The weather is still very good. The trainings done, the station is extremely busy by the departure of the glaciologist’s expedition. Lot of things need to be fixed, checked, doubled checked, and re-checked. For our CHASE program, we are allowed to use a new container placed 300m away from the main station where we will place the active pumps. In that place, we have also installed our materials for the passive samplers and the snow samples. Defining the transect and the planning, is not an easy task as they will depend on several factors (the availability of people, especially the guides; the delay of the boat; the glaciologist’s expedition that we will normally join; …). Fortunately, we had the opportunity to visit the first site near the station (Utsteinen, 4km from the station) where Jean-Louis placed the first passive sampler in 2012. Everything is still in good shape and the site is perfect: not too close or too far away from the station, in a valley where wind can flow through, in the middle of the mountains. Tomorrow, we are going to prepare the materials to collect snow there and replace the filter, and install the new poles. It will be the first site where we are going to make our own training to be ready for the other sites more exposed to the wind in more remote area.
From Nadine & Christophe
