After the exchange in Svalbard, we (Leg 4 team) traveled north to find the ice floe. The challenge we faced upon returning to the ice floe was the rebuilding of an entire ice camp that had been packed up. This was not an easy task! To add to the difficulty, the ice floe was beginning to undergo changes because it was the start of summer and the melt season had begun in the Central Arctic.
While traveling north to the ice floe, the various teams started thinking of how we were going to accomplish our goal of rebuilding the MOSAiC Central Observatory ice camp. For some of the heavier instruments, teams were working on making the equipment lighter and more mobile. Polarstern arrived at the ice floe on June 17th, 2020. It took eight days to get from the ice edge to the ice floe.
Rebuilding the ice camp was designed to happen in three phases. We entered Phase 1 on June 20th, 2020. This first phase consisted of planning the new ice camp with all the team leaders. Survey teams went out onto the ice to map and assess the state of the ice. Since we were in the beginning of melt season, melt ponds had begun to form on the ice. Phase 2 started on June 22nd, 2020 and the focus was on the implementation of infrastructure (power lines, roads and markers). The research sites were becoming more defined, but not yet fully rebuilt. Some sites were preparing for equipment that would have to be lifted off the ship using the crane. The cargo operations were carefully planned by the Logistics Team and the crew of Polarstern. Sometimes cargo had to be moved by helicopter. We entered Phase 3 on June 25th, 2020. This final phase was for individual research teams to customize their research sites and focus on setting up their equipment.
