Expedition Blog Greenland 2025
Join us on a unique research expedition to Greenland aboard R/V Skagerak. Over nine days, five early-career researchers take part in the international Early Career Research Programme – combining fieldwork, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and international mentorship. Here, we share daily stories direct from the ship, offering glimpses of life on board and science at the edge of the ice. Welcome and follow project leader Julia Muchowski and the team on board!
The expedition (August 12 - August 21) is organised by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the University of Gothenburg, the British Antarctic Survey, and the NERC Arctic Office. The team on board the R/V Skagerak is heading for Eastern Greenland, to recover and re-deploy an ocean mooring set out by the British Antarctic Survey last summer as part of the KANG-GLAC project.
Our time on the ship is coming to an end all too quickly.
We have had mirror-calm seas all day today as we sail down the west coast of Iceland towards Reykjavik Harbour. We have seen minke whales swimming alongside the ship, to everyone’s delight!
We will be sad to leave, and want to extend the biggest of thank yous to the crew of the R/V Skagerak.
Our team met to debrief on the science accomplishments of the trip and to discuss what the ECRs have learned and will take away from our time on the ship.
We will be sad to leave, and want to extend the biggest of thank yous to the crew of the R/V Skagerak. The crew were welcoming, friendly, and generous with their time (and their snacks!).
It was wonderful to share the week with them. A special thank you to the cook, Erik, who kept us well fed and happy throughout even the roughest of seas!
Thank you as well to the organisers of this ECR programme. We could not have asked for a better group of scientists to learn from.
We leave with good memories, and hope that future ECRs will follow in our footsteps!
Today was our final day in Greenland! In the morning we mapped the seafloor, while the ECRs presented their research to each other.
The talks were brilliant – it was great to learn about everything from narwhals, to orcas, to gliders, to oceanography and the history of people in Greenland.
A pod of humpacks came to say hello we left, followed shortly by 3 fin whales!
As we turned to head back to Iceland, the sea was calm and we had views stretching along the east coast, with large mountains and glaciers flowing into the sea.
A pod of humpacks came to say hello we left, followed shortly by 3 fin whales! A very fine way to say goodbye to Greenland.
However, the cruise is not over!
We will be in transit all day tomorrow, and packing up until we arrive in the early hours of the 20th.
The mooring is deployed!
This morning the ship shrouded in thick fog, with slushy brash ice all around, and a large swell that rocked the boat.
We didn’t know if it would be possible to deploy the mooring. However, the Captain gave the go-ahead and we successfully managed to deploy the full mooring by lunchtime!
We did one final water sampling station with the CTD, and then started packing up ready for the transit home.
we successfully managed to deploy the full mooring by lunchtime!
52 CTDs in a week isn’t too bad.
In the evening, we had the last two in a series of lectures from the scientists onboard about Greenland’s oceanography, the biology of its fjords (including zooplankton and copepod poo), underwater acoustic instruments and autonomous vehicles (AUVs).
Today the sun is gone.
We spent the day crawling through thick fog and dodging huge icebergs (very slowly!).
As we write this in the mess (the dining area), the ship is rolling on a rough sea.
Fingers crossed for fair seas tomorrow for mooring deployment day!
Today the morning shift deployed CTDs, nets, and took water samples across the mouth of Kangerlussuaq fjord again to see if the recent storm has affected the water properties that enter the fjord.
The afternoon shift prepared the mooring for deploying tomorrow, by attaching instruments to the rope in the pouring rain and fog while we passed by massive icebergs.
Fingers crossed for fair seas tomorrow for mooring deployment day!
We woke up at the head of a small fjord, filled with blue icebergs and long glaciers winding down the mountains into the sea.
We started the day deploying CTDs, and the ECRs reached a big milestone – deploying the CTD solo!
We also launched a new remote-operated vehicle, and cast out nets to study the zooplankton.
The crew gifted us a six pack of fizzy drinks to celebrate. :)
We also launched a new remote-operated vehicle, and cast out nets to study the zooplankton.
Our Friday night ended with a great dinner - chef treated us to venison and roast potatoes. We will miss this lovely fjord!
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise, with icebergs and mountains surrounding the ship.
The chef had prepared eggs and sausages for breakfast and morale was high!
A humpback whale also came to say hello, to everyone’s excitement!
We had reached the mouth of Kangerlussuaq Fjord, home to one of the largest and fastest moving glaciers in Greenland.
The day was spent taking measurements of ocean properties across the mouth of the fjord, to help us understand how much warm water from the Atlantic is flowing into the fjords.
A humpback whale also came to say hello, to everyone’s excitement!
Our first task of the day was to do a “shakedown” deployment of our CTD, a scientific instrument that measures ocean properties and collects water samples from different depths in the ocean.
The purpose of the shakedown CTD is to test the system and help train the Early Career Researchers on standard operating procedure, health and safety, and how to collect good samples.
At last – we found it!
At 7PM we reached the mooring – the scientific instrument that has been measuring ocean properties for a year, and that we are here to service, and redeploy for another year.
The fog had rolled in, and the ship was sailing slowly. We all waited with baited breaths to see if we could spot the mooring floating on the surface.
At last – we found it! The team worked together to haul the scientific instruments on board and collect and safely store the samples.
After two days in Iceland preparing the ship for our expedition, we finally set sail!
The KANG-GLAC project studies how the Greenland Ice Sheet is affecting our climate, the ocean and its marine life. As we left the harbour the sea was calm.
We are headed for Eastern Greenland, to recover and re-deploy an ocean mooring set out by the British Antarctic Survey last summer as part of the KANG-GLAC project.
The KANG-GLAC project studies how the Greenland Ice Sheet is affecting our climate, the ocean and its marine life. As we left the harbour the sea was calm.
We stood on deck watching puffins and everyone was happy.
As we sailed into the open sea, the waves grew to 3m, and tested our (not yet existent) sea legs! Lunch was poorly attended, and the rest of our transit was spent in rolling waves.