Mika’s Trip to the Arctic (Part 2)
Mika has written to me again about his trip to the Arctic. Fortunately, his luggage has arrived in the meantime. He was very relieved, and so was I. I asked Mika to tell me all about his experiences on the trip. I wanted to know exactly how a research expedition works. He wrote me the following:
Dear Mia,
It’s very beautiful here in the Arctic. We’ve already completed 10 exciting research flights. That’s great, because it’s allowed us to gather a lot of information. We’re taking a close look at the clouds here—but of course not literally with a magnifying glass; instead, we’re photographing them with cameras from the plane. You know that satellites also take pictures of Earth. But from the plane, we’re much closer to the clouds and can see more details. Also, a lot of things here in the Arctic are white—the sea ice and the snow on top of it, but the clouds are white too. It’s not that easy to tell them all apart! That’s why it’s especially important here to look very closely.
But I’m sure you don’t just want to know what we do, but also what a typical day is like here. In the morning, we always look at lots of weather maps. They give us a good overview. We see where the clouds and sea ice are roughly located. And we find out how strong the wind is, or whether it’s raining or snowing.
After that, a plan is made for the next flight. And a decision is also made as to whether we can fly today. If so, we get into the plane and take off. The work in the plane is also very exciting, but I’ll tell you about that another time. Everyone who isn’t flying takes a look at the measurements from the other flights. Everyone always has a lot to do, but they also have a lot of fun. There are always lots of little jokes and even bigger ones, there’s a lot of laughter, and everyone has a great time and enjoys themselves despite all the work. I’m already looking forward to the next few days and will write to you again.
Your Mika
Text & Illustration: Patrizia Schoch, Translation: Fathima Cherichi Purayil