She's from Everett, Washington. She is an Earth Sciences major, with an Environmental Studies minor, at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire.
She will be celebrating her 22nd birthday while she's here in Ny Alesund. Here's the best part about Laura Kehrl . . . she rides back and forth across the fjord with her head in a garbage bag. No, it's not that she's having trouble dealing with the 24/7 sunlight here. It's part of what her project is . . .
. . . "Kongsfjorden floor morphology and its implications for glacier stability"
Laura K with her head in a bag as we
So what exactly is "Laura K" doing in that bag? (We call her "Laura K" because we also have "Laura P" in our little group.) The only reason Laura K has to have her head...
It seems many of you who have been following our "High Arctic Change" adventure have been wondering . . . "What kind of food do you eat in Svalbard?"
When I found out where we were going to be headed on this expedition, I was wondering the same thing. Would we be eating processed food out of a can?
Sardines in mustard sauce? Dried fish and reindeer meat?
You may have seen that while in Longyearbyen, we did try whale meat at a restaurant. And it was actually very good. But here in Ny Alesund it is certainly not the type of fair I expected. You may be surprised as well.
Remember, Ny Alesund was once a coal mining village run by the Kings Bay Kull Company. But now it is an international arctic science and research station. And now, Kings Bay AS manages the...
Ironically, the quietest, most reserved, members of our crew have been dubbed, the "Iceberg Cowboys" by everyone else. This journal entry will introduce you to Phaedra Tinder and Hector Zamora. You will learn a little about them and their projects, as well as the science they are doing that has earned them the moniker, the "Iceberg Cowboys".
Phaedra & Hector collecting samples from a recently calved ice berg.
Phaedra Tinder calls Vero Beach, Florida her home town. But as a student majoring in Geology, she heads a bit north to the Philadelphia, PA area where she attends Bryn Mawr College.
Phaedra on one of our
What a place to enjoy your 21st birthday! Happy 21 Phaedra!
Why is she interested in becoming a Geoscientist*? Phaedra says, "I like...
It's midnight. We have a boat. We have our survival suits. We have water skis.We have what???? That's right! Water skis!
Ever since we noticed the water skis at the French station, we just knew . . . we had to try it.
'NASA Phil' waterskiing in the midnight sun.
It's a good thing, cuz I can't ski. Need more practice I guess.
8000 people on that cruise ship. Zero doing this!
Just so you know . . . real scientists don't just sit around in lab coats looking in microscopes all the time. They have fun! Especially polar geoscientists!
Keep checking in. You'll see that our lab coats are big orange survival suits. Our data is collected from a small boat in front of a 60...
If you've been following along on our expedition through these journals, or the photo gallery, you may be wondering, "Who are these people?"In the Overview tab, you found out about me, the PolarTREC teacher, and Ross Powell and Julie Brigham-Grette, the researchers. But not about the REU students. Go back to the Overview tab, and you'll see this photo:
Mike Rhinard, Hector Zamora, Julie Brigham-Grette, Theo Barnhart, Laura Kehrl, Laura Poppick, Hannah Marshburn, Phaedra Tinder, and Ross Powell
You'll also be introduced to Hector, Theo, Laura K, Laura P, Hannah, & Phaedra.
Now, why are they here?
These 6 students are undergraduate college students from various colleges and universities across the U.S. This "High Arctic Change" expedition is part of the "...
I'm an Earth Science teacher. So, I'm interested in stuff about the Earth, and Earth Science, or Geoscience*. That's why I subscribe to an e-news service called Geology News. (find out more at www.geology.com)In checking my email today, I see this article: Retreating Glaciers.
Though it's not about Svalbard glaciers, it is about the glacial processes* we are here studying. Read it, I think you'll find it interesting.
see Project Vocabulary under Overview tab
In the U.S. we go "hiking" on a "trail". Ross Powell is originally from New Zealand. (Read more about Ross in the expedition High Arctic Change '09 *Overview *tab.) He says that in New Zealand, it's known as "tramping" on a "track". In order for our expedition crew to get started on our research, we needed to get to know the area we are working in. We also needed to "see, touch, and smell, . . . oh yeah, and hear" a glacier and get to learn what it can tell us about what is going on here. So . . . we went "tramping on a glacier". Actually, 4 of them.
It's easy to see glaciers as just huge chunks of ice that just sit there. Maybe with a little snow on top. They are beautiful to look at in person, or in pictures. But...
Note: Much of today's journal information is referenced at the end. There are also several links to more information about Ny Alesund, Svalbard, and Arctic science throughout the journal. Feel free to wander off on any of this info and come back later. You might just become a "polar junkie" yourself.
WHERE IS NY ÅLESUND?
Ny Ålesund (New Ålesund) is a small settlement located halfway up the western coast of Spitzbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago*. Its geographic location is at latitude 78° 55' 48" North of the Equator and longitude 11° 56' 59" East of the Prime Meridian on a map of the world. (The North Pole is 90° north of the Equator.) Decimal coordinates: +78.9245, +11.9286
Ny Alesund is located 1/2 way up the west side of Spitzbergen, the...
It was exciting to get to the airport in Longyearbyen for our flight to our research destination. There are only 2 days a week that there are flights to Ny Alesund, Monday & Thursday. And there are 2 flights, if needed, each day. With all of our gear, and other people flying, we split into 2 groups. Ross, Hannah, Laura K. and myself stayed behind for the 2nd flight later that day.
Ross, Laura K & Hanna - all smiles headed to Ny Alesund.
Once the plane was in the air we couldn't stop taking pictures.
The scenery was . . . well, you decide.
Over the fjord near Longyearben
Glaciers all around us.
Look at how blue the water is on the melt pond on the surface of the glacier.
The sediments being gouged out along the sides of glaciers are called lateral moraines. When one...
Before we head off to Ny Alesund and begin our field work, we are required to have Field Safety Training specific to working in Svalbard.
Svalbard is an incredible place. It can also be a dangerous place, if you are not prepared.
This morning we were introduced to Martin, our safety instructor at UNIS. Martin told us that over 60% of Svalbard is covered by glaciers. There are specific hazards when working on glaciers. For example, when glaciers flow down slope huge cracks perpendicular to the direction of flow can develop. These cracks, called crevasses, can be very large. Large enough to fall into. If you fall into a crevasse, not only can you get wedged in, making it difficult to be rescued, but your body heat can melt a bit of the ice around you. This can re-freeze, literally...
You may recall an earlier journal entry, "Get Out!", where my advice was to travel as much as you can. Well, here's a look at some Norwegian customs and other things that we are encountering, now that we are here. That's part of the fun of traveling.First: Take your shoes off! Yep. In Norway, it's customary to leave your shoes at the door. (Except places like grocery stores or shops.) Many buildings have larger entryways to hang your coat and take off your shoes. Inside everyone walks around in socks. Some people have "indoor shoes" that they trade when going out. In a busy building, there is always a huge pile of shoes at the door.
So if you ever travel to Norway, wear slip-on shoes. It will make going in and out much easier.
Everyone takes off their...
We are in the air somewhere over Norway. We've just taken off from Oslo on Scandinavian Air flight 4496, nonstop to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. It's 9 p.m. local time and the sun is still high in the sky, burning bright in the windows of the left side of the 737 we are on. **
(Without using a map, what general direction would we be looking out the right side of the plane? Can you figure it out using the information so far?)
This is the last leg of our trip to Svalbard . . . almost! We will be spending a couple of days in Longyearbyen at UNIS, the University of Norway In Svalbard.
Learn more about UNIS at: www.unis.no
We'll be doing some very interesting things while at UNIS and around Longyearbyen. So be sure to check back to find out all about it. Here's a hint: survival suit...
Wherever you are, don’t just stay there. Travel! And see the world as much as you can. You will be amazed at what is out there to see and learn about. You’ll also be amazed at the people you will meet. I’m flying from Boston to Reykjavik, Iceland, on my way to Svalbard. When you have a 5+ hour flight to anywhere, you’re likely to have some conversation with the person in the seat next to you. I was so lucky to be sitting next to a very nice woman from Concord, Massachusetts (that’s pronounced KonKerd, not KonKord, for you non-Bostonians). I was even luckier to NOT be sitting next to the family of little kids behind me that keep kicking my seat. (Just kidding. I love kids! I’m a teacher. Really.) "Suzy” is retired and is a volunteer at the New England Aquarium in Boston. (www.neaq.org...
It's July 12th. We had a great morning at Julie's home in Amherst, MA.
Everyone woke to the smell of fresh ground coffee brewing and Roger, Julie's husband, making us his signature sourdough pancakes. Mmmm!
Today is all the last minute stuff, like a quick stop at the store for ziplock bags, mechanical pencils, and sunscreen. **
(That's right, sunscreen. It may be cold in the arctic, but you still get those UV rays from the sun.)
Julie gave us all a quick tour of the Geosciences Dept. at U.Mass - Amherst.
Julie giving tour of UMass Geosciences Dept.
There certainly is a lot going on there. Did you know you can learn about climate change by studying the chemical make up of the built-up layers in stalactites (the ones sticking down from the top of a cave) & stalagmites (the...
**** What a hectic day! Tying up loose ends at home, making sure everything is packed, and . . . WHOA! Almost forgot my passport! Kind of tough to travel to Svalbard, Norway without your passport. (And your Muck Boots. More about those later.)
With passport in hand I checked in at the Boise airport with one big ‘ole duffle bag full of warm socks, lots of fleece, & my Muck Boots. Plus, a daypack , and laptop computer bag. Let’s hope nothing was forgotten. (I have my passport and warm socks – so we’ll be ok.)
This entry is actually being written in the Denver airport. One of the MANY stops on the way to Svalbard from Boise. There is a nasty, nasty thunderstorm going on outside. Driving winds, rain and hail! Gotta love weather! (That’s why I love teaching Earth Science...
After 1000 miles of cold Alaska terrain, the winning team of dogs and their "musher" came across the finish line of the 2009 Yukon Quest on the frozen Chena River in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska. Our PolarTREC team was able to see it.
The Yukon Quest is big news here. Every day the local paper, television, and radio stations were covering the race. Dog sledding is huge here in Alaska.
Sore Paws - Yukon Quest 1000 mile dogsled race. Fairbanks, AK
More PolarTREC to come.
WOW!!!
This PolarTREC thing is incredible! The group of teachers that will be going on polar expeditions this year are equally amazing. We have spent just 2 days together, here in Fairbanks, Alaska, of a weeklong Orientation and ShareFair session. Everyone is very excited to share their experiences with not just the students in their own school or classroom, but with literally everyone around the globe.Stay tuned to my journal as I post more info on PolarTREC and the High Arctic Change '09 experiences. It will be YOUR virtual experience learning about the polar regions of Earth.
