"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.

TRANSATLANTIC SCIENCE WEEK

The speakers in my session on Marine Technology.

There was a successful pick up Monday evening of colleagues from Norway at San Francisco airport.  After about an hour we made it to Berkeley for a quick dinner at the Claremont Hotel.  This historic 1915 hotel was crowded with not only the Science Week attendees, but also a few hundred people at a launch of a new vodka, which made things quite lively!  A shuttle took us to the conference center and the opening remarks commenced soon thereafter.  The surprise (for me) was the presence and entrance of Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway.  The audience rose in silence and then sat after Haakon was seated.  He spoke about the upcoming week and shared his enthusiasm for the event.  With a focus on energy, marine technology, genomics and space science, he emphasized the importance of the event for addressing many issues facing humanity.  He was also excited to be back at Berkeley where he received his BA in 1999.  His impressive remarks were followed by those of two ministers that sponsored the event; Tora Aasland the Minister of Education and Research, and Trond Giske, Minister of Trade and Industry.

Crown Prince Haakon addressing the Science Week attendees.

The break was followed by a number of talks, including the plenary talk which was particularly interesting and ominous.  It covered humanity’s current energy needs, and future projections of energy, food, water and population.  There are so many daunting tasks and it really hit home as the population passed the 7 billion mark this week. What was clear to me though was that the people in that room ARE the people that have the skill, potential and obligation to alter the current trajectories.  My talks were in the late afternoon and were received well (click here for talks).  Specifically, I highlighted the technical details and educational framework of the 3-year collaborative program with Norway called NORUS.  We had a number of success stories in the program, so highlighting them in the talk was fun.  After a short break, we then went to the reception dinner for good food, conversation, and another set of talks.   The following day was highlighted by the Kavli Lecture given by James Angel on using his breakthroughs in telescope materials science and engineering for development of new solar energy technology.  Again, I was left with a sense of urgency about addressing these global issues.  Sessions on Education and Genomics ended the day. 

Colleagues enjoying chowder at Fisherman's Wharf.

Sunset over Palo Alto.

Harbor seals basking along the coast at Cal Poly's Center for Marine and Coastal Sciences.

We then drove via downtown San Francisco and Fisherman’s wharf to SFO again for a meeting with a colleague and stayed there the night. The following day we drove to Palo Alto and Stanford University where the conference ended and then off to San Luis Obispo for more meetings with students, technicians and fellow colleagues.  That night we had a dinner out on the beach, which was a great way to wrap up the week. 

The sun disappearing to the south during the flight north.

Picture of the week: Spitzbergen's peaks through the mist on the approach.

Gusty conditions at Longyear airport.

Chistmas came a bit early this year.

I have spent the last 30 hours travelling back to Longyearbyen and am doing well with the time change. As I flew north, the sun dipped below the horizon and we landed in a blustery twilight.  It was great to see Nicole at the airport. I knew about 7 people in the airport, either leaving or there to pick up others, and it felt like I was coming home.  I felt like Santa, handing out the suitcases filled with requested bounty from the States.  After finishing this, I will try and tackle the Norwegian I missed these past 10 days….

TRAVEL WEEK



Picture of the week: lunar craters across the fjord.

As Transatlantic Science Week, the US-NORWAY annual conference to highlight science cooperation between the two countries, is in San Francisco this year. I took advantage of the location to leave a bit early and have a couple days at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo about 3 hours south.  I left on Wednesday afternoon after getting on the water for REMUS deployments on Monday and Tuesday.  The missions went well and established the pattern that we are going to try and repeat on a weekly schedule thoughout the winter.  On Tuesday, I also had a meeting with the UNIS faculty on the logistics of sampling in the polar night.  Already the LCD screens of my GPS and the ranger, an acoustic send/receive instrument to range off and communicate with the REMUS, are very slow to respond as the LC  (Liquid Crystal) part of D (Display) are freezing.   I rigged up a system after the  deployments to use foot warmers to keep those screens warm enough to keep responding in the field.  The key to sampling is to minimize the time it takes to deploy and recover, so that is what we are working on.  Another of my concerns regarding logistics is to have someone to help me in the field.  While a number of faculty, students and Nicole have helped out, it is hard to consistently schedule each mission.  Tuesday afternoon while frantically trying to get ready to leave, I met with Edward Byrne, a Fulbright student studying in Trondheim.  He is in Svalbard taking a course in ocean engineering and will take more course later this year.  He and I spoke and we agreed that he will work with me in the field with the REMUS this winter.  This will be great as we will be able to work around our respective schedules and ensure consistent sampling. 

Dinner out at Huset with the family the night before leaving.  Huset used to be the community center initially for the miners and then for Longyearbyen residence.  A new community center was built in the center of the town and now screens the movies and hosts community events.

After a stormy weekend, the beginning of the week was beautiful.  Clear skies and still with the blue glow of sun lasting from about 8 in the morning until 11, some direct sun still on the tops of the mountains and then a return to the glow from 2pm until about 4:30.  The bikes are no longer usable for the kids to go to school as the streets of Longyearbyen are sheets of ice.  It is also dark in the morning, so it is also safer if they are not riding.  The boys are now transitioning to walking, which is a bit more work, but as they have impressed Nicole and I with this entire trip, they will step up and meet the challenge.

Within 10 minutes of lifting off the tarmac, the sun was in my face.  The trip to Tromsø and onto Oslo was uneventful and I skyped the family when I arrived.  With the flights leaving in the afternoon, there are no connections in Oslo, so I had to stay overnight. On the flight to Frankfurt I sat next to a guy from Molde, a city south of Trondheim.  He was a car parts dealer and was on a holiday with his wife (sitting behind us) to Budapest.   He did not want to speak English to me even though he spoke it, which forced me into speaking Norwegian.  We spoke for about an hour of the 1.5 hour flight in Norwegian about each other’s background, our work, families etc. He filled in and taught me a few unknown words, but it was amazing to me what we were able to cover given my very limited vocabulary.  I really appreciated that he minimized the English.  It is hard in Norway, as most people speak perfect English and when they hear you struggle at all, most people switch the conversation.   This experience gave me a lot of confidence and look forward to using what I have learned more than I have.  Back to Harold… he was very interested in my work in the Arctic, about the sea ice patterns, the variations in the intensity of the Gulf Stream and they effects these patterns have on wildlife and fisheries.   In his 20’s, he had sailed around the world, had worked on fishing vessels, and had worked on shrimp trawlers off Greenland, so we had a lot in common in terms of time on the ocean.  We also used the map in the on-board magazine to chart the countries we had visited.  We both agreed that the islands of the North and South Pacific were and are near or at the top of our favorite places on earth.  Nice conversation and experience for someone (myself) who does not often take the time to talk to others on planes.

The plane arrived late in Frankfurt, so had only time to get to the next flight.  I got into my seat and got ready for the 11+ hours.  About 5 minutes later, an American couple stopped at my row and told (not asked) me to get out of their seat.  Not a good first impression of returning to the States!!  I was calm and showed them my ticket and it was clear that the airline had made a mistake.  I got up and told them they could have the seat.  The stewardess took my boarding pass and returned with a new one… 15K… the upper deck!  With a flat bed and a couple of movies, the trip was really nice.  After arriving in San Francisco, I had a 4 hour layover and felt a "welcome back" 4.0 earthquake centered in Berkeley before heading to San Luis Obispo. My student, Anniken, picked me up at in SLO and we went back to the house (she is house sitting for us while gone).  I crashed pretty hard and woke up the next day pretty refreshed.  I spent the day meeting with students, my technicians, and going through the foot-high pile of mail.  It was a bit strange being back and really felt like a visit rather than being home.  The weather was great as usual.  I told Nicole in a Skype call, being in that perfect temperature with a light breeze and the warm sun feels like getting into bed with cleanly washed sheets.  The smell of the trees was also intense.  I worked at home that evening and the following day getting ready for the talks and catching up on paperwork.  I also frantically drove around town checking off the items requested from Nicole and the boys.  It was also good to see our cats who obviously missed me as they were like glue, following me everywhere around the house.

Meeting with students (Johanna, James and Anniken) and technicians (Ian and Brian) for lunch at Cal Poly.

Hummingbird taking a time out outside the house in San Luis Obispo.

I then headed north on the 3 hour drive to the Bay Area, had a swim in the pool, had sushi take out and took in a movie.  I pick up my colleagues from NTNU for Science Week tomorrow…

SNØ

Picture of the week: Full moon over Adventdalen after a coating of snow.

This week began with a normal Monday morning at UNIS.  I got a call at a bit after 1:30 though from Nicole that her flight to England left in 1 hour and not the following day like we had thought.  I borrowed a car and rushed her to the airport.  The flight was late from Tromsø, so it all worked out well.  It was good to give her a break after arriving in July.  The workday was cut short for the rest of the week as the boys come home around 2:30 every day.   I spent most of the week putting my talk together for Transatlantic Science Week, an event put on by the Foreign Ministry of Norway to promote cooperation between the US and Norway. I will be going next week to give a presentation on a US-Norway partnership program that I have been co-leading with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, UNIS and Rutgers University.  Specifically, I will be talking about the technical part of the program and the underwater instruments and platforms that the students used in the exchange program. I am also going as the Fulbright Arctic Chair representative.  As it is in the San Francisco Bay area this year, I will be flying in and out of San Luis Obispo to touch base with students and technicians at Cal Poly. I also found out mid-week that my colleague from UNIS will not be going to science week, so I have to give his talk as well. So, I finished the other talk and the two work well together. 

Across the fjord.

Noon sun on mountain range with moon.

Across the fjord II.

Although there was less time at UNIS this week, it was good to spend more time with the boys, hear about their days and get them ready each morning.  It was stormy this week with very high winds (60 mph gusts), creating two dusts storms.  The winds were strong enough to lift the freeze dried soil in Adventdalen and fill the sky with dust.  At one time, you could not see the fjord from our house.  We also had our first real snow storm that blanketed the area with 2-3 inches.  The boys and I went on a few walks after the wind died down to enjoy the new look. 

Jason in snow storm.

The boys addiction with Minecraft!

Skyping with mama in England.

On a walk with the boys through town after the storm.

An interesting note (mostly to the California crowd)… Over the past two days, the winds reversed in the fjord and created some big swells (8-12 ft off the point and 3-4 ft along the river sill).

Waves breaking at the sill.

Nicole returned today with some presents, having had a great time in Shrewsbury, England.   It is great to have her home!

Nicole's plane arriving in Longyear airport.