Expedition Arctic Ocean 2026, blog post 4: Where is the ice?
We are steaming northward at 88 N through a vast ocean of open water embedded within the ice pack. In two directions I cannot see the next ice, while in the other two the ice is very far away.
Image: Vast areas of open water surround Oden on its voyage to the north.
Polynyas like this sometimes occur as the winds push the sea ice apart. But this just doesn’t seem right to me.
We’ve been moving from one to the next of these huge open areas that lack sea ice. It seems that almost every time I look out the window, we are in another. Of course, there is a little bias to our perspective, as the ship intentionally aims for the open water to ease the voyage.
Yet it is still astounding to me, and unexpected, to find so much open water this far north. I guess these open water features will only become more common as the ice continues to decline and the Arctic transitions towards an ice-free summer.
/Matthew Shupe
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Last updated: 2026-08-21
Source: MISU