Unfrozen water coming to the surface by the shore. Photo: Min Jung Kwon  Tuesday, 26th of November 

 

I (Min) forgot to introduce Ina in the first blog. I met Ina last year at the same institute (we shared an office for some months) and we became friends.

 

I was talking about the plan for Siberian trip with her and she showed interest. It was first like a joke but it became serious. At that time I was actually looking for somebody who can assist the field work because it is little harsh work in the field especially in cold temperature.

 

Also she studies remote sensing so is qualified for this job with scientific backgrounds. Most importantly she is supporting and motivating me (physically and spiritually) in this wilderness J When it is hard we are hugging and cheering each other. We are having fun! "

In the middle of the picture you can see some tire marks that stop with the broken ice sheet. Somebody tried to come to the riverside with a car and broke the thin ice sheet. Photo: Min Jung KwonWhen I (Min) remember the river in Seoul in winter time, the water surface was very rarely frozen entirely, instead the ice was rather spotty through the whole winter – it was simply not cold enough.

 

So I imagined the river ice sheet in Cherskii would be strongly attached to the riverside and not move at all when the whole ice pack is half a meter thick. But it turned out to be not true.

 

When the level of the unfrozen water below this ice sheet changes, this frozen ice goes up and down too: when the water level goes up, the water pushes this ice sheet up and some water comes up by breaking thin ice layer – usually next to the shore.

 

This also happens when it snows much and this weight presses the ice sheet. (Photo 1) Also, as water thaws and freezes several times at different spots, the ice surface of the river becomes very irregular.

Today we wanted to go to the field but could not due to this high water level next to the river banks. We usually drive a car to our site but today, there was more than 50 cm of standing water beneath only 5 cm thick ice, in which condition a car can sink. There are many obstacles against our research! But we will not stop ;)