Maybe I'm Reading Too Much

Because one of the first things I thought when I heard about this was, "What a great setting for a murder mystery."

Key quotes from an interview in Nature with one of the scientists:

Where will you be at the winter solstice?

I'll be drifting in the Arctic Ocean, somewhere near the North Pole, on an ice floe some 2 kilometres across and 3 metres thick. A suitable floe is being sought now. The Russians will build a makeshift research base on it made of prefabricated wooden cabins.

What can go wrong?

You need to be constantly aware of polar bears. All team members have been trained to shoot... Alcohol is also a bit of a concern: each member of the team is officially permitted one can of beer and one bottle of spirits per week. I would have preferred a bit more beer and less spirits. Drink can have disastrous consequences there.