IKKA expedition 2025
Photo cover: Florian Huber, SUBMARIS, 2025
We have returned from a really successful field season in Ikka Fjord, SW Greenland. First of all, we were extremely lucky with the weather, which meant we could complete our most important task within the first three days. Namely, the deploying of dataloggers under water on three different ikaite columns. The divers installed 4 loggers on the column now called ‘The Hobbit’, 6 loggers on Aurora (named after Erik Trampe’s Icelandic ancestor), and finally 5 loggers on ‘Össur’ from the name engraved on a rune stone found just outside Ikka Fjord. This season, our three divers were Florian Huber, Vivien Hotter, and Paul Seaman. They all did a fantastic job working under water while deploying the loggers and photographing. Just like last year, the seawater at the bottom was nice and cold around 0 – 2 °C, which meant the ikaite columns and the biological life were clearly thriving. The visibility at the Hobbit was fantastic, whereas Aurora was more murky and Össur better again. On the final day in the fjord, Florian and Vivi also managed to dive on a group of columns now called Mjölnír after the thunder god Thor’s hammer. These columns had never been dived on before and Florian luckily captured a lot of amazing photos from these hitherto undocumented columns. Erik Trampe was our all-round practical man, boat cox, and safety insurance against polar bears. It’s unbelievable how many talents he has besides being a brilliant scientist, skilled fisherman, excellent cook, and a very helpful person. Praise also to our local colleague Kunuk Albrechtsen from Arsuk. Without Kunuk’s help and local knowledge, we would be lost! Thanks to our efficiency on the first three days, we went on a boat trip with Kunuk to Kvanefjorden (Kuannit) northeast of Arsuk. This is a fjord where the Norse settled during the Viking Age. Nowadays, it’s difficult to see where the houses once were but it’s a beautiful fjord and well protected in bad weather. On Skt. Hans eve, we went back to Station Grønnedal to celebrate this Danish Midsummer tradition with the staff and workers at the station. It started to rain heavily when the bonfire had to be lit but that didn’t destroy the good spirit of the people and the dog Nunu attending. We have always received a lot of help from Station Grønnedal all the way back to its Navy days but I must admit I was really moved and touched by all the help we received this year. When we were running short of food, they served us a fantastic dinner. Thanks Torben, Andreas, Michael, and Christian, you guys were amazing!! Hope to see you again next year 🙂
The fieldwork this summer was funded by NAPA, while the investment in loggers and the costs for two divers were paid by a grant from Aage V. Jensens fond in Denmark. Bauer Kompressoren GmbH from Germany once again sponsored us with a Bauer Junior II compressor while GEOMAR came to our rescue with extra loggers. Ocean Dive in Copenhagen helped us with diving equipment, and HydroCharting ApS in Denmark helped us with a SVP/CTD. Kunuk and Verner from Arsuk helped us with boats, generators, satellite phone, and a lot of other stuff. Thank you to all funders, sponsors, and helpers for your support to the IKKA project!
