THANKSGIVING IN SVALBARD

Longyearbyen on the way back from the airport lighting up the low cloud and surrounding mountains.

Thanksgiving week started out with a reason for being thankful.  Anders arrived safely back from Tromsø from his football tournament.  His team won one of four games, but that didn’t seem to bother him.  He had a great time with friends and enjoyed his first solo experience away from parents and his big brother.  We had given him 500 kroner (about US$100) for a meal and just in case money and Anders ended up spending it on candy!  We will have to work on that for his next trip. 

A Rock Ptarmigan walks by our apartment. Its feathered feet and sharp claws help it walk through the snow.

Picture of the week: Reindeer feeds in the center of Longyearbyen in front of historic coal transport tower.

Tuesday I was able to get the boat in again and conduct another REMUS run.  There was a moment in the mission where the vehicle called back with problems and then missed the next call in, so I was biting my nails a bit.  But it all worked out well and the recovery went well.  The temperature outside was 4C (positive degrees) with no wind, so it was nice being on the water.  The weather, however, is hard for the airport runway as the ice melts and becomes very slippery.  About 2 hours after the REMUS recovery, the plane evidently had a pretty hard landing and then proceeded to slip sideways down the runway.  It luckily stayed on the runway, but the passengers were a bit shook up.  On the REMUS front, I also got my other REMUS in this week.  The arriving one will take the place of the current vehicle as it is fitted with a nighttime bioluminescence sensor.  I wanted to bring this vehicle up in the first place, but it was in the shop for a leak that occurred in Antarctica in January.   The other will be shipped to Trondheim for a cruise and then back to the States to get ready for another mission in Palau in March.  These things get around!

Second REMUS arrives.

Thanksgiving dinner at Kroa.

We decided to postpone the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner until next week when friends are coming up from Trondheim.  Instead, we invited our neighbor and my colleague, Jørgen whose plane was delayed, and went out to dinner at Kroa, a local restaurant.  It was a great relaxing night and the boys seem to enjoy it.  Food was good and it was nice to have a Thanksgiving where I did not feel like I had to lie down on the couch after gorging myself.

Jason and Nicole shop in the COOP, the only grocery store in Longyearbyen.

Jason pushing the expensive cargo home.

A view of Longyearbyen from behind Huset (foreground).

The week progressively got colder and we are now hovering around -20C and still no wind, which makes all the difference.  The boys have been sledding for the first time in front of the apartment and really enjoying it.  Yesterday we spent a few hours downtown as it was the Christmas sale in most of the shops and a local ‘market’ where people set out their wares for sale.  Three of my high school basketball players are pretty good amateur photographers, and I ended up buying a print.  After looking at some of the shops, the boys headed to friends and Nicole and I spent some quiet time at the art gallery.  Afterwards, we drove around town and I took some photographs, which is getting harder with no light!

Only a hint of light remaining up the valley at noon.

"BIRTHWEEK"

Picture of the week: Svalbard reindeer visit town looking for frozen goodies under the snow.

After finishing my previous blog entry, I was on the basketball court for a few hours and then we met our friends for dinner.  It was excellent food; I had what was called the “Taste of Svalbard”… whale, reindeer and seal and Nicole had Arctic Char, a local fish.  Good conversation and good behavior by the children extended the outing till about 9:30.  We had brought a cake for the two birthday boys, Anders and Jasper, and the restaurant brought it out with candles and put a rendition of “happy birthday” on their music system (there was only one other guest eating – a good sport).  After we cut the cake, Anders asked if he could have ice cream. We said yes and he went to let the waiter know.  About 5 minutes later the kitchen came out with 9 gourmet ice cream plates for everyone.  Even though we had no intention of ordering them, they were fully enjoyed!

The core participants of our Norwegian class

Anders (beige pants with black knees) playing soccer at recess.

Only a bit of light at noon.

The Polar Cirkle used for sampling got an winter overhaul.

These are great boats for working from shore in the Arctic.

This week the boat was taken in for a servicing, so we did not deploy the REMUS.  Instead we worked on getting the dock sensors back on line as the power cable had been severed while they were taking the boats in.  Everything is back on line.  Along with the routine of Norwegian class and basketball,  I was mostly writing and working on data analysis this week.  My walks back and forth to UNIS allowed me to see some new visitors to town, reindeers.  I saw two by the Radisson hotel, while Nicole saw a group of 7 walking across the road by the grocery store.  They continue to eat during the winter by scrapping the snow and ice off the freeze dried vegetation.  We have had a number of freeze thaw cycles, which produces a thick ice layer, making it harder for them to find food.  Since the rabies outbreak here, most of the wildlife in the area was killed, so it has taken a while for them to come back.  We also saw a couple Ptarmigans on the way to Norwegian.

Dropping Anders off at the Airport for his trip to Tromsø.

Anders wanted a picture next to the polar bear.

We celebrated Anders birthday on Thursday… his real one… with brownies, ice cream and presents from the family.  He really enjoyed it and coined a new term saying it had been a “happy birthweek”.  His week got even grander this week as he left for Tromsø to play in his football tournament.  It was the first time flying “alone” for him, so we were all a bit nervous.  He did great though and we are hopeful he is having a good time and comes back with most of his things.  Jason is enjoying the time at home sans younger brother and had a friend stay overnight.  While I brush up on a little work today at UNIS, Nicole visited the gallery in Nybyen (up the valley from Longyearbyen) and went swimming.  Dinner and a movie tonight and Anders returns tomorrow…life is good.

Sledding on Saturday outside of UNIS.

 

MØRKETIDA (THE DARK SEASON)

Picture of the week: Longyearbyen entering the dark season.

This week we transitioned into the dark season, where only a faint hint of illumination is evident from the sun well below the horizon (6˚). I think last week was the hardest for the family, with the loss of light and the time change.  For the most part, we have become used to spending the day in the dark. It also happened to be a full moon. At this high latitude the full moon races around the horizon and doesn’t set, so it was brighter than usual.  It was also mild for our bones with snow, hovering between -1 and -10˚C. 

The near full moon rising above UNIS.

Nicole on a stroll downtown.

Replay of a goal Anders scored against me on FIFA World Cup Wii.

A highlight of the week included a class party in Anders’ 5^th grade.  The class had all the families to the school for hot dogs and soup and they put on a few skits, sung songs and had a raffle.  Anders ended up winning the “big” raffle prize that night, a little polar bear rug (fake of course).  Anders continued his party streak with his birthday party on yesterday.  One of his friends in class had a birthday earlier in the week, so we decided to combine efforts.  We had a pizza/music party at the youth club downtown with almost his entire class.   It was really a fun party with lots of room for the kids to run around, laugh, and be loud.  Thursday this coming week is his real birthday, so we will have the family party then. It seems like in the last few years this has been the norm for the boys, with essentially two parties for each birthday.  I am not sure why I’m not fully comfortable with it… likely latent jealousy as this was unheard of when I was growing up!

Balloons hanging outside the youth club

Time to eat at the birthday party.

The birthday boys, Anders and Hilmar.

The rest of the week was pretty much the routine; Norwegian class, the boys activities, website work for Nicole and a lot of writing for me at UNIS.  Thursday was a full day for me with a successful REMUS mission in the dark, 3 meetings and basketball.  The data we are collecting in and around the fjord is looking exciting, challenging some current understanding of the circulation patterns in the area. We have expanded the collaborative group at UNIS that will work on this data and should yield some interesting results. This week, we also firmed up the timing and the experimental approach for the winter cruise in January.

Our walk to Norwegian class.

I am off to basketball and then later tonight we have dinner with some friends at one of the more fancy restaurants in Longyearbyen, the Brasseri Nansen.  We can count the number of times we have gone out to dinner since being here on one hand, so this will be a treat!

HALLOWEEN

The northernmost "Trick or Treat".

Warm weather followed by cold weather at the beginning of this week meant ice skating on the roads.

With the light rapidly disappearing the landscape has taken on a blue glow from about 10 am to 2 pm.   We are all getting up in the dark a half hour earlier to get the kids down the hill to catch the bus at 7:45.  The “bus stop” is a little precarious with all the children standing right next to one of the busier intersections in town.  The boys still walk home and will do that until the 14^th of November, when the bus starts after school as well.  I walk the boys down the hill, say goodbye, and then continue to UNIS.  Monday was Halloween, so kids were walking all over town with their bags from the local grocery store.  Because it was -15 C, face paint was the extent of the costumes, but the kids went out and had a great time.

The children waiting for the bus.

This week I have been continued to work finishing up some manuscripts, planning logistics for the cruises in December and January, and running the REMUS.  The beginning of this week was beautiful outside; still cold but no wind (the key here to a nice day!).  Wednesday, we were able to get the REMUS out again.  The boat was full of snow, but it actually made it less slippery and we were able to move around easier.  I also rigged up a system where I used foot warmers on the LCD screens on the GPS and REMUS ranger, so they wouldn’t freeze.  It worked pretty well.  The REMUS flew well and called into the receiving station in California 4 times during the mission and updating me at UNIS on the progress.  After the mission, I notified UNIS logistics we were done as they are going to be overhauling the boat and getting it ready for the winter operations. 

Snow-filled boat for REMUS launch.

REMUS recovery... always good to have it back in the boat!

UNIS on the way to work.

 UNIS activity during midday.

Thursday night I played basketball again after being gone for so long.I think I wrote this last time, but the team lost by only one point to the Russians in Barentzburg.This was also without two of the star players, so a great result in my mind.I found out there is another game in February, which I will finally play in! They were glad to see me back and asked a lot of questions about my trip to CA. This is one of the strongest community connections for me and I really enjoy it.

Picture of the week: Longyearbyen and ribbons of light.

Nicole walking to the art galleries.

Lights on in Longyearbyen

Minning history lit up.

Fog on fire.

Yesterday, Nicole and I walked around town and found out that it was the outside celebration of art week in Longyearbyen.  We know about the art week, but didn’t know about this.  It was a mix of the sled dogs showing off their new puppies and letting the kids play with them, outdoor campfires, accounts of Norwegian polar treks and showcasing the latest models of snowmobiles. After that we walked to a couple of galleries in town.  In one of the galleries, we watched the artist make lithographs of his latest picture of a coal miner.  It was an amazing process done on a special stone from Nürnberg, Germany. For about an hour during out trek downtown, the sky was amazing, with ribbons of reflected light off the clouds from the distant sunset.   I stayed up late to go see a movie with a friend at midnight, only to find out after getting down there that I was 24 hours late.  Live and learn… Slept in today!  On the agenda, a bit of work, some games with the boys, basketball and a movie (for real) later tonight.

Morning glow.