Impressions on Svalbard - Fulbright.no

Knut

Knut Christianson is spending the large parts of the 2005-06 academic year on Svalbard. There, he's attending courses at the University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS), and conducting research on glaciers on Svalbard with the Norwegian Polar Institute (NP), studying water flow characteristics and water content in Holtedalfonna near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. These are his impressions on Svalbard.

First day of school

My first day at UNIS started was officially an orientation course and started with things that you would expect with an orientation course.  We heard various university officials give short talks on why the university was located where it was, what kind of activities were conducted there, and how it was our responsibility to further these activities.  Then we split into 2 groups to start some more “hands on activities.”  The one group, my group, immediately departed to the rifle range where we quickly learned how to shoot 30-.06 rifles in order to defend ourselves against polar bears.  It was necessary to learn how to do this in a wide variety of conditions including snow storms, darkness, and stressful situations.  The processing of using a rifle must become routine as they are necessary for field work and even for any activities outside of town.  The next morning training continues with the continuation our orientation course.  This time our focus is water safety.  We immediately put on survival suits and departed in rubber zodiacs.  The instructor then asked us to jump out into the water, approximately 0°C year round, and link up with everyone in the boat and then help each other climb back in.  We weren’t wearing any gloves, which is a normal when working with instruments in field conditions, and quickly saw that fast action is necessary in order to safely get out of the water in controlled conditions.  With this as part of the orientation course I knew that I was in for a different kind of study experience on Svalbard and this wasn’t your typical university. 

Mørketiden

Such an innocuous name for an aspect of your life that affects you more than you realize.  On Svalbard after the fall equinox, everyone quickly notices that darkness is constantly encroaching on all aspects of daily life.  It become more difficult to get up in the morning and it is easy to lose track of daily routines.  If you approach this period with a positive attitude these are the worst of the experiences you will have due to constant darkness.  This and the fact that all outdoor activities become somewhat limited.  There are also positive sides: excellent views of the northern lights in multiple colors in the night and that day, spending more time with friends as there is not much to do outside, and although not necessarily positive time to study since there is little left to distract you.  At the end of the day constant darkness is an interesting experience, but not one that I’d like to have permanently. 

Field Work

My first field expedition on Svalbard was with the Norwegian Polar Institute as part of their fall mass balance studies.  Working on glaciers can be a lot of fun and is scientifically important but also carries some inherent risks as glaciers aren’t the safest place to be.  One has to be aware of crevasses, snow bridges collapsing, as well as more mundane concerns like the weather.  This science was, however, important as we were continuing some of the longest continuous mass balance studies of glaciers anywhere in the world.  The natural surroundings were also spectacularly beautiful and unique to Svalbard.  The helicopter rides were an added bonus.  There are also many interesting quotes which come up well working in the field such as:

"Well, why don't you bring all the food with.  If there is a terrible storm it would be good to have if we get stuck on the glacier.  There won't be a terrible storm...but bring it with anyway, just in case."
"Don't count your helicopters before they've landed."
"When you get out of the helicopter we aren't going to shut the motor off since we are just dropping you off, but it is very important that you keep the skis horizontal so that they don't get stuck in the blades."

I really enjoyed my time in the field and look forward to return there next spring.  The thrill of being in a place where few have been before and experiencing nature first hand is exhilarating.  But it is important to keep in mind that it is the science that is important and that collecting the data efficiently and correctly is the primary goal so that the results can be analyzed and presented to the rest of the world.