Why Indian scientists are on a winter voyage to the Arctic

It’s the Christmas weekend at Himadri, India’s research station in the International Arctic Research base at Svalbard, Norway. 1,200 km from the North Pole, Himadri is hosting its first December occupants from India’s maiden winter expedition to the Arctic, launched a week back.

Four scientists from various institutes in India are acclimatizing to temperatures in the vicinity of -15°C after a 35-odd hour journey — from Delhi to Oslo, Oslo to Longyearbyen and Longyearbyen to the research town of Ny-Ålesund. Breakfast is served while it is pitch dark outside — there will be no sun for weeks together in the snowy winter.

“One of the biggest challenges is getting used to polar nights,” says Baragur Seshagiriyappa Girish, a research scientist at Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru. Their days run by the clock, with set times for meals, work, socializing and sleep.

His co-voyagers on this expedition are Athulya Radhakrishnan, a PhD student at National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa; Surendra Singh, a senior project associate at Indian Institute of Tropical Metrology (IITM), Pune and Prashant Rawat, a PhD student at Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi. The scientists will stay here for about 25 days.

No boats are available yet to take them into the icy fjords of Ny-Ålesund. But once they are able to take short cruises to the nearest fjord Kongsfjorden, the team wants to conduct a diverse set of experiments. Girish is hoping to observe radio-wave signals from outer space to understand the evolution of the universe, while Athulya wants to study precipitation and the role of climate change on the Arctic winter. Singh will study the atmospheric lightning phenomenon over the Arctic during winter and Rawat will look at atmospheric aerosols and how they influence polar climate. “We participate in each other’s experiment. We work as a team,” Girish told Nature India.

Three more batches of Indian scientists will follow, each living and working from Himadri for about 25 days to cover the full span of the Arctic winter.

Winter expedition will bridge data gaps

Indian scientists have been going to the Arctic only in summers (April to October) when temperatures are above the freezing point, daylight is available, and the sampling regions are much more accessible. However, despite heavy snowfall and continuously dark polar nights, winters (November to March) offer a better opportunity for scientific observations on climatic changes in the Arctic region.

“Conducting research in winter helps understand challenges associated with climate change, sea-ice and ocean circulation, ecosystem adaptations and astrophysics,” says Manish Tiwari, Group Director of Arctic operations at NCPOR. Many of these affect weather and climate in the tropics, including monsoons.

Although automated observations continued in winter, field experiments were not possible. “Winter expeditions will address this data deficiency during polar nights, especially in atmospheric sciences, space physics and biological sciences,” says NCPOR Director Thamban Meloth.

Year-round observations will also mean that India’s Himadri research station in Svalbard is optimally used, Meloth told Nature India.

Warming is prominent in winter and precipitation is strong, says Athulya from NCPOR. “As my research is focused on the impact of warming on precipitation, winter is a good time to make continuous observations and store data,” she says.

Rawat from IIT-Mandi says satellite measurements of aerosols are not possible in the dark polar winters. Therefore, field measurements are essential. Lack of yearly and comparative seasonal data for aerosol parameters like black carbon, brown carbon, organic carbon, water-soluble organic carbon, or relative radiative forcing means scientists cannot make clear estimations of the effects of aerosols on polar and global climate.

“Arctic has different sources of aerosols around the year. Winter plays a very specific role as the absence of light-induced chemistry can help better understand the primary sources and secondary pathways of aerosols,” Rawat says. Increased ice cover also means significant aerosol deposition and larger study areas.

Thunderstorms and lighting produce different electric field characteristics in winter and summer. “The experiments we begin this winter will continue for three years so that we can compare data between seasons. This will help us understand the electrical properties of thunderstorms, especially in the polar winter,” says Singh from IITM, Pune. The remote location provides an exceptional radio environment for sensitive cosmological experiments. “In winter, we can also avoid enormous contamination from solar radiation,” Girish says.

India’s science history in the Arctic

India’s scientific activity in the Arctic started with an expedition to Ny-Ålesund in 2007. In 2008, India opened its first research station called Himadri (meaning snow mountain in Hindi) in the International Arctic Research base in Svalbard, Norway. Himadri can house eight researchers and has various experimental labs.

NCPOR helms India’s scientific activities in the poles and also carries out experiments in the Gruvebadet Observatory atmospheric, about 700 metres away from Himadri, to study essential climate variables.

“Apart from the daily experiments that require us to go to the Gruvebadat, we mingle with researchers from other institutions across the world in the service building for food and coffee. It is a wonderful opportunity to interact and understand the requirements and challenges of their experiments,” Athulya says.

Special gear ensures that the scientists are protected from the stark polar winter. Good quality internet at Himadri allows them to keep in touch with family and friends back home.

India established a multi-sensor oceanographic mooring system in polar waters in 2014. The country’s scientists undertook various expeditions to the Arctic Ocean in 2019, 2022 and 2023, in collaboration with the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) and Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI). This year, Indian researchers also collaborated with the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in Cambridge Bay.

In Antarctica, India has established extensive operational and transport facilities for over four decades. “However, in Svalbard, we have limited exploratory opportunities during winter and wildlife like polar bears require careful considerations while planning field campaigns,” Meloth says. Therefore, only research proposals with limited field experiments are selected.

After this first Christmas in the Arctic, India plans to increase activities in its core regions.