18.45 UTC – NANUQ has just docked at Ísafjörður, NANUQ2020 final destination. Prof. Peter Gallinelli sent a message with his first statement at the conclusion of the expedition: “Just arrived in ISAF (…) Tomorrow a storm will blow over the area and the small  harbour is crowded with boats of all kinds seeking shelter. But the end of the expedition does not mean the end of project NANUQ2020. We have gathered considerable amounts of data that will now be transferred to different partner labs for analysis. (…) We are grateful and proud of having been able to make the expedition come true in the context of Covid that was the main challenge, simply to compose an exploration worthy crew in times of uncertainty, get permission to go onboard and to cast-off, to get financing at a time when most would wait and see.” The in-lab analysis of expedition data will begin at Swiss, French and Italian institutions, as soon as they will be transferred by the NANUQ2020 crew.

Updates about the results will be periodically published on this website.

04.21 UTC – In the past two days NANUQ2020 continued a series of environmental observations in the nort-western area of Iceland. Skipper’s dispatches provided information about the status of the expedition. The latest message was received yesterday, in the late afternoon: “After trying to moor close to Drangajokull, the big glacier calotte located some 30 miles East of Isafjordur, in the wild and inaccessible NW part of Iceland, we are now anchored in Hesteyrarfjordur. A moderate wind with gusts up to 40kts and rain showers made [initially] impossible any attempt to safe mooring and activities on shore. Conditions have now setteled and 2 groups are on land right now to continue field work that will be very complementary to observations on the Blosseville coast, especially the flora transects at ground level. Only drone flights are not possible due to strong and gusty winds and authorisation required in the protected area of Hornstrandir, which also is a bird sanctuary. But conditions should now be stable for the next hours, useful for a 5h hike to the closest lake where we will be diving and taking Methane gas samples. (…) It is quite enjoyable to be able to roam about without having to watch out for encounters with polar bears and carry the associated equipment…”. The boat position is within an area that has no cellphone/data coverage, communications are therefore shared by Iridium satellite channel. Last localization update was yesterday at 19.55 UTC (21.55 CET), reporting the boat moored at 66°20’N, 22°48’W, 29 km from HnÍfsdal.

As everybody else in these days, NANUQ2020 had to work its plans to take into proper account the developments of the Covid19 pandemics in all of Europe. An Arctic expedition may mean – as it does in this case – travelling long distances from one country to another, interacting with people and operating in very dense spaces for long times. 10-12 people living and working for days in a 17.8 meter, 18 tonnes boat in the Arctic creates a definite condition of confinement from contacts with external people; provided, naturally, that all crew-members are not affected by Covid19. Before getting to the Arctic, however, and after return, the crew and the boat must be serviced in different manners, and the crew itself do have contact with others; nothing that obvious, while the most severe pandemic in over a century is spreading.  The expedition had therefore to take specific measures related to preventing contagion and to ensure the safety of both the workgroup members and their external counterparts at all times and in all places. In the last days before leaving France and Switzerland, heading to Norway for leg 19, the expedition crewmembers underwent systematic Covid19 tests, since certification of negativity was required by the expedition management before the crew could even gather. Rigorous hygene and social distancing measures were taken during travel and transfers of personnel and crew-member before NANUQ’s departure. Upon her arrival to Iceland, S/Y NANUQ was inspected by local police, customs officers and medical personnel, who tested all crewmembers, again, for negativity to Covid19. Contacts with external persons in Norway and Iceland were, and are being, held so as to keep a safe distance between crew-members and the external persons; no contact with local people took place during NANUQ’s operation in Greenland; all crewmembers have Covid19-contact-tracing APPs installed on personal communication devices. Finally, the whole crew has been onboard or in the vicinity of the boat for the entire research activity. With all this, during the  expedition, no crew-member developed Covid-19 or remarkable Covid19-like symptoms. The appropriate definition and management of anti-Covid19 measures is a new element which adds to the set of traditional requirements for planning and conducting an Arctic expedition; a novelty which – triggered by this pandemic, but applicable to other similar cases of contagion – may become part of polar researchers’modus operandi.

15.16 UTC – S/Y NANUQ docked at a quay in Ísafjörður harbour, Iceland. The crossing from Greenland had been initiated yesterday in the evening and the boat could make a fast cruise thanks to favourable winds. The decision to conclude the activities in Greenland was taken by Prof. Gallinelli after reviewing the latest ice reports in the area. In a message before departure, the Skipper reported that “Blosseville is almost completely closed-in and taking a chance to make a call to the few still accessible places (…) bears great risk of getting locked-in for an unforseeable time”. The expedition’s early return to Iceland implied the cancellation of several planned research activities; nevertheless, those which could actually be conducted will still give the workgroup much to do for the autumn and winter months. NANUQ2020 conducted two successful complete expeditive surveys in the research areas, including drone flights, water samplings, instrumental measurements, ground observations; a large set of images about the visited environment was acquired by the automated onboard cameras and by crewmembers. Besides the geographical and environmental observation campaign, the expedition brings back much data about boat management, navigation and procedures in dense and closed ice, adding to the workgroup know-how in anticipation of planned future research.  After their arrival in Iceland the expedition members are taking a long-waited-for break from work at sea, but the expedition is not over. Additional activities are planned for the next days and will be conducted in Iceland, to acquire environmental data about relevant points of interest in the area.

Docking video by Kevin Monneron

In the past 72 hours S/Y NANUQ had to go through a complex struggle with thick and dense ice, before finally getting out of the block yesterday. In the last Skipper’s report, sent late last night, the boat was proceeding at about 5 knots towards north-east in order to reach another research area. In an e.mail sent via Iridium, Prof. Gallinelli wrote: “We have finished with the pack ice, due to patience and hard work, manoeuvring and pushing NANUQ through ice with densities exceeding 8/10 at times… and a strong boat capable of withstanding continued banging into pieces of ice 10 times her size. (…) We are now rapidly progressing NE to catch up with the time lost in the ice. We expect to make a call at the first accessible mooring, but so far this seems compromised due to most fjords being filled up with compact ice at the moment. The weather outlook is good for the next days and so we are looking forward.” While blocked in the ice, the Skipper needed, from time to time, to verify indications of the reported charts,  and also to obtain a more detailed map of the ice formations in the vicinity of the boat. In order to achieve that, the expedition drone was flown repeatedly by Lisa Gallinelli, providing useful images from above. The drone is a FlyToDiscover/GREAL-customized DJI Phantom 4 Pro fitted with additional sensor payloads and a 200 meter nylon hand-operated tether. The UAV is normally used for aerophotogrammetry, thermal or NDVI surveys, or, like in this case, for basic – but valuable – aerial observation.

10.27 UTC. Skipper Peter Gallinelli just sent a message reporting about the expedition’s current status:

“Good morning, NANUQ and crew are in good health and mood. Even though progress is very slow, we manage to get closer to the edge of ice. The drone has been particularly useful in providing priceless routing information where ice charts give only approximate data. We are now in dense pack Ice again and waiting for conditions to improve. Fresh snow covers the summits above 800m altitude.  It is likely that the scientific agenda will not be completed at 100%, but I’m glad that activities have begun from the very beginning, allowing to collect many novel observations. What will be the plans for the next days will depend on ice and wind conditions. As the Greenlanders would say ‘Time and ice are the only masters’. Time (sila) means also weather, signifying that weather and time are completely intermingled. I’m very much occupied in taking care of navigation and NANUQ, so please forgive the scarce updates. Kevin is helping in sending regular updates. Keep in touch and all the best,

Peter and crew.”

UPDATE AUG 7, 13.48 UTC. Kevin Monneron sent a message to Polarquest headquarters, hereby translated from French into English: “We came out of the ice we follow the edge of the ice and we will throw anchor to repair a rudder that has broken with the ice”. At that moment NANUQ was heading south at 10 km/h groundspeed (5.5 knots) Latitude: 68.164458 (North), Longitudine: -28.883721 (West) 

13.30 UTC. NANUQ sent an automated position update at 13.24, reporting her static at 68°22’N, 28°36’W. A message sent by the Skipper last night indicated that the boat was again stuck in thick ice in the evening, but situation was normal otherwise. “Good afternoon, once again Nanuq is stuck in dense ice. We could walk around the boat, but it is raining and so we are having a good time inside the cosy cabin, playing cards and having a good hot dinner. Position 3M West of Kapp Norman, slowly drifting NW with the tide. Yesterday has been a very productive day with a complete sampling campaign: mapping of a glacier front, aerial and transect as well as a level zero flora transect in the very wild valley without a name on the western side of Kapp Garde. Observations have been.completed by Kevin diving to collect sediments in the fjord, temperature and salinity probes and Methane sampling on behalf of the University of Geneva. For sure Nanuq is a most fantastic’tool’ for this Arctic expedition.” Ice conditions in the area indicate “very open drift ice” (green) and “open drift ice” (yellow) in the area where NANUQ has been until yesterday but, in her current location, she is in proximity of an area of coastal “close drift ice” (orange) and “very close drift ice” (red), apprently formed in the past 24 hours.

UPDATE AUG 6. A Skipper’s update was received at 16.06: “Nanuq is now locked in since more than 12h and perspectives of getting free on the short term seem small. The latest ice report doesn’t give a very positive outlook. So we are just drifting back and forth, very much the way the explorers of Blosseville coast did a century ago. Patience… We now have time to do repair work on one of our rudders that got severely stuck between two ice-floes while manoeuvring tonight: epoxy resin and glass fibres inside the warm cabin temporarily converted into a workshop.” In this phase of forced inactivity, the crew spends time cooking, reading, writing and listening to music.