The CASE 22 Expedition ( I )

Having started last Wednesday evening, we are now about one week travelling with the Vinson of Antarctica.

In the first days, the weather was very good but the last two days were foggy and rainy with some snow - but this does not keep us inside. We want to see the rocks of Spitsbergen! Unfortunately, the ice conditions north of Nordaustlandet are still not very good, therefore, we spent the last days at the north-westernmost coast of Spitsbergen around Smeerenburgfjorden.

The geology of this part of Spitsbergen is highly interesting: The rocks are very old, reaching ages of more than 1000 million years. Collecting and analyzing these rocks will give us a lot of new information about the formation history of this part of Spitsbergen and we can use them to improve the existing models of this area.

The rock samples we collect from the field will go straight to the belly of the Vinson of Antarctica where they are stored safe and dry.

Coming back on board after a long and cold day of fieldwork is fantastic. There is always something hot to drink and snacks to get new energy, enough space to dry our clothes and gear and we all have dinner together.

We are looking forward to the next days and weeks and we will keep you informed.

Geologist at work.

Overview:

We, the CASE 22 team, are four geologists from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Germany and from the Universities of Bremen (Germany) and Dartmouth (USA), and two wildlife monitors from Germany.

Our target is to find out how and when the rocks of Svalbard have formed and what happened to them after formation. For this expedition, we plan to work at the northern coast of Nordaustlandet if ice conditions allow. 

Please cross your fingers that this will be possible!

The CASE 22 Expedition Team

20th July 2021