This ship can crack through sea ice several feet thick, and keep on going. Think about that. It’s still amazing to me. But there are still times when the ice gets to be too much and we have to go to Plan B – which recently happened. We had to change our track slightly a day or two ago because there was too much ice concentration in the planned route, after finishing one of our transects. (A transect is a series of stations which follow a line from shallow water (hundreds of meters) to deep water (thousands of meters), where we stop to deploy instruments. Have a look at the map on the “Expedition Route” page of the blog website to see where we are now, at 81°N latitude and 138°E longitude.) We were not able to head east through the ice to the next planned transect, so we had to head south again to relatively clearer waters, to then start north again on our next transect. So, the water has become temporarily, and relatively, ice-free, but we’re heading back into it again! That is one option when we are heading into lots of ice. The other way around it, which has also already happened a couple times on the ship, is wiggling and even backpedaling the ship when we got to a point where the ice became too thick too continue forward. Having multiple options is always good when you’re in the middle of a frozen ocean.
Here’s a peek into a complicated-looking little nook of the engine room that helps get us through the ice.
Hi My Name Is Alexis And Im From L.E.O.M.H.S. I wanted to know even after finding out that the ship can keep going if it cracks from the ice that you aren’t terrified to still be on it? Also when you have to change from plan A to B does it have a delay since you have to start from a different route ?
Dear Alexis, this ship was designed to handle the ice, so I’m not worried about the ship – it has been going through Arctic and Antarctic ice for years! Also, the Captain and crew have lots of experience, which makes it more comforting that they know what they’re doing, and they know when we need to back off or turn around if the ice gets too thick. But yes, changing the route can cause changes to the schedule. For example, if we came to ice too thick for us to handle, we would head south to a bit thinner ice or clearer water (we can also go faster there), then go back north at a different location and hopefully make it through the ice there.