A Day Back at Base Camp!

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 64

July 24, 2004: A Day at Base CampThe weather feels somewhat milder this morning, with less wind and barely any drizzle or rain, making it more comfortable at our base camp which currently is recording a temperature of +03.9° C at 7:00 AM. The sky is overcast, as it has been since we arrived this past week, and the clouds and fog are hiding various parts of the mountains and creeping towards the valley and the shoreline. There is hope that sometime today the sun might peek through. Yes, there is always the hope!

It was originally thought that we might spend the day hiking to the glacier, but first thing this morning we decided it might be more productive to dedicate the day to lab work and some initial data processing and analysis. The students are anxious to further define their individual research questions and also hope to spend some productive time collaborating to bring clarity to the goals for their projects. Due to the intense physical activities of the last two days, where much of the heaviest gear has had to be packed out to the lake, it is essential that we tend to some minor sore muscles and potential blister areas. We all look forward to some recovery and rejuvenation time as essential tasks focusing closer to camp are completed. Hopefully, late morning efforts by the more techno-savvy will attempt to identify and resolve some of our technology challenges regarding Internet connectivity. Others will continue to process and examine the various data samples already collected. There is water to filter, instruments to calibrate, and data to analyze. We will have lunch at the base camp for the first time, which could prove to be a welcome alternative to our typical pocket lunch of bread, cheese, chocolate, spicy peanuts and water.

This afternoon some of us plan to take a hike to a small lake that is not as far away as the focal point for much of the research. Phil Lane, a senior from Cornell University who is majoring in Atmospheric Science/Meteorology is developing his research project around the potential effects of the storm surge on the small lakes near the coast, in consideration of its proximity to the sea. Of course, this will mean carrying another boat overland so that he can obtain the necessary core samples, but this is a collaborative venture so I am certain his colleagues will give him a hand when the time comes, possibly in exchange for some of his chocolate ration! This lake is too small to have been identified by name on the map. I asked our young cooks if it had a common name, and since there was none, they were quite keen on my suggestion that we name it in their honor. Bestowing this honor might also result in a special dessert for us this evening. We will christen the lake Etta-Marie og Rita Vatna. Perhaps, once Phil’s research becomes published and he is famous, it will one day become Lane Vatna!

It is now a little past noon and the temperature has climbed all the way up to +05.0° C. The young researchers continue to filter water samples and comment on the wonderful aroma of fresh bread baking in the kitchen. Though the air is remarkably pristine at Linné Vatna (Lake Linné), where we are now accustomed to spending our days, one might argue that the aroma of rosemary baking into fresh bread is also worth mentioning. I can’t help but wonder what animals might be tantalized, as well! The thought of our first polar bear encounter is both thrilling and frightening!

Our location is very remote, and the closeness of the sea ice provides convenient taxi service for the polar bears who occasionally hop off their ever-moving marine environment for a quick trip to town. Unfortunately, they sometimes hop off and their ride leaves without them as the sea ice shifts. The polar bears get stranded on the land and can be quite angry about being left behind. It is essential that we are always armed and vigilant. We are currently the only inhabitants of the entire area of Kapp Linné. About ten miles away there is a small Russian mining outpost and occasionally some of the inhabitants wander the areas nearby. Our cooks are not always fond of these visitors. Recently one of the miners from Barentsberg frightened them with some rather bad behavior and the Sysselmann had to be contacted to scare him away. The Sysselmann, or Govenor of Svalbard, is the law of the land. If he has to be called upon to resolve a problem, it is probably not going to be pleasant and will likely be costly.

Abundant in beauty, there are no roads to be found and the only access to Kapp Linné is by air or sea. The sole source of electricity is the large generator which we have become accustomed to hearing. We are well aware of its vital role to our well-being so we are comforted by the low, resonating, ever-present drone of the generator and we listen for it to welcome us back after our long days engaged in cold, wet, and windy field research.

The temperature has dropped and at 1:30 PM it is now + 04.5° C. We are just about to experience what it is like to be in a remote location during an unexpected emergency. A mini-drama has begun to unfold in the kitchen. Our cooks are usually giggling and chatty, enjoying the summer change of pace from their studies in Oslo, but today something seems amiss. My “mom-teacher-nurse-counselor” instincts have quickly overtaken my concern about interfering into the affairs of a stranger. I cautiously ask Rita if she is, in fact, feeling poorly when I see her reclining on the staircase at a little before 2:00 PM. She is obviously frightened and pale. Her eyes look ready to spill over with tears at any moment. I can tell she is not comfortable telling me, little more than a foreign stranger to her, what is the matter. After some gentle coaxing she shows me her hand which is wrapped in a make-shift bandage. Yesterday, she laughed off the bandage as necessary to cover a slight nip inadvertently delivered by Olga, the old dog that is kept to warn against polar bears and Russian intruders from the mining camp. Today, Rita tells me that this was just a story made-up to draw attention from the real situation. In fact, she has cut her hand on a knife and for two days the cut has been festering. As I look at her hot, swollen arm, it is quite clear that this could quickly turn into a major medical emergency. The limb is red and tender from hand to shoulder and Rita is running a fever, a serious warning of pending septicemia. It is quite clear that she needs medical treatment including being placed on antibiotics immediately. After a few telephone calls, it is decided that Rita should be evacuated back to Longyearbyan for treatment. The revered sysselmann’s private helicopter arrives and we bid Rita good bye, wishing her a speedy recovery and a quick return. We all pitch in to prepare a late lunch, clean up, and then it is on to our hike along the beach and to the near lake. It is 3:15 PM and the temperature is now + 04.5° C. There is little wind and only a minor drizzle, so it is a good afternoon for a long hike along the shoreline and inland to the small lakes.

Our minds are quickly diverted away from the day’s unusual events as we trek to the beach and on towards the lake. The afternoon is spent looking at the unique and dynamic rock formations, speculating on their age and geomorphology. We see reindeer on the tundra, numerous birds and water fowl in and around the lake, and we observe small, daphnia-like organisms swimming throughout the water. There are larger copepods of some type that seem to be enjoying the chilled environment and we speculate as to how long they can survive in the icy waters and what happens to them in the winter. There are reindeer carcasses of recent times on the lake banks adjacent to 8,000 year old whale bones visible in the shallow, clear waters. The femur of a polar bear rests a few meters away from the shoreline. Up the bank, a whale vertebra has filled in with moss and hosts a copse of delicate yellow flowers and a tiny bright reddish-orange spider. There are ample signs of artic fox, but the inquisitive creatures are nowhere in site on this afternoon as the sun begins to brake through the drizzle. As a reindeer and her single offspring observe us from a safe distance, Phil obtains his preliminary water samples and barely misses falling into a stream as a loose rock transforms a rather simple stream crossing into a near ordeal. We are grateful that his heroic attempt to save the camera and water samples he is carrying, as well as the flare gun we must always have at hand to scare away polar bears, proves successful. Phil manages to scrape up his elbow but through his sacrifice all equipment and samples are spared.

As we wander back towards the compound, Al and Steve, the principle investigators of the project, continue to share with us the story of the history of time, with the records embedded in the rock formations for those who take the time to learn the language. We return to Isfjord Radio around 5:30 PM as the temperature hits + 03.5° C. Three from our group have forgone the hike to prepare presentations of the data collected to date. As the group eagerly attempts to make some sense of it all, it is apparent that this is “real-world” science and the students in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Project are having the time of their lives as they prepare to become the super-scientists of tomorrow.

It is now just after 7:00 PM, and the current temperature is back up to + 05.2° C. Dinner will be slightly delayed with only one cook preparing the evening meal. We are in the midst of a good news/bad news scenario. The good news is that they have sent out a new cook from Longyearbyan. The bad news is that there is no telling when she will arrive because the boat she is on is stuck in the sea ice! The good news is that Rita is responding to the treatment she needed. Ahhh! The high Arctic always has surprises in store for those who venture to the north!

The time is now 10:00 PM with a temperature of + 04.2° C. The sun is brighter than it has been all week! Looking across at Longyearbyan, one sees the ice glistening across the water and reflecting the beauty of the glaciers. It is a stunning panoramic display of nature. We have just finished listening to a presentation by Ole Humlum, a permafrost expert who serves as a professor at UNIS . He gave a most interesting lecture entitled The Meteorology of the Arctic. As I look back on this day that we anticipated might be uneventful compared to our fieldwork, I realize that every day in the high Artic presents wonderful memories of this grand expedition! And now it is time to restock my pack and prepare for tomorrow’s long hike to the lake, and possibly to the glacier well beyond the lake, if the weather is promising! Even pulling the shades cannot block out the bright sun, but rest is essential for maintaining the stamina required to hike all day long. You can’t wait until the sun goes down to become sleepy here! I’ll just drift off to sleep wondering about the opportunities tomorrow will bring.