Bad weather has resulted in a frustrating wait for supplies for the Catlin Arctic Survey team.

Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley have been patiently waiting at their runway strip for six days, unable to progress north until a plane lands with their food.

A team in London identified a 12 hour window for a landing today but last minute weather changes made it impossible.

They were offered a food drop, which would involve a plane dropping barrels of food without landing, but they decided to wait for a full re-supply.

A food drop would not have given them the opportunity to hand over scientific results, film and photographic footage for delivery to the UK.

“I’ve separated our food out”, said Ms Daniels. “We have enough for seven days each on a ration of 1000 calories, with a very small amount to keep us going after that.

“We’re not using a lot of energy because we’re tied to sitting by the runway so, although we’re hungry, we’re ok.”

It will be the team’s third resupply since they set off on their ice expedition 59 days ago and they have used the long wait to catch up on sleep.

Photographer Mr Hartley said the hours have passed surprisingly fast considering the team have been virtually tent-bound.

“We’re drifting in and out of sleep”, he said. “But when we are all awake at the same time we can talk, which is a welcome novelty.”

Their conversation is usually limited because of noise from the wind and the 200m that separates them when they travel in convoy.

When the re-supply is complete, the team face another challenge because there is a stretch of open water right in front of them which is getting wider.

If satellite images are unable to detect an accessible crossing point, they face the prospect of swimming across in their immersion suits.