TRANSITION TO WINTER

Frost crystals mark the arrival of winter.

A lattice of ice forms over a tundra stream.

It has been a full week of activity.  I had to skip Norwegian (and my first test) to teach at UNIS on Monday.  It was the Arctic Biology class for undergraduates.  They were on a cruise in August around the island group collecting data on the physical oceanography, light penetration, marine plants, zooplankton, the diversity on the seafloor, and the abundance and diversity of fishes.  They are now battling the task of wading through all this data to write up a group reports on the subjects mentioned above.  I have taught a number of courses on science writing and took on the task of helping these groups develop their data, and make the transition from reporting what was done to enhancing their understanding of the science.  I took four 1-hour lectures and working group discussions to start the process and convey the instructor’s expectations.  Although some of the students have had experience with data analyses, it was quickly evident that I had to start from the beginning.  They will be using me as a resource from now until their reports are due in November.  It was good to meet the students formally and get a sense of their areas of interest.  They were interested in my work here, so I plan on taking them out on the water when possible. 

Teaching Arctic Biology at UNIS.

Tuesday I was able to get on the water with the REMUS and conduct a pre-survey of the area planning for the mooring installation.  Nicole came out with me and it was good for both of us to be on the water.  Even though I have made close to 300 deployments, this was the first time Nicole has seen the process.  I had first met Nicole in the Antarctic working from small boats, so this was like rewinding the clock 18 or so years.  The data showed that there was significant variability at small scales in the center of the fjord and helped us understand the influence of tides in the area.  This and profiles of the density in the area provided the information needed to identify a good location for the winter mooring. 

Nicole warming up with a cup of coffee while the REMUS roams under the boat.

Wednesday started with Norwegian and it was good to be back in class (I had missed the last three classes because of travel and teaching).  They had jumped forward, but I was able to catch up.  It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and no wind.  Because the sun is now so low on the horizon at noon (about 11 degrees), it has to be clear to get direct sunlight.  Although there was a pull to address my continually expanding list next to my computer, the weather won and I took about 4 hours to walk up the glacier.  It was a little below zero and the frost on the plants and rocks was a change from previous excursions.  It was the fall equinox, so fitting that this was the day that marked a change in the weather and the transition to winter.  The hike was amazingly peaceful and reminding me how fortunate we are to experience life at the top of the world. 

Frost covers remaining vegitation in the valley.

A white sheen covers the rocks on the path up to Longyearbreen.

Frost collects on the ancient leaf veins.

At about 3pm local time the sun streams down the glacier towards Longyearbyen.

Picture of the week: Long shadow is cast toward Longyearbyen on the fall equinox.

Unlike the summer, the fossils are now frozen into the ice-mud matrix.

New mine 2, also known to the children as Santa's House lit up in the afternoon sun.

An ancient leaf once again absorbs the sunlight.

Ice crystals cover a fern and begin the winter's dormancy.

The rest of the day I worked up the previous days data and also planned a mission for the following day.  Nicole was great to come back out on Thursday and help out with the REMUS.  We collected addition profiles of temperature and salinity for understanding the dynamics around the fjord.  We also happened on a helicopter at 70 m depth that had crashed in 2003.  The vehicle has a side scan sonar, so can image the sea floor using sound.  Pretty cool… We are writing up a story for the local paper on this for next week (I will post the photos then).   Thursday evening was my second session with my basketball team.  We scrimmaged for the hour and I saw some real improvement and promise in the team.   Jason also started his junior rifle shooting class and loved it.

Adventfjorden on Thursday while deploying the REMUS with Nicole.

Friday morning like Wednesday was working up the data and talking to a colleague about the sampling approach in and around the winter mooring before she left that day to the mainland.  In the afternoon, I went to the airport to pick up my parents who are visiting for the next 5 days.  While there, I bumped into Jason’s teacher, someone who works at the only grocery store and someone I know from UNIS.  It is a small community and I am becoming more and more a part of it.  I was also the benefit of an outbound passenger who didn't understand the carry-on liquid rules.  He ended up giving me his entire liquor purchase in Svalbard. Score! My parents arrived safely and I brought them to their hotel.  Their room was upgraded and it has a great view of the fjord.  I gave them an hour to get settled while I went back to UNIS to finish up a few things.  After Jason and Anders returned from the sled dog camp and football, respectively, we had a great dinner with the family and opened the requested items from the US… mostly food.  It had been 6 months since the family had seen them so it was good catching up.

The family at the dinner table with my parents.

We spent most of the day with them Saturday, visiting the museum, giving them a tour of UNIS and showing them the “downtown”.   I hadn’t visited the museum in all my trips to Svalbard, so it was nice for me to see.  Given the space, it is a very impressive museum covering the geology, human history, the arctic food web, and the current scientific efforts to further understand the area. 

In the afternoon, I headed to the sports turn to play our game against Barentsburg.  The entire day had been a sequence of sporting competitions and now it was basketball.  The age of the Russian team was about 10 years older than “mine”, but in the pregame talk, gave them strategies to overcome this.  We were ready to go and started the game.  We jumped ahead on the scoreboard as I had put our best team on the floor.  I had planned to put myself in later when substituting some of the beginners.  Within 5 minutes it was clear the referee did not know the game as he was not really calling anything.  Both teams were getting upset, so in order not to make this a completely awkward situation, volunteered to take over.  With no objections from the Russian team, the organizers or the ref himself, I reffed the rest of the game.  While we were ahead most of the game, but a series of missed layups and two 3-pointers by the Russian team cost the game by 3 points.  I had really wanted to play, but given it was a fairly charged energetic game, it was good I was in a position to keep things calm. 

The sports teams of Longyearbyen and Barentsburg at Kroa restaurant for awards and pizza.

Spent some time at home before heading to the Kroa restaurant where all the sports teams from the day with Barentsburg met for pizza.  There were formal introductions, the exchange of gifts and words of cooperation and then we all feasted on pizzas… no I am not going to say how many pieces I ate!  I sat with our team and it was good to meet a few of the players more.   I found out a number of the team members are related, some from Serbia, grades they are in and where they worked in town.   After eating, Norway presented awards to the best Russian players for each of the sports.  The rest of the night was spent at home catching up with my parents before dropping them off at the hotel.  The annual Octoberfest beer festival is here now, so we had to wade through the brats, beer, lederhosen and the pig on a spit to get them to their room. 

We woke up to a sugar coating snowfall on the surrounding mountaintops and a cold misting rain.  I had hoped to take my dad up to the glacier for fossil hunting, but it was not to be.  Anders also had a stomach flu, so it was a good day to stay indoors, get caught up, play games and replenish the batteries.

Mid-morning sun in Adventdalen.

Colors blanket the fjord and the old coal crane.