the ice are the main focus of ice core studies.

A perfect camp

2 July 2010

The new team has now settled in and the camp is just perfect.

Keeping the ice core cold

1 July 2010

Summer has come to NEEM and we enjoy the lovely weather drinking coffee outside or taking a hike.

Flight logistics

30 June 2010

Today we had a successful flight mission and exchange of personnel.

How old is the ice?

29 June 2010

Due to very high temperatures up to -1.5 °C in the morning we had to cancel today's flight.

Goodbye and hello

28 June 2010

If weather allows we get another flight mission tomorrow where 19 persons leave NEEM and 14 new arrive.

On the nightshift

27 June 2010

At night, while most of NEEM camp is fast asleep, there is full activity in the heated hut for Continuous Flow Analysis (CFA) in the science trench.

Documenting and communicating NEEM

26 June 2010

Back in the early nineteen's professor Willi Dansgaard documented the GRIP ice core drilling project in his legendary movie ‘The Saga of the Ice'.

Reaching into the unknown past

25 June 2010

The main purpose of the NEEM project is to recover the oldest ice core from the Greenland ice sheet.

The NEEM airbridge

24 June 2010

The main ingredients needed to keep the NEEM project operational are human resources, food, fuel, and drilling liquid.

NEEM camp in full operation

23 June 2010

After yesterdays crew exchange the camp population is now 37 persons which is about the upper limit for an operational camp.

Crew exchange and good timing of flight mission

22 June 2010

Today we had a flight mission and an exchange of personnel in camp.

Greenlandic national day. Summer solstice

21 June 2010

Today is summer solstice and luckily good weather is coming our way.

A routine Sunday

20 June 2010

For drillers and CFA people Sunday has it's own routine.

The wind blows, but stops in time for Saturday night dinner

19 June 2010

Most people got a noisy night between Friday and Saturday.

First aid course and drills

18 June 2010

Our camp physician, Simon, held a first aid course today and many camp members participated in the course and subsequent drills.

We celebrate several things

17 June 2010

There were two birthdays to celebrate:

We are descending in a fine way

16 June 2010

A day like today is actually good.

The heart of NEEM camp stood still for 35 minutes

15 June 2010

Today is one of the days where we perform routine maintenance on the main generator. It is a 130 kW diesel generator, and it delivers all electrical power to camp.

Does weather show us a light at the end of the tunnel?

14 June 2010

Today began as usual in the last five days: Warm, moderate wind and total cloud cover.

A grey Sunday

13 June 2010

Sunday is anyway a short day, so if weather should put a halt to work on the surface, it's the best day for it.

Saturday night with French cuisine

12 June 2010

Weather continues to be really poor.

Now it is beginning to get exiting

11 June 2010

If drilling continues at the present rate, then in the next few weeks it
will be revealed what the ice sheet here at NEEM might be hiding at depth.

Sepp’s birthday celebrated in a camp where things are going fine

10 June 2010

We celebrated Sepp’s birthday after dinner, by having a birthday parade while singing songs, and afterwards we went in for ice cream and cake

HURRAY! We reached the 2000 meter mark

9 June 2010

Today the NEEM ice core became member of the exclusive club of multi-kilometer ice cores

We got a plane today from Thule with fuel

8 June 2010

Because we were low on fuel due to the need to re-fuel the Skier on Sunday, the 109th graciously offered us fuel on a plane from Thule.

The new crew is learning fast

7 June 2010

Today was great learning day for the new staff, and they caught on well, too.

Today the new team arrived

6 June 2010

Today the new team arrived. 19 left camp and 17 arrived.

Saturday with the "old" team

5 June 2010

The “old” team could spend Saturday night together an extra time.

Today finally, the Sun

4 June 2010

Today weather changed for the better.

Luckily NEEM is not a travel agency

3 June 2010

This season we have been unfortunate with weather.

Greetings from Iceland

2 June 2010

Not many weeks ago the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in Iceland, disrupting air traffic, even here at NEEM.

Now we are analyzing air from the last glacial period

1 June 2010

Today the gas people of the CFA team passed into gases deposited in the ice from the
last glacial period, 11713 years ago.

Big brother is watching

31 May 2010

Christian has made an in camp information system.

A beautiful Sunday

30 May 2010

After the weekend break drillers always filter the hole to remove ice chips.

A good Saturday

29 May 2010

Weather today was absolutely gorgeous.

How to eat an elephant

28 May 2010

The processors in the science trench are learning the art of patience in dealing with the brittle ice.

We begin an unpleasant task

27 May 2010

As the two most senior drillers, Jakob and Steff, have to leave next week...

Now most of the CFA analyses work

26 May 2010

CFA stands for Continuous Flow Analysis...

Doing a lot of good deeds

25 May 2010

The drillers report, that they soon are back on-line...

A smart way to move a house

24 May 2010

The two dome tents were sitting 1.5 m below surface due to...

Gone fishing

23 May 2010

Today is one of those days where many things go wrong

Finally, the dog sled expedition was picked up

22 May 2010

Today, Mille and her dogs were picked up.

NEEM air port closed due to Icelandic ash cloud

21 May 2010

This is the most incredible tale. We expected a plane this morning.

Will Mille be picked up tomorrow?

20 May 2010

In the last week we have had visitors. Mille, who is Danish but lives in the U.S., will hopefully be picked up tomorrow.

All hands on deck

19 May 2010

All people in camp are now working in their different positions/jobs.

A successful flight today

18 May 2010

Our second flight this flight period arrived today. The plane brought all the rest of the equipment and food!

While we wait for the next plane tomorrow

17 May 2010

Today was the first day of real drilling. Now 15 m core is waiting in the buffer.

Sunny Sunday

16 May 2010

Things progress at a tremendous rate, however, we cannot begin core processing before we have all equipment

Saturday in a crowded camp

15 May 2010

All the new people are settling in. Many small tents dot the ground in our tent village

Finally we succeeded in receiving a plane!

14 May 2010

Today it happened. Weather cleared up, and we were able to call in a plane.

Plane is cancelled again!

13 May 2010

The world is white. The snow is white. The air is white. The Sun is
nowhere to be seen...

Flight cancelled, but we've got visitors anyway

12 May 2010

The bad weather from yesterday did not really leave us today.

Flight to NEEM cancelled today

11 May 2010

This morning, weather was really doubtful. A low overcast removed all contrast, and we had periods of fog.

The day for the arrival of a lot of people is approching

10 May 2010

There is a special atmosphere in camp today. Everybody is anticipating the arrival of 23 people tomorrow.

We prepare for the flight next week

9 May 2010

Next week we have planned for two flights. Camp is basically ready to
receive the big influx of camp personnel

A beautiful day on the ice sheet

8 May 2010

Finally, the PARCA crew made it. This morning they flew South.

NEEM airport and gas station

7 May 2010

Our colleagues from CIRES Colorado are maintaining their network of
automatic weather stations on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
They use a Twin Otter aircraft.

Is this Greenland or Antarctica?

6 May 2010

As it is cold now and this cold has arrived suddenly after a few days of
warm temperatures, we observe a lot of condensation in the air.

Cold weather returns

5 May 2010

We have worked on many things today. The skiway was groomed in preparation
of next week’s flights

A blusterous day

4 May 2010

Today turned out to become really windy. At Noon the mean wind reached 24 knots and wind gusts to 30 knots.

Unexpected visitors

3 May 2010

The morning went as planned but at Noon a Twin Otter suddenly flew over
camp.

High comfort at camp and preparing for a storm

2 May 2010

After a slow start, enjoying the warmth of the main dome, water in the taps, the dishwasher and...

First Saturday evening in the field

1 May 2010

Saturday night at NEEM camp is always anticipated with pleasure. It is the
evening off

Weather is on our side

30 April 2010

The beautiful weather makes it a lot more easy to open the camp

Camp opens at a quick pace

29 April 2010

Lots of activities are going on in the NEEM camp to get a good start for the season

Successful arrival at NEEM

28 April 2010

First team of the year flew into the NEEM camp today in bright sunshine but low temperatures