Hello, Lewis here. The SAMS@UNIS students have allowed me to write a guest post during my visit. I hope you enjoy it!...

Neil (2nd from left) and I (left) meet with SAMS students Lucy (3rd from left) and Felix at the top of a mountain during a blizzard. 

It’s -20 in Adventdalen today, November 1st, and we are freezing in our multiple down filled and merino layers while firing high calibre, high velocity bullets at some paper targets. And as much as this is a necessity for our time here on Spitsbergen, the main island of Svalbard, it is not why we are here.  Our safety course passes without incident. However, and perhaps surprisingly, the sharp shooters of the group are the smallest girls and Neil ‘triple shot’ Fraser. None had ever fired a rifle before this day!

Learning how to deter a Polar Bear attack.

We are 20 students, a mix of masters and PhDs, from UK, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Miami and (perhaps even stranger) Australia here to learn about the atmosphere, the sea and the ice that grows due to the dynamic interactions between the two.  This is AGF 311-811 Air Ice Sea interactions, a masters level and PhD field course available for application by any aspiring postgraduate geophysics students.

On our first day we have an introduction to the group with each student giving a brief and often humorous synopsis of their life history and academic interests. This was followed by an excellent overview of the course’s science objectives by our instructor for the day Marius. The day was finished with a short lecture on the basics of Arctic atmospheric systems, the primary message of which was change, which is undeniable here in the Arctic. Our introduction to geophysics continued mostly in the classroom. Here we were very privileged to have Professor Peter Haugan present a seminar on new technology in oceanography. Peter is director of the geophysical institute, University of Bergen (UiB) and has intimate knowledge of the Arctic and sub Arctic seas having worked on many projects and written many papers on the oceanography of the Svalbard region. We were taken through the different emerging methods of oceanographic research including so called “ocean observatories” where autonomous vehicles, cabled moorings and wave-powered boats collect high-resolution data. We were told of the strong record of success that has followed UiBs acquisition of its gliders. Of particular interest to the researchers is a strange feature created by the presence of an eddy west of the Lofoten Islands, Norway. The talk was followed by a more technical explanation by specialist and glider pilot Erik Bruvik who brought in one of UiBs Slocum gliders into the classroom. More information on the glider program can be found here and live and previous missions can be seen on the UiB glider page. Stefan Muckenhuber of the nansen centre gave a brief overview of profiling CTDs that can be used generally from ships. This was most interesting because of his in-depth explanation on the empirical governing equations used to derive salinity measurements from electrical conductivity. Further lectures by Stefan taught us the different methods of remote sensing sea ice; and there are many! Choosing the right measurement platform (i.e. satellite) is important due to the differences in day and night, cloud cover and resolution, and that is before you consider what you want to measure such as ice type (e.g. multi-year, first-year), ice thickness, roughness and freeboard.  Stefan gave us some examples of the application of his work around Svalbard and the Fram Strait. Currently he is part of a multi discipline project AWAKE 2, which will look at all aspects of the Hornsund and Isfjorden system, on the west coast of Svalbard. These series of talks represented the ocean part of our upcoming fieldwork, during which time we would deploy two gliders in Isfjorden (adjacent to UNIS) and at the same time have continuous profiling measurements of temperature and salinity taken from a day boat. 

Using a conductivity, temperature, depth instrument (CTD) during a typically bright afternoon in Templefjord.

The ‘Air’ part of the course is taught in parallel and is just as dynamic. We are briefed in the use of static and moving aircraft to measure the atmosphere. A SUMO aircraft is passed around the classroom and we attempt to pilot a small helicopter. The results are disastrous, and it is unanimously agreed that the observations will be closely monitored by professionals!

Neil checks the capabilities of the SUMO aircraft.

Nevertheless we deploy a tethersonde (a helium balloon) that soars to greater than 1 kilometre up into the Arctic sky, taking with it temperature, humidity and wind speed loggers. We also launch an autonomous aerial vehicle (AUV), which will measure the same parameters but with greater spatial range.  We have also set up two temporary weather stations that will run throughout the duration of the course. All bases covered then! But what are we actually studying?

The tethersonde is raised and lowered continuously to around 1 km while the SUMO aircraft flies missions in the background.

The primary science objective of this course is to understand the Isfjorden fjord system ‘proper’; UNIS’s own ocean laboratory, and much like Loch Etive is to SAMS. This wide fjord is one of the biggest in the Svalbard archipelago and incorporates several side fjords, multiple glaciers and is occasionally seasonally ice covered. This small study is particularly important as the Arctic is undergoing a period of rapid climate change. You can experience it by just being here. We have had temperature extremes from beyond -20 ⁰ C to greater than zero in a matter of days as well as all manner of rain and snow and ice. More important perhaps is what is not experienced: sea ice. The fjord has not had a sea ice cover for the last three years. In addition to this sea ice is even hard to come by if you have a boat. UNIS cruises are finding it more difficult each year to reach the sea ice and recent research has shown that the loss is not limited to just the summer season but show greater declines in winter north of Svalbard (Onerheim et al., 2014).

It is very important to understand this change as well as predict future changes so that we gauge the global impacts on the environment. SAMS has a significant interest in the Arctic. This extends not just to those in the fantastic undergraduate exchange program offered in the 3^rd year bachelors course but also to the many who  remain in Oban during the course of their studies, and students studying for postgraduate degrees as well as early career researchers. I read for my degree at SAMS and chose not to spend my 3^rd year here yet this is my second time to the Arctic, and it will not be my last!

If anyone were interested in studying polar science for a dissertation, lit review or summer project I would urge you to get in touch with Finlo Cottier or your module leader who will be able to direct you to the right person in the right field of study.

Northern lights are pretty much omnipresent during the winter. They are the only light in the sky during moon down times. 

Looking South for Northern Lights

Hello, this is Felix with another update on our Arctic adventures.
The polar night is getting to us, messing up our sleep pattern and confusing us every morning we wake up. However, what else could be better to keep us from going outdoors and force us to study (probably not even Scottish rain)?
The only natural source of light that now brightens the sky occasionally is the collision of solar winds and magnetospheric particles in the upper atmosphere – Northern Lights. Despite its name, the aurora borealis are only visible looking south, where the sun's energetic particles hit the atmosphere.

The Austrian 19th century polar explorer Julius von Payer described this phenomenon much better than I could: 'No pencil can draw it, no colours can paint it, no words can describe it'.

So, I'll waste no more words and leave you to the photos...

Longyearbyen vs Barentsburg: Rounds 1 and 2.

Hello, Sam here. 

It’s been a while since I've written a blog entry, apologies! It’s been pretty busy in the Arctic Geology department. I’m here to tell you about my role in the Longyearbyen basketball, football and volleyball teams and our recent matches against the nearby Russian town, Barentsburg, Every semester 5/6 teams in a variety of sports from Longyearbyen  play against  Barentsburg home and away. Generally the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, however a strong rivalry still exists between the teams of each town and the games can be pretty exciting.

Barentsburg  - Away
We left around 8am in the morning on Sysselmannen’s (The Governor of Svalbard) brand new boat. Upon arrival we were ushered up to the sports centre and straight on to the volleyball court. The team played well and it ended up being a very close match were only two points separated the winners, Longyearbyen, from Barentsburg.  Whilst Longyearbyen played indoor hockey a few of us wandered around Barentsburg. It was really interesting to see the architecture and old communist posters. The town had a nice character and atmosphere. It was then time for Basketball were Longyearbyen won again by a large margin. It was then made a clean sweep with a victory in football. Everyone then headed up to the canteen where everyone was served some tasty Russian food. This was of course accompanied by some Russian vodka, passed to us in rather large glasses whilst being told “Russian tradition”. This tradition was repeated numerous times, with the measurements getting less precise each time. Before long we were exchanging laughs and songs and communicating via a mixture of grunts and cherades – It was a great laugh. Our time to leave came to quickly and we said our goodbyes to the Russian miners. The party continued on the boat back to Longyearbyen and we were back by 11pm.

Longyearbyen volleyball team  after winning a point

Friendly smiles after the meal in Barentsburg

Longyearbyen - Home
The games kicked off at 12.45pm with volleyball and table tennis being played first. Longyearbyen were given a clean sweep from Barentsburg in table tennis whereas we won 3 sets to 1 in volleyball, playing strong both in attack and defence throughout the game. Football ended up with a 2-2 draw with Longyearbyen conceding 2 late goals in the final minutes. The basketball game was as rough as ever. I was marked out of the game in the first two quarters along with a few elbows in the back of my head. In the end we lost by 9 points. Everyone in the team managed to get some good game time so everybody seemed happy with the result. The final result was an overall win by Barentsburg. After the tournament all the teams went for pizza and beer at the local restaurant Kroa. After eating a fair amount of pizza I made a quick exit, declining various offers of vodka, martini and whisky from the Russians. Although I had to leave the party early, with hindsight I'm pretty glad I left! Until next semester Barentsburg, the score stands at 1-1!

A rare unblocked attack from Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen basketball team on the attack

Ice caves and company

Ice caves and company

Since the arrival of the polar night head torches have become a permanent feature in our activity. With the recently cold weather we decided to make the most of it and head where we knew it would be warm. The Ice caves of Larsbreen. Using the last of the twilight hours we found the entrance to the the cave and set up a  a belay rope to rappel down.

(the view from the bottom looking at the entrance)

(walking along in the cave watching the torches catching light on and through the ice)

Once in the caves we where all in ore  of the structure and pattern created in the ice highlighted by our head torches. In particular the matter suspended with in the ices, stopped mid movement was amazing.

(Felix looking back through an opening between two tunnells) 

(Sam taking in the cave)

There were so many different parts to the cave. The photo above of Sam was taken in a part filled with hoarfrost, making beautiful, almost cobweb-like structure on the ceiling and wall. Of course it was the perfect setting in one of the larger caves to have our tea by candle light.

(our tea party in an ice cave)

Also there are a two SAMS Phd students who have joined us out here for the rest of our term, as I am sure many of you know this is Neil Fraser and Lewis Drysdale. So we headed for a walk and climbed up Sarkofagen despite the white out evident in the photo below.

Lewis, Neil, me (Lucy), Isabella (fellow UNIS student) and Felix

Polar bears and Sam's long hair.

So today was the last day of the sun above the horizon (for a minute....) and we're now into the twilight period before 24hr polar night. Sorry for lack of posts, we've all become a bit lethargic due to deadlines and mid-term exams!

 

On a social note, over the past few weeks we've been graced with the presence of a few SAMS people here in Svalbard. It was lovely to see Kim, Estelle, Laura, Finlo and Colin and catch up over a pint or two, or three....

Unfortunately, no one has any photographic evidence :( but it was really good to see people from civilization!

Last weekend there was an Icebreaker party and the theme was 'Hippies vs Hipsters'. It was really nice as Vanessa (H3) was here and it ended up being a really good night with party games and cocktails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam decided his hair was a little out of control so I put my non existent hairdressing skills to the test. I didn't make a bad job!

 

 

Last week Longyearbyen got a little excited/apprehensive when a polar bear strolled into town. It was chased out of town but kept coming back so eventually it was anaethetised and lifted by helicopter to the other side of the island. The poor thing must have felt like the definition of a bear with a sore head.

 

This week, the Arctic Technology class (Lucy and I) had a field trip into Adventdalen for some snow pack analysis (a lot more interesting than it sounds, I assure you) Unfortunately, we've had a warm spell this week and most of the snow had melted so we didn't get amazing results, however we got to go in the duck again (the big blue thing) and wear really attractive snow suits.

 

 As you can see, Lucy and I are still talking (just)

So as all the snow has melted it really is like being in Scotland, its wet and windy but its set to get cold again by the end of the week.

Hope all is well in Oban!

From the Svalbard gang.

Longyearbyen to Coals Bay

Longyearbyen to Coals Bay

So as it is now crunch time with mid semester tests and reports coming out of our ears there is not much to report, but those of us in Arctic technology where lucky enough to have a long weekend and so decided to use our 3 days by hiking out to Coals bay, highlighted in red on the map above. The map show’s where we are Longyearbyen we took a car out to the Bjodalen and walked the 20 odd km to the cabin. This cabin is situated on an old Russian minors track in between Graymont and coals bay. It also happens to be one of the best maintained cabins I have stayed in with the furthest North museum attached to it. We spent the rest of the weekend walk into and around the bay exploring the abandoned village before making our way back on the Sunday arriving back to a very snow covered Lonyearbyen with water proofs that had long given up being water proof. Below are a few pictures: