DEPARTING SOON FOR THE ARCTIC

As part of an award from the Norwegian Fulbright program, I will be traveling to Svalbard, Norway, an island archipelago centered at 78 N latitude.  I will be traveling with my wife Nicole and two boys, Jason and Anders, from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA for a 7-month journey. 

While in Svalbard, I will be conducting research in the fjord on the effects of changes in current flow on the marine ecosystem and the availability of food for nesting bird populations.  I will be working out of the University Centre in Svalbard I will also be lecturing around Norway and sharing my research background with the Norwegian public and university colleagues. 

I am also looking forward to absorbing the Norwegian culture in this high Arctic outpost and sharing this experiencing with my family.  I have been to Svalbard annually since 2007 for stays of 3-5 weeks, quite different from this adventure of 7 months where we will see the light transition from 24 hours a day to total darkness for 4 months.

Overlooking the town of Longyearbyen during a hike in May, 2010.  My family and I will be living in an apartment in the upper right of the picture and working at UNIS, the large dark structure in the upper center of the image.

We leave Friday the 1st of July and will be traveling in Europe on the way to Longyearben. Stay linked up while I write and share this experience through my first blog.