Despite the buildings being fixed structures on the Arctic landscape, setting up a field station for the season requires a bit of work. We have moved into the station and spent the first day and a half unpacking our equipment and getting the boat in working order to set sail. At Daneborg we have one building with living quarters, a boat house, and a shipping container lab. After moving the boat outside, the boat house gets transformed into a water processing station to filter samples after we collect them for the day.

We are mostly settled into life at Daneborg, living with our new roommates and making meals for one another. We consist of a team from the Arctic Research Center in Aarhus University (Isolde Puts, Henry Hensen, Mikael Sejr), a team from the Greenland Climate Research Center (Mie Winding, Carl Isaksen, Christian Sølbeck) and two researchers from Museum National d´histoire Naturelle in Paris, France (Frédéric Olivier, Jacques Grall). Together we will collaborate to explore questions regarding arctic benthos, marine ecological resources, carbon dynamics, and long-term changes in the arctic.

Since our arrival, the weather has been a bit harsh. Strong winds snatch the door out of your hands as you step outside, and rain droplets travel sideways along the fjord. The strong wind and waves have pushed all the sea ice along the shore outside the station. We have collected a bit of this free-ice-delivery to make ice baths for later experiments. While we may rush, heads down, between the boat house and the living quarters, a family of walrus who has taken residence right offshore seems utterly unbothered. They alternate turns diving for food and bobbing among the waves. While weather hasn’t been ideal yet, we are hopeful to get the boat in the water and start getting into the field tomorrow. Perhaps we will get to say hello to the walruses on the way. 

- Henry