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.