Curiously Polar

During Spring 2017 the Svalbard Global Seed Vault experienced flooding that potentially could have damaged its contents. The Vault exploits the low underground temperatures made possible by the permafrost that covers the ground surrounding it and should ensure the seeds deposited in the vault (video) survive catastrophes.

Climate change is a concept we encounter very often on different media and even in day-to-day conversations. As visitors to the Arctic we are brought to witness recent, dramatic glacial front retreats such as the one that revealed Blomstrandhalvøya and the variability in sea ice extent and thickness. Another term that is often used in connection with climate change is Albedo. Among the effects of climate change we have variations in sea level, the breaking off of large tabular icebergs from ice shelves such as the Larsen C shelf and changes in global ocean circulation. Curiously, variations in ocean circulation have been monitored by dedicated and opportunistic means, such as rubber ducks.

We all know the terms Arctic and Antarctic, but how are they defined? As a matter of fact both concepts have several definitions and it is important to understand which one is valid when engaging in conversations or trying to understand scientific data. In this episode we explore some of the aspects that define the two concepts both geographically (e.g. arctic circle) and climatically.

The S/V Noorderlicht is a two-masted, ice reinforced, steel schooner built in Germany in 1910. It has served as a lighthouse in the Baltic, as a pilot station and as a club bar before being renovated and transformed into a sailing expedition ship. In the past 20 summers it has roamed the waters of the Spitsbergen archipelago introducing guests to this magnificent part of the Arctic. It has also spent several winters iced-up in a Spitsbergen fjord serving as one of the most unique guesthouses on this planet.

At the entrance of Isfjord on the west coast of Spitsbergen we visit the coal mining village of Barentsburg founded on a site used in the early 20th century as a whaling station and named after the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz. The coal mine was first exploited by the Dutch company NeSpiCo in the 1920s. Since 1932 it is has been owned and run by the Russian mining company Trust Arctickugol and has at times been the most populous settlement in Svalbard. Nowadays the population is about 500 and the the town has been largely renovated but it still bears witness to the Soviet heydays with its bust of Lenin and several monuments with slogans about communism and the greatness of the Soviet Union.

In this first episode we introduce this podcast series. Chris and Mario are onboard the S/V Noorderlicht cruising along the West coast of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago. The time is the end of May and winter is loosening its grip from the land and the sea. The pack-ice is receding and the separation between water and rocks becomes visible in spite of the sub-zero temperatures and the snowstorms. Birds arrive to the nesting grounds from far and wide and wait impatiently for the snow and ice to melt and reveal the solid ground on which they will build their nests. Reindeer roam eagerly between barren patches and graze as much as possible from timid vegetation popping up between the stones. Polar bears take advantage of the last remains of the pack-ice to hunt seals before the thaw and the first whales profit of the large krill and small fish shoals.