On Tuesday, we flew towards the Bothnian Sea – an exciting flight, especially because we could see sea ice from the aircraft! This time, we flew relatively high and reached an altitude of 5200 m – the highest altitude we have flown so far during this campaign. The reason for this? The clouds reached 5000 m, and we aimed to fly above them so our instruments could better detect them.
Fortunately, the clouds broke up just enough to give us a breathtaking view of the Bothnian Sea. As you can imagine, Mika was thrilled and immediately climbed into the glass dome of Polar 5 to enjoy the 360° view. But safety first – we had to secure him there, otherwise, he might have jumped around in excitement after discovering the sea ice.
It was really impressive to see the Bothnian Sea from above, with Finland on one side and Sweden on the other. On the way back, we got to see another treat: Lenticularis clouds, which form when moist air flows over mountains and is pushed to higher altitudes in wave-like patterns. As the air rises in these waves and cools down as a result, clouds form on the ridges, which are smooth and lenticular. Overall, we had a very nice flight!
Our next day will be different, as we will visit a special place here in Kiruna, so stay tuned!