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Field work
Summer 2024
Report 1
Fieldwork finally started and it is going well. We got into Inuvik on August 6th and had two days of preparations before heading out to the first sump on the 9th. Located about 500 m off the road, Parsons E-02 is not too far off a larger lake in the vicinity. We are quite a large team representing multiple disciplines, so we had quite a bit of work to do and coordinate. Consequently we have a lot of gear to transport, which we thankfully have some sleds for to pull across the tundra. Due to the large equipment and sampling efforts, we decided to take about four days per site.
After assessing our first site through satellite images and looking around on-site, we started with some EC measurements to see if we could determine some TDS gradients - which we did. Accordingly, we got to work. Mehriban laid out several ERT transects, and the soil sampling team followed on of these transects which coincided with the TDS gradient. Georg, Verena, and Darius dug pits and took soil profiles, in which Rachele, Raul, and Moritz then took five cores in total. Mykola, who monitored our work from an environmental standpoint, was very happy with the clean work. Meanwhile Aaron and Verena were busy sampling the cores. Danielle, in the meantime, was quite busy infiltration testing while Johanna and Matthias gave air support from above, taking pictures along drone transects. Several smaller ponds were located around the sump, and Emma and Antje got busy on their boat sampling the water of these as well as the bigger lake in the vicinity. During our work at Parsons E-02, we received invaluable support from our Canadian partners Tim and Logan. Their experience and dedication contributed significantly to the successful sampling and surveying of our first site.
Work at the first site went very well overall, we got nice cores, some first mechanical soil properties, ERT and GPR transects were taken. The sump cap appears to be about 2 m thick. The active layer thickness on the cap is about 0.7 m and in the surrounding tundra about 0.4 m. The sump cap is a mixture of silty clays and sands, around the sump we found more peaty soils. EC measurements showed at most moderate salt contents, but several of the pits (especially one at the western sump edge) showed great olfactory signs of contamination, smelling intensely of diesel. We can paraphrase Georg here, who is very experienced taking soil pits, who had “never smelled something as bad as this”.
We are quite pleased so far with the samples and data collected, as well as the process of integrating all this very heterogeneous data. On August 13th we visited the second site Kamik F-38 for the first time, hauling out equipment, locating the hydrological pathways, and measuring EC and doing some Panda tests for soil resistance. Permafrost appears to be much more degraded here, active layer thickness around 1.5 m, salt contents are likely around 7 % and more in some locations, and there are clear signs of slumping failure. After a rest and supply day on the 14th we are ready to go out for three more intense field days at Kamik before heading up to the Tuk sites.
Report 2
Week two of the expedition went by quite quickly. The way through the tundra, albeit shorter than on Parsons E-02, proved more difficult due to more swampy conditions, higher vegetation and some mean tussocks along the way. On certain days the weather was favorable which helped with the walk. A break-day after hauling out the equipment charged everyone’s batteries to go into investigations with renewed energy. This strategy proves quite useful by now, as the unfavorable paths to the sites tend to drain one’s energy when pulling more than 20 kg of equipment. However, the motivation for the interesting science as well as the feeling of doing impactful work for the local communities continue to keep the spirits of all participants lifted.
Kamik F-38 showed to be an interesting site, with interesting features to observe. Focusing on certain parts of the sump, the team geophysics & geotechnics consisting of Mehriban, Raul, and Aaron aligned their efforts to obtain well – resolved data in these areas. These coincided partly with the soil & hydrological transects done by Verena, Darius and Georg. Integrating these data should give a nice coherent picture of the datasets collected. Danielle found some interesting features with her infiltrometer tests. Unfortunately the site conditions were not too favorable for Emma and Antje to take a lake sediment core, which has been postponed to the next site, Tuktuk A-12. They ended up helping out the other teams, which was indeed very helpful as the four days allocated to the site could barely support all the investigations that wanted to be done – just like Parsons, Kamik is quite an interesting location. Cores were taken with a pipe instead of the Sipre as demonstrated by Rachele, with ample support by Moritz, yielding an array of interesting samples. When Johanna and Matthias were not taking high resolution drone images, they and Rachele joined forces in the lab drying and classifying vegetation samples they had taken throughout the day.
The final day the weather turned on us, with heavy rain and mean wind bursts. For that reason, the day was kept quite short to ensure everyone’s wellbeing. Some personnel changes ensued: Tim and Logan departed at the beginning of the week, who had been a terrific help in assessing the sites so far. Jennika arrived at the last day working at Kamik, and Raul unfortunately departed for Germany the day after. As a replacement arrived Neri, who will be supporting the geotechnical and geophysical investigations from now on. Scouting the Tuktuk A-12 site on the same day, we also took the opportunity for a short walk into the town of Tuktoyuktuk to see the Arctic ocean and mix with the locals for a while. With motivation and prepared for the slowly ensuing fall weather, we now look forward to the next week of our investigations.
Report 3
The final week of the ThinIce 2024 summer expedition seemed to just fly by. Speaking of flying, by the time of writing this report half of the group is already on their way back home. This was, however, not before some essential events took place. Thanks to a now quite well-adjusted team the first Tuk site (Tuktuk A-12) fully investigated within only three days. The work got on well and both the quality and quantity of samples and data was more than satisfactory. We finished our work by collectively digging a 120 m trench to bury an ERT monitoring cable weighing at least 50 kg. Located quite close to Tuktoyaktuk, the drive of almost two and a half hours (one way) meant some early mornings and late dinners. Driving duties were divided and roadtrip playlists were created in order to keep the spirits up.
Finishing Tuktuk A-12 in three days allowed for a more expansive trip to a fourth sump. Keeping in mind that the minimum goal was to visit at least one site, this fourth one was regarded as a big bonus, and due to the time constraint of two days, a smaller investigation set was targeted. Tuk L09, the final site, turned out to be a very interesting site for all teams - team geophysics & -mechanics, team soil, team hydro, as well as team remote sensing really dug in their heels to gather as much information on this site as possible. Mehriban and Jennika had, at this point, just left for Trail Valley Creek camp for a week to install and read out sensors. Their presence at the last site was dearly missed, in particular the ERT cables.
Due to the great motivation of the team, the last site was almost completely investigated in just two days, leaving us with a very satisfied feeling at the end of our last field day. Before Georg, Antje, Neri, Emma, and Darius departed on the 28th, two days were needed to organize and sort out samples and to clean the cars and the equipment which had collected a considerable crust of dirt during the 3000 km drive up and down the highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. After some very motivated late night lab sessions Johanna departed the day after. Meanwhile, Moritz, Danielle, Verena, and Aaron revisited the Kamik site to collect some additional data. Shortly before writing this report, Mehriban and Jennika returned from Trail Valley Creek to join for one last dinner together before we should all leave the lovely town of Inuvik in the coming days. Besides samples we take with us some deep impressions of fascinating science, incredible landscapes, and truly amazing team work. Processing all this should take about as much time as processing all our data - so hopefully, not too long.
Field work
March 2025
Report 1
The second ThinIce expedition has started, and the first week has already passed. It seems that time flies in the Canadian Arctic just like it does in Potsdam. We returned to Inuvik with new plans and much colder weather - last August we saw temperatures of up to 35 degrees celsius, while now, in March, we are greeted by the polar opposite of -35°C.
Equipped with many layers of warm clothing we set out to visit a number of sites. After two days of prepping the first field days were in order. First on the agenda was Parsons E02, which had already been visited in August ‘24, which means that ERT electrodes, which would have been impossible to install in winter, were already in place, and we could get straight to work.
Work included freeing electrodes from snow, measuring snow depths, and drilling holes into ice in order to sample lake sediments. A small setback occured when components of Emma’s sediment corer were freezing solid, rendering the device unusable, but thanks to some resourcefulness and improvisation a replacement corer could be manufactured the same night, resulting in the collection of two nice sediment cores. We named it CoreMor.
The day after was colder. So cold, in fact, that our gear started refusing service. Laptops shut down, snowmobiles did not start, equipment froze stuck to the ground. Any work that was missed due to the weather that day could be made up for on the next day, which could be described as nothing less than extraordinarily satisfying in terms of data, samples, and mood.
We were lucky enough to spot a pack of Arctic wolves from the car that afternoon, which lifted the spirits even further. At this point we should honorably mention our great wildlife and environmental monitors Miles and John, that we have the pleasure of having on board. They made for great safety insurance, humor, and field support. The day of writing this report concludes the work on Parsons E02, a beautiful winter day that, although still quite cold, was bathed in sunlight and left us quite satisfied at the end of the first week.
Report 2
The second ThinIce expedition progressed on as week two passed by. This means that our time based in Inuvik is already over - as per March 19th we will leave the cozy rowhouses of the Aurora Research Institute and move onward to Tuktoyaktuk for the second half of fieldwork.
Emma’s birthday started off the second week, which was celebrated with a homemade cake (yes, we used a cake mix. Flavor: Birthday cake). Two sites were visited in the subsequent days: Kamik-F38, which we’d already seen in August ‘24, and Imnak-J29, a site new to the whole team. On Kamik several ERT and GPR transects could be collected in an effort to more closely locate potential contaminant migration pathways. Accompanied by the singing of Ptarmigans (puffy Arctic birds that travel around in large flocks and are incredibly well camouflaged as snowballs) we packed up the site.
Other notable wildlife encounters include a black Arctic fox, as well as a lynx and some incredible dark purple Arctic ravens. Even more exciting was then the visit to the Imnak site, which was new to everyone and therefore, much was to explore. In only two days an array of coring and geophysical measurements was conducted, which included the installation of ERT electrodes underneath partly meter-high snow cover into the solid frozen ground. Needless to say the day of packing was welcomed as an opportunity to collect some energy, and the night before was utilized to get acquainted with local culture in the legendary Mad Trapper pub, featuring a lovely aurora on the way home. Once again we would like to thank our amazing wildlife and environmental monitors Miles and John, who have made our work out of Inuvik very productive and enjoyable.
Report 3
Week three. It is negative 30 degrees celsius up in Tuktoyaktuk, the sun has been keeping us company every day, and the wind, which is the only thing out here that bites (no polar bears so far, luckily), has been largely absent. We receive news from our colleagues on the Antarctica station of windy weather and negative fifteen celsius - seems like fall is approaching for them, while here, up in the Arctic, spring is slowly but surely creeping up on the tundra.
Two sites are on the agenda for the Tuktoyaktuk trip. Based in local resident Roger Gruben’s houses, who has been a very gracious host and quite informative on local culture, we have the luxury of visiting the “Tuk sites”, TukTuk A12 and Tuk L09, by hopping on a short car ride of only about twenty minutes. This enables a bit more sleep and a bit of extra energy, which is well needed considering the deep and often soft snow we find up here.
Deep snow may be the dream of any winter sport enthusiast, but can be quite exhausting for fieldwork. Just ask Mehriban, who, with the help of Benny, has been digging meter-deep holes for her electrical tomography electrodes. Or ask Aaron, who has been strapping on snowshoes and put in some serious mileage mapping subsurface electrical conductivity (or rather, ask his legs). Or just ask Frederieke, who’s been dutifully logging all these snow depths all over the place. While all these activities were going on, Moritz and Emma have been gathering plenty of sediment cores on nearby lakes.
The weather and data we could gather have kept up the mood, in addition to the previously mentioned precious extra sleep hours. We are in good health and quite confident that all the work will be able to shine a better light on the state of these Arctic waste sites we’re investigating. Suffice to say, the ThinIce team is quite happy and enjoying their time in Tuktoyaktuk as the campaign is already slowly approaching its end - only a few more days remain on Tuk L09, after which only a few days of packing and freight preparation lie between the team's departure. But that will only be next week and we remain here for the time being. So we say goodbye and sleep tight until our next, and final report.
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