Ny Alesund
Trip Start
Jun 30, 2008
1
14
21
Trip End
Jul 21, 2008
Ny Alesund,
Svalbard and Jan Mayen,
Norway
Monday, July 14, 2008
We motored along the northern cliffs on the approach to the glacier. The cliffs harbored bird nesting areas. In some spots there was a small shelf between the base of the cliff and the ocean. The tundra was green from the bird guano building up into a soil. This is unique in Svalbard because the tundra is mostly devoid of nutrients. The green makes the bird cliffs easy to spot from a distance since they stand out.
The species of birds that we saw included glaucous gulls, kittyiwakes, puffins, guillemonts, pink-footed geese, barnacle geese, skuas, and little auks. The birds who had eggs in their nests faced toward the cliff, where as birds that didn't have eggs in their nests faced toward the water. We saw some glaucous gull chicks being herded around by their parents. We also saw some glaucous gulls attack a kittiwake. The kittiwake got away, but it was a show.
There were some mammals represented in the area. There were some reindeer picking their along treacherous paths up on the cliff. There were a few more at the base of the cliff being lazy. The highlight was two bearded seals lounging on an ice chunk floating in the bay in front of the glacier. They just laid there while we quietly idled past taking pictures.
The glacier itself was magnificant, of course. It was much smaller than the Lilliehook Glacier, but you could tell that it had been active because of all the bergy-bits (small, floating ice chunks) in the water. Its front was not as regular as Lilliehook, either. It looked like it had calved some larger bergs recently. You can tell because areas that have recently calved have a bluish tint. Areas that have not calved recently have a white or dirty white appearance. There was even some jade or black ice near the bottom of the glacier in one spot.
After we had our fill of the glacier, we cruised back to the ship to warm up and dry out. As I was walking the deck, I noticed that my butt felt wet. When I got back to my cabin and peeled off my new Rab pants I found that they had leaked in the seat. When I examined the inside of the pants I noticed that the eVent waterproof membrane had developed small tears. Those pants were not cheap and they were supposed to be very good. I am not happy about this because not only do I have to make field repairs, but now I need to figure out what to do with them when I get back. I will have to send Mark and email and see what he says. I am really disappointed because eVent is supposed to be such a great fabric, but it clearly isn't as robust has Gore-Tex.
We had a late breakfast where they announced that we would be headed back to Ny Alesund and do an excursion there. I noticed that on the posted itinerary for today that we have yet another excursion in the late afternoon. They are trying to make up for the lack of excursions during the first few days. Also on the schedule it says the after dinner talk will be done by the "MSU scholars". It is going to be a long day.
I slapped some duct tape on the inside of my pants in hopes that will keep the water out for the remainder of the trip. And then it was time to get geared up for the excursion to Ny Alesund. I was in the first zodiac to the shore. While John contacted some researchers, I stood around and rounded up the troops. After everyone was together we went to the gift shop to get some souvenirs from Ny Alesund. Once we had spent our kroner we met up with the researchers and were taken to their facility. They have a nice facility over looking the harbor. Ny Alesund is merely a cluster of buildings on a fjord north of Longyearbyen. The facility that the researchers had was modern, had power, computers, networking, and all sorts of high tech equipment. It was amazing.
One of the researchers lectured on toxins and pollutants found in the Arctic. The Arctic is a sink for the industrialized world's pollution. As a result, there is an elevated concentration of many industrial pollutants found in Arctic animals. Especially in top predators like the polar bear and glaucous gull. Further while older chemicals such as PCBs have been banned by many nations for a while, some of the replacement chemicals are also showing up in Arctic animals. So, instead of getting better the problem is actually worse because now there are the old chemicals and the new chemicals creating a cocktail of pollutants.
After the lecture we went outside and another researcher let some of the girls carry some barnacle goslings to a feeding area. I was glad I didn't volunteer for the job since the girls got pooped on. The girls had to be careful when transporting the goslings because if they dropped them a resident Arctic fox could attack the goslings. While the goslings ran around, the researcher gave a short talk on what they were researching the goslings for. Basically, they were attempting to chart their growth and development. Tony, the expedition's ornithologist, later told me on the ship that they saw 3 wild goslings get eaten by an Arctic fox. He also said that the net reproduction numbers for goslings in the area was zero for the previous year.
We were the last people to leave Ny Alesund. I hitched a ride on the zodiac that brought the expedition staff back. It was neat to hear them joke around with each other. At lunch I talked with John (expedition staff) about how he got his job with Quark. I lamented that I wished I chosen the wrong career path and he said, well lots of people do a 180 during their lives. He mentioned that studying outside of the US is always an option and they often give scholarships.
After lunch I caught up on my picture taking earlier in the day. It was difficult shooting conditions in the rain and so not many came out. I read a bit and then napped until dinner. The seas were getting rougher and it was really hot in the dining room. A lot of people were not feeling so well, but I was fine. I haven't taken any seasickness medication either. After dinner we headed up to the bar to do our "bar talk". We each got to say why we were here and then we took questions. Most of the questions were of a policy-based nature. Most of the people on this ship are older. They are the ones that wrecked the environment and they want to know how the younger generation is going to clean it up. What can you say to that?
