A WEEK OF REMEMBRANCE

As mentioned last week, the bombing and shootings in Oslo and Otøya touched everyone in this country.  In this Longyearbyen community of only 2,000, one 14 year-old boy, Johannes Buø, died and another, Vilja Hanssen, struggles for his life in the hospital in Oslo. Throughout the week news trickled in with information on the remaining unaccounted for individuals and reminder of the events was always present with the flags at half-mast.  More than a week has past and a sculpture in the center of town dedicated to local coal miners who have lost their lives became the memorial for the recent events with cards, flowers and candles. It is clear that July 22^nd will be a somber day for generations of Norwegians.

Norwegian flag at half mast in front of Huset, the former miners house and cultural center of Longyearbyen.

In further planning my schedule for the next few months, I made plane and hotel reservations to attend the Fulbright orientation, which is a two day event in mid-August. I am looking forward to this time to meet fellow Fulbright recipients in Norway, and finally meet the staff in Oslo that has been so helpful in making this move possible.  

In addition to planning the weekly sampling that will start when my equipment arrived is a week or so, I found out about a teaching-research cruise in January that I will likely participate in.  This time of year, the Polar Night, is a period that little is known about because not many have explored this region in the dark.  A long-held assumption amongst the research community is that this is a time when biology basically “shuts down”.  In January, 2010 we worked north of here in Ny-Ålesund for 4 weeks and were shocked to find a vibrant functioning and active food web from birds to in-water invertebrates. We hope this cruise will afford us the opportunity to visit some unknown questions and at the same time instructing students on the basics of the Arctic ecosystem.  I actually worked on completing a couple of manuscripts on the topic this week as well.

Arctic Cottongrass (Eriophorum callitrix) that covers the flat low lying valleys along the fjords.

I also met the director of UNIS, Gunnar Sand, for the first time since being back and he was very welcoming and ensuring that my first week was an easy transition.  He oversees a large staff that has been incredibly helpful in our move here. Thank you!

The midnight sun over Adventfjorden

On the home front, we received our last box in the mail… always a big deal… so we are officially moved in.  Although were initially excited about the prospect of not having a TV, our love of movies and the realization that there will be days when we all need another indoor outlet swayed us to order one.  It should be here next week.  We all became members of the local pool, and were awed by the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains from the pool.  While the hours during the summer are limited, we are making sure we take advantage of the times that it is opened.  The boys have also made friends with two other boys in town.  Their father works at the coal mine in Svea south of here.  They also just moved here, so it has been positive all around with a mix of English and Norwegian back and forth.

I went through rifle training, a precaution for polar bears that as mentioned before can show up anytime and anywhere on Svalbard.  The training was as usual excellent and always fun (this was my 4^th time through the course). Although I feel prepared in case I am confronted with a situation, I hope I am never put in this position.  On a cruise last May, I saw my first few bears and amazed how big, strong, fast and unpredictable they were.   This week, in fact, there were three polar bears in the Lonyearbyen area, brought in by some sea ice (and the seals on the sea ice!) that wrapped around the southern tip of Svalbard and came up the west coast.   One was visible from town 3 kilometers across Adventfjord feeding on a carcass and spotted glasses came out.  Some kayakers weaved through the sea ice to get a “closer” look, but curiosity and the need for a better picture took over common sense and they got too close and the local officials have to intervene. Even though it was a small dot, the kids were excited to see their first bear.

Ice moves into the Adventfjord.

First polar bear of the season feeding on a carcass across the fjord.

I was also able to go for a great hike with my eldest, Jason, up to the glacial moraine at the head of Longyearbyen glacier.  The hike took about 5 hours and we were able to spend about an hour fossil hunting.  They are everywhere and after finding his first one, Jason said “You know when I said I wanted to turn around? Well, I’m glad we didn’t”.  The wind picked up on the way back and we were glad to get home for dinner.

On the hike up to Longyearbreen (Longyear glacier) and first fossil find for Jason.

More next week...