i2B - Into The Blue

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

After 35 unforgettable days at sea, the i2B expedition has come to an end. The team retrieved nearly 250 meters of sediment cores from key sites across the #Arctic Ocean — records that will help unravel the story of past warm climates. 🔗 Read chief scientist Jochen Knies’ reflection: arcg.is/0favaf0

✨ The power of teamwork in the Arctic ❄️🚢
From hauling heavy cores to processing samples, every task on R/V Kronprins Haakon depends on collaboration. Read @alexgag11.bsky.social reflections on how teamwork makes science possible: 🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0
📸 Norbert Nowaczyk
@paleodyn.bsky.social

🚢 4 weeks at sea, 6,400 samples, and a record-breaking 22 m core ❄️🌊
The i2B team is piecing together the Arctic’s climate history, sample by sample — day and night.
🔗 Read co-chief scientist Stijn De Schepper’s update: arcg.is/0favaf0
📸 Tim Kalvelage
@bjerknes.uib.no

🎨 The importance of colours ❄️🌊
From radar streaks in the ice to subtle shades in sediment cores, colours guide our work in the Arctic. The team even tested their soil colour charts on lab tools — try it yourself in @rhewlif.xyz Instagram quiz: www.instagram.com/rhewlif/ 🚢✨
🔗 Blog: arcg.is/0favaf0

🚨 A small break from cruise updates to say that: We’re hiring! i2B is looking for a Postdoc in Arctic Marine Geology and Marine Geophysics. Find out more about the position here: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Please share with your networks 😊

🚢🔎 From hidden channels to towering seamounts, the i2B expedition is uncovering the Arctic seafloor in remarkable new detail.
Read more about our findings in our latest blog written by @rhewlif.xyz :
🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

Santa Claus and crew member on an ice floe at the north pole

Henry Patton in front of the ship Kronprins Haakon

Crew having a BBQ on Kronprins Haakon

Playing football on ice at the north pole

We dropped in on Santa Claus at the north pole this week to get our wish lists in early!

To celebrate reaching 90N - the first time unaided for the Kronprins Haakon - we had ourselves a BBQ followed by a football match on the ice.

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

Keep track of our @i2b-erc.bsky.social expedition updates below as we continue our journey towards northeast Greenland.

“I didn’t hear the usual grinding of ice” When a Norwegian vessel reached the North Pole this week, the scientific team made an alarming discovery.

As mentioned in this interview with our cruise leader, Jochen Knies, the ease with which we reached the pole was unthinkable 30 years ago when he last visited.

"Reading about it is one thing - witnessing it firsthand is something entirely different" @i2b-erc.bsky.social

🎉❄️The i2B Expedition Team has reached the North Pole 🚢🌍 Today, the i2B expedition celebrated its halfway point at the most symbolic place imaginable: the North Pole. Read more about our stop: 🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0 @paleodyn.bsky.social @bjerknes.uib.no
📸 @rhewlif.xyz

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

💧 Unlocking secrets in pore water ❄️

Hidden between grains of Arctic sediment, pore water reveals how sediments change over time. With just a few milliliters, Denise and Male are helping sharpen our reconstructions of past Arctic climates. 🚢✨

🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0 @paleodyn.bsky.social

💭 Read the reflections of @paleodyn.bsky.social PhD student @alexgag11.bsky.social, who traded screens for the Arctic Ocean. Aboard R/V Kronprins Haakon, he cut open sediment cores holding thousands of years of history and sampled water from 4000m below. 🚢❄️

🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

❄️ One week at sea, and life aboard R/V Kronprins Haakon has settled into a rhythm of 24/7 science. Six long sediment cores, countless samples — and our first real test in the Arctic sea ice. 🚢
🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0
@paleodyn.bsky.social

Group photo just before deparature in front of RV Kronprins Haakon

Scientists carrying a section of core from the ship deck.

Myself and Peter at our workstations, processing the incoming acoustic data

Example of a sub-bottom profile along our ship track showing many sediment layers.

One week into the @i2b-erc.bsky.social cruise and sediment cores are coming in thick and fast, guided by some fantastic sub-bottom profiler data.

The question is, how old are these sediment layers?

🦇 Ping… ping… ping… just like a bat in the night, our ship uses sound to “see” beneath the Arctic seafloor. These echoes guide us to the best coring sites and help us avoid hidden obstacles — each profile a map to sediments laid down during ancient ice ages. ❄️🌊

🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

@rhewlif.xyz

✨🔬 Imagine holding thousands of years of Arctic history on the tip of a brush… That’s exactly what the Micropaleontology Team* does each day aboard R/V Kronprins Haakon.
🔗 Read the full blog here: arcg.is/0favaf0

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

✨ Our first expedition blogs are now live! ✨

🚢 Step aboard the R/V Kronprins Haakon and follow the expedition team as they settle into life at sea and gear up to collect their very first long sediment cores from the Arctic seafloor.

🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

@paleodyn.bsky.social @bjerknes.uib.no

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

What were the impacts of an ice free Arctic Ocean in the past?

Follow our progress and updates via the @i2b-erc.bsky.social cruise blog below

Kronprins Haakon research vessel docked in Longyearbyen

An exciting expedition awaits! Our home for the next 5 weeks as we head into the frozen Arctic Ocean to collect new palaeo archives.

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

✨ Our first expedition blogs are now live! ✨

🚢 Step aboard the R/V Kronprins Haakon and follow the expedition team as they settle into life at sea and gear up to collect their very first long sediment cores from the Arctic seafloor.

🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

@paleodyn.bsky.social @bjerknes.uib.no

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

Did you know that the i2B (@i2b-erc.bsky.social) Arctic Ocean Expedition is departuring tomorrow to unveil the secrets of the past Arctic greenhouse climates? And you can follow the amazing team of scientistis onboard in the blog created for the expedition:

arcg.is/0favaf0

@bjerknes.uib.no @paleodyn.bsky.social

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

And we're off! 🌟
Today the i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition embarks with 25 incredible scientists on its 35 day research cruise to the Arctic Ocean. We will collect geological archives that will reveal secrets of part warmer than present day climates!
👉 Follow our expedition here:
arcg.is/0favaf0

Finding Consensus on Arctic Ocean Climate History - Eos Understanding the effects of a “blue” Arctic Ocean on future climate requires a coordinated effort to study Earth’s past warm periods using a variety of classical and cutting-edge methods.

As the Arctic advances toward ice-free “blue” summers, understanding its past is critical, write scientists from @uitnorgesarktiske.bsky.social @i2b-erc.bsky.social @stockholm-uni.bsky.social & @uqam.ca. eos.org/science-upda...

Seasonal sea ice characterized the glacial Arctic-Atlantic gateway over the past 750,000 years The glacial Arctic-Atlantic gateway was covered by sea ice after the Mid Pleistocene transition, not a grounding ice shelf.

Read more: doi.org/10.1126/scia...

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages A new study challenges the long-debated theory that a massive, kilometre-thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean. By analysing ocean sediments and running advanced climate models, researc...

⚠️New study alert: Seasonal sea ice characterized the glacial Arctic-Atlantic gateway over the past 750,000 years www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
@paleodyn.bsky.social

Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages, study suggests For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages.

Sediment and climate model evidence indicate the Arctic Ocean maintained seasonal sea ice and open water during past ice ages, supporting marine life even in the coldest periods of the last 750,000 years. doi.org/g9sch7

Finding Consensus on Arctic Ocean Climate History - Eos Understanding the effects of a “blue” Arctic Ocean on future climate requires a coordinated effort to study Earth’s past warm periods using a variety of classical and cutting-edge methods.

Making sense of geological data describing how the Arctic has responded to past climatic changes is essential for understanding how the region will evolve in the coming decades.

🧊🌊 A new article in EOS explores how the scientific community is coming together to better understand past Arctic climates – and why it matters today. This topic is at the heart of our ERC project i2B - Into The Blue, as we aim to resolve the Arctic's ancient greenhouse climate puzzle.

🌍 i2B at the final PalaeoArc Conference ❄️
Last week in Tromsø, i2B team members joined the 6th & final #PalaeoArc — sharing Arctic science through talks and posters, and helping organise too!
Great science + great people = fantastic conference! 👏
More info: site.uit.no/palaeoarc2025/