Scientific expeditions require months of planning before scientists can acquire the first data.
A bark cuts through the Arctic silence, waking Anna up. She slept only three hours after collecting the last sample. Anna reaches for her rifle, exits the tent, and steps onto the midnight ice. She pets the guard dog she rented a few days earlier. It might be a false alarm, but she scans the darkness for polar bears, hoping her training pays off. She cannot afford to lose the samples. Nor her life.
This situation was no accident. It was the culmination of months of planning Anna Carratala Ripolles, a scientist at the EPFL Laboratory for Environmental Biology, underwent for an expedition to collect bacteria from Greenland’s pristine lakes. Fieldwork offers scientists first-hand information about how the elements under study behave in a real environment, which is much more complex than the lab. "Lab work can give you the answer to very precise questions under specific conditions. Fieldwork is what provides meaningful answers in complex natural environments," explains Carratala.
A scientific expedition requires far more than transporting equipment to the field. Behind every research trip are months of preparation. At that stage, scientists need to solve many open questions before they can collect their first samples and data. Are there any hotels in the area? Or is the site so remote that researchers need to sleep in tents? Yet, other expeditions take place aboard research vessels, which require organizing a big consortium with different entities.
"The preparation of big icebreaker expeditions often begins a decade before the scientific work itself can start," says Julia Schmale, who leads the EPFL Extreme Environments Research Laboratory at the ENAC School and conducts expeditions in polar environments to study climate-relevant properties of aerosols.
"First of all, we define our goals and which tools and methods we are going to use to obtain the results," says Guilhem Banc-Prandi, scientific director of the EPFL Laboratory for Biological Chemistry at the ENAC School and director of the Translational Red Sea Center (TRSC).
Lab work can give you the answer to very precise questions under specific conditions. Fieldwork is what provides meaningful answers in complex natural environments
Anna Carratala Ripolles, a scientist at the EPFL Laboratory for Environmental Biology
Scouting missions
On many occasions, fieldwork takes place in remote locations, where it is difficult to predict the actual conditions. In that case, research teams take scouting trips to the region before deciding how to proceed. "It is not always possible to know what we can really achieve just by looking at images and data online," explains Schmale, "so we go scout, do some test observations, talk to the people, and arrange everything before the intensive field observations can start." Schmale calls this "logistics rather than science."
To scientifically exploit certain regions, scientists need to also justify that their operations respect regulations and the preservation of ecosystems. "Local authorities demand a detailed log of your activities before they issue the permit to work there," says Carratala.
Preparing for the unexpected
But even following the most detailed plan, the reality of the environment hits, and scientists embarking on expeditions face unexpected adversities: from lost scientific material to harsh weather conditions or the threat of polar bears. For that reason, a key aspect researchers need to develop is adaptability. "We have to accept that we do not have everything under control," says Carratala. "We have to be capable of adjusting the goals and finding creative solutions that we would not imagine in the lab." Schmale thinks there is one aspect that makes the difference when developing this adaptability: "Experience makes whatever comes up less unexpected and less stressful."
Any technical or safety training must be taken before getting to the site. For instance, expeditions taking place in polar regions require scientists to take part in specific training for polar bear safety and firearm handling. To dive safely in the Red Sea, where there are no facilities to support scientific expeditions, Banc-Prandi’s team needs to "be prepared and trained in safety and rescue."
In the face of unexpected events, scientists make pivotal choices about their data collection strategies without compromising the mission’s goals. "As researchers, we always want to take as many samples as possible, but there is a reality that we have to confront," says Banc-Prandi. For that reason, before going on an expedition, researchers conduct a feasibility study where they establish the minimum amount of data needed. "We usually plan for three times longer than we expect to need to take the data," explains Schmale. For Carratala, safety comes first: "If we cannot take more samples, so be it. We do our best with what we have."
However, sometimes it is not about the amount of data but about having a particularly valuable case study where researchers get the maximum amount of information. "This is hard to plan. We need to always be prepared and have the instruments ready," explains Schmale.
Collaboration with local partners is key
One aspect on which all researchers agree is the importance of collaborating with local partners to support the success of the missions, even before the research team gets to the site. This collaborative approach not only facilitates the expedition setup but also allows the co-development of technologies that benefit local communities, which helps make science more human. "Meeting our collaborators in the Red Sea reminds us why we do all this. We bring them technologies that are useful in their everyday activities to protect coral reefs," explains Banc-Prandi, who studies how climate change affects these fragile marine ecosystems. In the Red Sea or in Greenland, it is essential that all these actions allow local collaborators to learn new techniques and, in particular, to reinforce their local leadership and autonomy.
Working in locations where humans have nearly no presence provides a different perspective on the busy life we live here. What really matters, what does not, and what we would like to preserve for the future.
Julia Schmale, Head of EPFL’s Extreme Environments Research Laboratory
Passion for field research
All this preparation and fieldwork allow researchers to observe the direct impact of the technologies they implement and how they change the way these ecosystems are preserved and the policies that emerge. "It is very enriching to feel that all the hard work brings something of real value that changes the preservation of coral reefs and helps fight climate change worldwide," explains Banc-Prandi.
What happens in extreme environments - such as the polar regions - has a direct impact on our everyday lives. "I see that the transformation of the Arctic, even if it seems very far away, has a significant impact on the weather patterns we experience in Switzerland," explains Schmale. For her, expeditions are also an opportunity to think beyond science: "Working in locations where humans have nearly no presence provides a different perspective on the busy life we live here. What really matters, what does not, and what we would like to preserve for the future."
In the Red Sea coral reefs, the lakes in southern Greenland, or the Arctic ice, remote landscapes provide scientists with a unique way to connect with nature. "Expeditions often represent total freedom and being exposed to nature without much protection," says Carratala, who confesses that "my family is not aware of many things I do in the field." Finally, all the preparation and risks paid off, and those nights on guard rewarded her with "the magical display of the northern lights, dancing across the sky and reflecting on the still, dark waters of the lake."
