yann in the arctic

On the 20th April, my group finally got the chance to do some fieldwork in our AB-204 course. Previous small groups in my class had already been to Templefjorden, but the experiement that we are conducting requires several trips there.

We are basically investigating how the ascent of phyto and zooplankton is affected by seasonal differences in light intensity, temperature etc. Esp since right now we are in spring, the fjords are still covered in ice, and the sun is now shining 24/7 (and the ice will soon all disappear).

We had to be down at UNIS for 8AM which was a bit rubbish, but overall we had a great day (and we got to travel on scooters!). The ice there was quite thick, about 70cm from what I can remember. What I liked about it was that we were doing work in the most spectacular area.

On the way home we got caught in a whiteout, but luckily we were close to town. On the other hand, some of our fellow classmates who went to Billefjorden (twice the distance away) seriously got stranded and had to wait in Pyramiden while the weather settled. They got back in Longyearbyen at 5AM the next morning ... I hope that won't happen to me when I go there in a few weeks time ... :S

I shouldn't say this, but because I was the passenger (on the way back), the snow was somehow making me sleepy, and my ears were kinda blocked (like when you go up a hill) ... and I was slowly falling asleep! I kept knocking my head against my friend's back and then waking up again :S

Packing our sledges at UNIS