Moi,
Another aspect of our field research that hasn’t been discussed in the blog is the weather.
Working on an ice-covered lake, we expected cold weather, but that wasn’t exactly what we got.
When we arrived in Kilpisjärvi, the lake was completely ice-covered and we could walk on it confidently.
The ice was thick and stable enough that we were able to launch UBC-Gavia.
But, as the temperatures increased (sometimes above 30 degrees Celsius) the ice started to degrade quickly. The ice detached from the shore and regions of soft ice formed.

The ice was so easy to break due to its columnar structures, that Tom Kokkonen could break it apart with a canoe paddle.
As the sun-baked the ice surface, more channels of open water formed in the ice.
This opening of the ice was beneficial for the UBC-Gavia recovery mission as the team could search open water for her tether.
Then, the weather changed again and the fog rolled in.
Then the wind picked up and pushed all the left over ice to our end (North) of the lake.
Then, the very next day, the lake was completely open water.
The day we left Kilpisjärvi, it looked completely different from the day we arrived.
So, what did we learn from this. Well, we learned to pack for every eventuality and to go with the flow, in this case the flow of ice. We couldn’t control the weather, but at least we could try to use it to our advantage.
Seuraavaan kertaan! (Until next time!)