How to prepare for fieldwork during a pandemic

by Eva Doting

On Monday May 11, the Aarhus University cryo-bio group held its first physical meeting since the lockdown in Denmark was announced two months prior. We met up in a park, discussed some science and ate some cookies while fending off some overly eager ducks that seemed more interested in our cookies than our science. It was here that Alex mentioned that it was really starting to look like we might be able to get to Greenland for a very reduced version of our original fieldwork plans. Two days later, during one of the regular Deep Purple Team Zoom meetings, it was decided that we would start ordering, planning, packing and shipping as if it was certain that we'd be heading to the ice. 

Despite everyone's intentions to keep ambitions low, they quickly spiralled from planning a 4-person grab-and-go expedition into planning a full on 7-person-three-week-long ice camp. Scientific imaginations ran wild, orders for scientific equipment, chemicals, camping gear, food provisions, down pants, jackets and boots were being placed at record speed and packages quickly started pilling up in our offices.

With our postdoc Laura Perini still stuck in Italy due to an impressive number of COVID-related flight cancellations and while navigating the social distancing and limited attendance rules at our department, we started filling box after box, after box, after box... Over the span of a short week, we packed scientific, food and camp supplies onto 5 pallets weighing an impressive total of 1215 kg. A couple of 16+ hour work (and weekend) days and several paperwork nightmares later, the major share of our gear was wrapped up and ready for its first leg of travel: by truck to the port in Aalborg, Denmark. From there, it will make a two-week journey over sea to Nuuk, where it will be loaded onto a second ship that will sail it to Qaqortoq. Once in Qaqortoq, it will be picked up for transport to the ice by helicopter sling load. It will be there, on the Greenland Ice Sheet near PROMICE weather station QAS_M (https://www.promice.dk/CurrentWeatherMap.html), that we hope to be reunited with our gear. 

With load one on its way, we went home to catch up on some sleep before heading back to pack a sixth pallet with stuff that had not arrived before the first departure. On Tuesday June 9, a little less than one month after the decision to start ordering, planning and packing, this final pallet was picked up to follow in the footsteps of the first 1215 kg. It is expected to arrive in Qaqortoq around the same time that we hope to be landing in Narsarsuaq, on June 30, armed with negative COVID-19 tests, a bunch of warm clothes, some scientific equipment that we were not able to ship, high spirits and even higher ambitions. Until then, we will be working on finalising sampling protocols and field logistics while anxiously watching the status of our flights and expected delivery dates of the equipment that has not arrived yet. Fingers crossed!!