Transit towards the Arctic along the western coast of Norway


Photo by John Prytherch west of Norway, taken on Oden at May 1st 2023.


For about a week ago, the Icebreaker Oden left Helsingborg (Sweden) to head north towards Svalbard (Norwegian archipelago north of Scandinavia in the Arctic Ocean at around 79N; Svalbard is also known as Spitzbergen). Onboard Oden were, apart from the crew, also a few scientists doing the last preparations before the expedition. Traveling across the Atlantic is not always that of a smooth trip and working out on deck in stormy seas can be dangerous! Taking shelter from the harsh weather conditions, Oden took a more scenic route and partly followed Hurtigruten during the transit (in the western Norwegian islands: see Photo) - but returning back out to the large waves every now and then.


After one week's transit along the western coast of Norway, Oden finally made it all the way to Svalbard and arrived in Longyearbyen yesterday (Friday). 


The rest of us will get onboard Oden on Sunday (7 May) afternoon, after which we'll head up north into the sea ice. Right now I am waiting in Oslo - as many of us scientists that will take part in the expedition - to catch the early morning flight on Sunday that will take us all to Svalbard, where Oden is waiting for us.  


It will be exciting to follow the weather forecast for the coming days - as this will set the course for our first target destination. Let's hope for many atmospheric rivers (narrow bands of warm and moist airmasses from the south) that we can capture and gather observations from during this Arctic expedition in spring 2023.


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