Off to the Arctic - what it takes to Set sail

When does a research mission really begin?
It starts long before the ship reaches the research site, in our case the fjords of East Greenland.

Before the first instrument goes into the water, researchers have spent months preparing in their labs and respective institutions, securing permits and authorisations, packing equipment and acquiring seasickness tablets. Meanwhile, the Malizia Explorer crew has been preparing the boat, planning the journey north and getting everything ready to host a team of researchers for nearly a month in the Arctic.
Once the teams come together, all that is left is the final preparation, getting to know one another and waiting for the right weather window to head out.

Onboard to document the mission is our Team Malizia onboard reporter Flore Hartout, who is joining researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research as they head into the Kangertittivaq fjord system, also known as Scoresby Sound.

There, the team will investigate how Atlantic Water enters and spreads through the fjord system, how it interacts with glacial melt and other processes, and what this means for the fjord environment. They will also study the underwater soundscape and investigate how noise from ships may affect marine life, including whales.

And this is what those final moments of preparation, and waiting for the right weather window, look like…..