Figure 1: Morning view from Oden’s top deck, with low clouds approaching. Photo: Michael Tjernström/MISU/Stockholm University.

Around 06.51 on Saturday 10 June, the air temperature reached above zero for an extended time for the first time and so far it has stayed above freezing. We have seen the daily maximum temperature slowly increasing for the last several days. Mornings have become foggier and yesterday we stayed inside a dense fog the whole day – meaning that all activity on the ice was cancelled.

Figure 2: As warmer temperatures approach, we have been getting more and more periods with fog. When the sun breaks through, bog bows have become more common; a cousin to the more elaborate rainbow. Photo: Michael Tjernström/MISU/Stockholm University.

Today, it has been raining with fog off and on and now we are waiting for some snow and high wind speeds. So today, Sunday, we are finalizing the work here and packing up our ice floe, loading equipment back onboard in bursts when we can, in between patches of fog and low visibility. And between polar bear visits - a daily occurrence the last week or two. We have had over 30 polar bear visits, most of them have been in the last two weeks, although it is impossible to know if some came more than once. Every day work parties on the ice have had to abort and come back on board for safety.

Figure 3: One of the many recent bear visits, by a mother with two seemingly healthy and very playful cubs. Photo: Michael Tjernström/MISU/Stockholm University.