We made good time today. Finding not much ice in most of the fjord, we have arrived near its head - within easy heli range of the Daugaard-Jensen glacier.

In fact, Gorden, one of the glaciologists, and Hughie have just left to fly some gear in and establish a base camp.

The camp will be equipped with emergency safety gear such as tents, food and cooking supplies. There is always the risk that after dropping a team at the glacier, the helicopter may not be able to get them back off for a while due to bad weather, mechanical problems, etc. And we're a long way from any other help, so the glacier team needs enough provisions to safely endure an unscheduled stay.

More on the nuts and bolts of the glacier work in another update, but the bad news is you might have to wait for it. The ship will now go to anchor somewhere for a few days while the scientific work gets done. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that the steep sides of the fjord will block our satellite access so this update may be the last until we head out again.

-Andrew

John is on board in a combination logistics and wilderness safety capacity. He's also a member of the One World Expedition team.

After leaving Iceland, we have had a relatively smooth trip across the Greenland Sea North West to the East Coast of Greenland.

The good ship Arctic Sunrise has been a hive of activity in preparing the equipment for the summer in Greenland. Boats have been checked, the dry suits and lifejackets and all the polar clothing have also been checked, and plans have been made with the forthcoming science programs.

I have been involved with training personnel in glacier travel, and getting used to the specialized equipment. I have also been on "watch" twice a day for four hours. This involves keeping a safety watch from the bridge, checking lashings, doors and engine room, cleaning and repairs to equipment and assisting the navigator on duty.

The sea conditions have been fairly good with a following swell of about ten feet (3m) for the first two days. Then the first fields of sea ice were spotted, and we skirted these to seaward to maintain speed.

After about one and a half days in pack ice, we traveled into Scoresby Sound this morning. At about 08:00 we were in the large sound, about 25 miles (40km) southwest of the entrance to Hurry Fjord, about 37 miles (60km) west of the town Ittoqortoormiit. This fjord is the world's largest, around 219 miles (350km) long, 32 miles (52km) at its widest with a 17 mile (28km) entrance, and up to 4,785 feet (1,459m) deep. There are a series of smaller though still spectacular fjords linked to this great sound. We are flanked by mountains on all sides that reach 6,068 feet (1,850m) to the sky, with ice caps and glaciers alongside these peaks.

We are heading towards Nordvestfjord to conduct glaciology on Daugaard Jensen Glacier. This all depends on traveling around or through the rotting winter ice and pack ice, how long and far we will travel towards it before using the helicopter to transport us there.

The glaciology work, by two University of Maine scientists, consists of installing stakes in the glacier a bit over half a mile (1km) back from the calving front, and monitoring them by Differential GPS to determine the speed. This could take two to three days. Due to the dangerous crevasse fields, all participants need to be roped up for glacier travel. They would each wear boot crampons (12 pointed steel spikes attached to a strap-on steel sole), carry an ice axe and be roped together with dynamic climbing rope to arrest their fall in case they slip into a crevasse, a slot up to 820 feet (250m) deep.

It was beautiful and exciting to once again be looking at the surrounding mountain ranges last night in the beautiful golden twilight. Of course the coastline southward along the rugged Blosseville Coast brought back the very difficult conditions Lonnie and I faced in 2001. Steep 1,600-foot (500m) cliffs, bare rocks along the shores devoid of flora and relentless pack ice caused us a lot of heartache and sore muscles during long daily paddles between places to get out and camp.

Hopefully we will be able to start the glaciology work in the next day or two.

-John

Greetings from Iceland. Our ETD is 12:00, a half hour from now. Martina and I just downed our seasickness pills and are tidying up our cabin so that stuff doesn't get tossed everywhere. We also have to go hunt down some buckets because according to Arne (the Captain), "it will be a bit rough out there." For exactly how long, I don't know. He said something to the effect of the wind changing direction to come from the southwest after a while, which will mean it will be behind us and will make the ride a lot smoother. I'm not keeping my hopes up, though, and am ready for a few days of feeling pretty puny in my bunk.

We met with the mayor of Isafjordur yesterday. The whale campaigner, Frode, told us that the mayor is a fisherman and would probably dress casual for our meeting. I wore a jeans and a fleece, and felt kinda bad when the mayor showed up in a suit. Oh well.

We met on the bridge of our ship so it was pretty informal, anyway. Frode talked about how this is the third year in a row that Greenpeace has visited Isafjordur because we are conscious of the criticism that some NGOs visit, make a lot of promises and never return.

Martina talked with the mayor about the town's plans to establish a sort of climate research station here to look into sea currents and ocean temperature and how they are being affected by global warming. The mayor said how he's concerned about the impacts of global warming on the country's fish stocks. Some species of fish seek out a particular water temperature, and if the water temperature of traditional fishing grounds changes, then the fish may go elsewhere.

The mayor also told us an interesting story about how the town's new dock has been built half a meter (1.5 feet) higher than the old one since sea level will rise due to global warming. I chimed in that this kind of information is important for Americans because when we hear that global warming is affecting people, we will be motivated to take action.

This morning I reviewed some footage of a glacier expert in Reykjavik who said that melting glaciers in this country could lead to more volcanic eruptions. I'd never heard that before.

It is VERY interesting for me being an American on board this ship, coming from the country that's the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and is also the most recalcitrant when it comes to dealing with global warming. The ship's engines just fired up so I am going to shut down this laptop and start stowing things for the ship's transit to Greenland. Next update will hopefully be while en route or, if it's too rough, from the calmer, ice infested waters of Greenland.

-Melanie

Today at around 1400 hours we started to enter substantial ice. I checked the GPS and we were a bit above 70 degrees north latitude. Floes now fill the landscape (seascape?) as far as the eye can see.

It's overcast but not at all foggy so we are going along at eight knots, a decent clip, weaving in and out of ice floes and occasionally bashing into one with a big thud that shakes the ship.

The energy on board - already high - has been cranked up a few notches by the ice. Everyone's wearing a grin and folks are circulating from the bridge to the bow, checking out the ice floes. We've seen some auks and some seals, and one seal entertained us by popping up about 10 meters in front of the bow, then swimming along the starboard rail and keeping up with us for a while before drifting along the side of the ship and diving, showing off with a splash of its tail.

This is Isha's first time above the Arctic circle, in sea ice, and seeing whales and seals. She is positively awestruck and describes feeling "numb with delight." That kind of excitement doesn't wane, at least not for me, and this is my fifth trip on this ship in Arctic waters. I feel the same kind of excitement and awe that she does.

Arne, the Captain, told me earlier today that he thought we would enter the ice at some point soon. He's got so much experience at the poles, I swear, it's as if he can smell the ice as we approach.

There were other signs that the ship was heading farther and farther north above the Arctic Circle. Everyone was issued cold weather gear from the ship's stores. Hot chocolate appeared in the mess. And the reading material posted in each toilet was switched from a briefing on heat stroke to hypothermia (if you want to make sure something is read, then post it in the toilet!).

We are still on the look-out for our first iceberg, and there is talk of starting another contest to predict the first polar bear sighting.

- Melanie

This is Andrew here, reporting in from the bridge of the Arctic Sunrise. This is usually a nice and quiet place to work when were at dock. Henriette, the second mate is my only company. It's as close to a private office as you can get on this ship.

Today Oddur Sigurosson, a geologist and glacier expert with the National Energy Authority, gave a briefing in the hold for crew and guests about the state of Iceland's glaciers. Why does the National Energy Authority need a glacier expert? Mainly because Iceland has a lot of hydropower dependant on glacier melt.

Let me tell you a little about glaciers. Glaciers, as I learned today, are not the static and unchanging lumps of ice. They are always changing, often in dramatic ways, especially surging glaciers. Surging glaciers compress build up mass and then "surge" - traveling downhill in bursts.

Non-surging glaciers are easiest for studying the effects of climate change. Their shape does not significantly alter, being somewhat parabolic, and the terminus (bottom end) only really changes. By measuring where the glacier ends, you know how much mass the glacier has lost. With surging glaciers you can also measure their decline, but need to factor in their individual surge cycle, which varies from glacier to glacier.

Sigurosson also told us that like most glaciers in the rest of the world, Iceland's are melting because of human caused global warming. The only questions are how fast and what we are going to do about it.

Want more glacier talk? Don't worry, there will be plenty more coming right here. Lots and lots more. Keep checking back.

-Andrew

Greetings from Anchorage, Alaska where the pace is frenetic as I prepare to board the Arctic Sunrise next week in Reykjavik, Iceland.

I have a long list of things to do, and at this point, I take tremendous pleasure in crossing things off my list.

This may sound totally lame, but one of the scariest things is contemplating two months without the internet and Google! The Arctic Sunrise relies on a satellite communication system for phone and email, and connecting to the internet is a prohibitive cost. With that in mind, before I leave, I'm downloading web pages on global warming, the Arctic, Greenland, renewable energy in the U.S., how the Bush administration works to derail global progress on global warming... those kinds of things. I know most of this stuff off the top of my head but it's hard to remember the details at times.

Then there's my personal life. I have a dog, so I've found a house sitter to stay with him while I'm away. I'm paying all of my bills for two months in advance so the utilities at my home aren't turned off. I'm letting friends know that I won't be around for the next two months, and explaining to friends here at home why I'm leaving Alaska (again!) for the summer. My pat answer is, "well, if you have to leave Alaska for the summer, then you might as well go north..." What else is on the list? "Make sure there's enough dog food. Pack enough dental floss. Will I need more than one hat? Where is my down jacket? Blank CDs will be useful, how many should I bring? Where are my adapter plugs for the ship's Dutch electrical outlets? Gosh, I hope I don't spend too much time being seasick. Where's that book on oil and gas industry impacts on the Alaskan Arctic? Remember to change the message on your cellphone..." It's a weird combination of things to think about.

But above all else, I feel absolutely honored and really excited to be on board the Arctic Sunrise for this next phase of Project Thin Ice. I live with many of the impacts of global warming here in Alaska, and I'm really curious to see how Greenland is affected by warming. Many of the crew on board the Arctic Sunrise have devoted their winters and summers to protecting the Alaskan Arctic from the ravages of global warming. It will be great to see familiar faces and continue our work in Greenland.

-Mel

I admit to knowing little about how to walk around safely on a glacier, being from Kansas, where we have a sum total of zero glaciers. Yet the task of ensuring that the Arctic Sunrise has the necessary equipment aboard to provide for the safety of anyone going out on glaciers fell into my lap, as my role in this project involves general logistical preparation in support of the ship. Thankfully, I had John Hoelscher from the One World Expedition at my disposal, a veteran of polar adventures. Drawing on his deep experience in Antarctica and north of the Arctic Circle, we set about preparing the Arctic Sunrise for the specific tasks we envision undertaking in Greenland this summer.

Overall, the ship is always provisioned with personal equipment for a variety of excursive purposes, including the basics for camping, climbing, small-craft boating, and, of course, being an ice-class vessel, arctic gear.

What the ship does not necessarily carry at all times is equipment needed for the specifics of this summer's journey: specialized gear designed to provide for the safety of folks visiting polar melt-ponds on remote glaciers. The surfaces of glaciers are highly varied, from smooth fields to tightly compressed fields of deep crevasses and rugged formations, and they're quite dangerous. Even if you're not planning to spend the night, you need to be prepared to, as weather can change dramatically, hindering flight options.

So with John's guidance, we reviewed what the ship had on board that would be used for our safety and travel kits, planning on being able to provide for a party of up to 7 people on the ice:

• Climbing Ropes
• Prussik Slings
• Crampons
• Bod Harnesses
• Ice Axes
• Snow Shovels
• Ice Screws
• Snow Pickets
• Carabiners
• Jumars
• Pulleys
• Figure 8s
• Helmets
• Cook Sets
• Heat Pack Heaters
• Charcoal Elements
• Distribution Tubes
• First Aid Kits
• Ski Goggles
• Sorrel Boots and wool liners
• Gaiters
• High Insulation Pants
• Jackets
• Body warmers
• Heat pads
• Stuff Sacks
• Teddysuits - Fibrepile
• Jackets - Fibrepile
• Pants - Fibrepile
• Wind Pants
• Sleeping Bags
• Backpacks
• Thermal Underwear
• Balaclavas
• Fibrepile Gloves
• Polypro Gloves
• Earhead Hats
• Polar Caps
• Gloves
• Mittens
• Socks
• Nylon Bags (with drawstring)
• Cook sets
• Fuel cans
• Repair kits
• Brown biscuits
• Matches
• Pots and pans
• Spoons
• Flares

A pretty good start - the ship had almost everything we need, and plenty of it. After counting up the number of each of these items available, we then searched our warehouse for what we needed to flush out our list. We sent the following to Amsterdam:

• 1 Large Backpack (for the rescue kit)
• 2 Static climb ropes, 1 dynamic climb rope
• 4 Harnesses
• 7 7mm leg-length prussiks
• 7 7mm waist-length prussiks
• 1 Pulley
• 8 Locking carabiners
• 3 12-point crampons
• 5 6-point (instep) crampons
• 1 Ice hammer
• 5 4m long webbing lengths
• 2 Belay plates
• 4 Rock pitons
• 4 Hand-held VHF radios
• 1 Wire ladder
• 7 Sleeping mats
• 2 4-season arctic tents

We needed to purchase only a few items on our list. We didn't have an ice hammer on the shelf and we were fresh out of rock pitons! We also needed 5 bivy bags; I called to price them out and the good folks at Mountain Hardware donated them in support of the mission, which was mighty nice.

With this list complete and John joining the ship, we should be ready to visit some glacial environments safely and securely during the tour.

-Nathan