The past two days have been quite special in Norway (hence Svalbard). You see, on the 16th May they won the Eurovision and then the next day was the "17th May" which is one of the biggest dates in the calendar, representing when Norway was declared an independent nation.
And so, on the 16th we organised this Eurovision party in my kitchen. I managed to get hold of a projector and a screen from UNIS (this would never happen back at home!), and we streamed the event live from the Internet. We had a really great time and loads of people turned up (some in silly dress, including myself) - mainly because we knew Norway had a good chance of wining. Everybody knew the song which was really nice. After the victory was announced, we all headed over to Husset to celebrate. It was empty when we got there, but we really did bring the party down there and as the night went by more and more people arrived. They must have played that Fairytale song around 5 times, but every time they did everybody went mad.
Waiting for the Eurovision results
Norway wins ^^
Student celebrating Norway's victory on the roof
Students singing along :)
We got out at 4AM, and it was absolutely freezing outside (none of us were dressed appropriately for the Arctic) and the sun was shining in our eyes. I quickly went to bed, knowing I had to wake up at 8AM for the morning celebrations (for the 17th of May) where we organised a massive breakfast :p
Waving the UNIS flag down the 17th May parade
posted by Yann Rashid on 22:17
Yesterday I went on the most amazing scooter trip ever. This one will prob be my last one since the snow is rapidly melting away. However for the past few days we have had a cold snap meaning the snow was a bit more stable and not disappearing as fast.
Six of us set off on five scooters, and our aim was to reach Vårsolbukta which is situated on the West coast. What's funny is that I actually went there a few months ago by boat during our Biology cruise (it's a barnacle goose pre-breeding site).
Even though we were on a scooter most of the day (and the weather got rubbish towards the end), we still had many breaks allowing us to appreciate the views. The mountains were just amazing, so jagged and different to those found around Longyearbyen. For a mini expedition it would be a bit far to reach, but for once it made me appreciate having a scooter.
Setting off in the morning
The long road ahead
We didn't see any polar bears :( but we did cross their tracks ^^
Oooh yeah :D
So cool
Driving up glaciers ...
Arriving at Vårsolbukta - the most incredible landscape. Very very windy though ...
So dramatic
On the way back we passed by Barentsburg, the most disgusting place on the planet.
posted by Yann Rashid on 12:02
A few days ago I went out by scooter to visit BSES at Tempelfjorden. As you prob know by now, I went to Svalbard with BSES back in 2006. I got an email from them asking if I could pass by with some spare ski bindings, so it was a good excuse to go out before the snow all melted away.
I can remember when I was a YE how some people came to visit us, and gave us some fruit, and how grateful I was. And so this was also the opportunity to keep the tradition, and surprise this year's YE's with a delivery of fresh fruit and chocolate :)
The weather was great, and I was surprised at how much snow there was still left in Sassendalen - nothing like Longyearbyen where everything is melting away like crazy. It was really nice seeing the team again and catching up with them. I think the YEs' were just glad to speak to some new people. Later that evening an Arctic fox came out.
When I was at Tempelfjorden back in 2006, the fjord hadn't even frozen over, and so I was slightly jealous that they had an amazing campsite this year :)
BSES Campsite, looking over to Templet
Mr Fox comes to visit
Looking over the fjord with Wimanfjellet in background
posted by Yann Rashid on 13:32
Urg once again so rubbish at this blog. My main problem is that too many things happen, and I just don't have the time to write about them. Also, I need to resize all my photos manually and then upload them on photobucket, make a small HTML code and paste the code for each photo incoorporated onto this blog (if that makes any sense). Reason being is that I don't like the default photo settings on blogspot.
Anyways, I just thought I would quickly upload a few photos from just a few mins ago. Long story cut short: the melt is on its way. Things have already started to melt, however for the past 2 days the temperature has gone down again and we have had crisp, sunny weather, and the snow has managed to be stable again. However the temperature is on the rise again and I know it will soon all disappear :(
08.05.09 Outside my window ... still lots of snow ...
08.05.09 Photo taken at 01.30AM by the way ;)
sigh ...
I promise I have more posts in the works at the moment, and will upload all of them in one go lol.
posted by Yann Rashid on 01:28
Last Monday I went to Billefjorden, my last fieldwork trip of the season. We went out to conduct the same experiment as at Templefjorden i.e. finding out what phyto and zooplankton are living below the ice, and how the ice and sunlight affect their "bloom".
The weather was set to be a bit rubbish, and as some of the sea ice had already disappeared, we took the long way round to Billefjorden. At first I wasn't really looking forward to such a long trip, especially since we had been warned it might take forever and that previous groups got back at 1AM and 5AM (a few weeks before).
However, in the end, it actually went really well. The scooter trip itself didn't last half as long as I expected, and it was quite enjoyable. The scenery (even with the clouds) was amazing but we didn't really get the chance to stop (mainly because we were in a hurry to get things down before the weather deteriorated).
On our way to Billefjorden
When we finally got there, I couldn't believe how much sea ice there was left ... over 1 metre (that's good compared to other places where it's already breaking up). I was responsible for drilling holes in the ice, and then collecting ice core samples (45 of them!). All I can say is that it left me with a very sore back for a few days. Hmmff.
What was silly is that we were right next to Pyramiden, an abandoned Russian settlement. I have yet to visit it, but we didn't have time to scooter across :( ... shame, but I guess I'll see it one day ;) .
Pyramid shaped mountain - giving the name to : ...
On the way back we saw loads of seals, and then later drove through a whiteout. Last time (at Templefjorden) I was falling asleep at the back of the scooter, so this time I ensured to have some headphones in my ears and drink a coffee before leaving lol :)
I was so exhausted that evening, and the following week we had labs ALL day. Very tiring stuff and now I must start working on my report :(
Nordenskioldbreen, Billefjorden, right next to our science base
Cool science
Melt water obstacle to tackle on the way back
What we found in the water
Later on in the lab ... Calanus!
... and Krill! They look evil with those beedy eyes :(
posted by Yann Rashid on 12:02
