Journal Entry

I Am So Lucky To Get To Share This With You!

Today was the most amazing day- wait didn't I just say that a few days ago? This trip is truly the experience of a lifetime. The team is great, the scenery is jaw-dropping and everyday there is a new surprise. I am so lucky to be able to share all of this with you! What made today so special? Well, for starters....

Photo by Julie Brigham-GrettePhoto by Julie Brigham-Grette

Polar Bear!

Yes, a polar bear was spotted in our town, right outside some of the dorms. Sooooo...I have to take back everything I said about polar bear sightings being rare. Good thing we are armed and trained! Did not need to resort to that, however. This one was easily scared away by a truck and the watchman. But, she was spotted a few weeks ago farther down the fjord so she may be hanging around the area. Always be on guard!

Feast Your Eyes!

I have seen pictures of glaciers, I have seen movies with glaciers but until today, I had not seen one in real life. A glacier is breathtaking. A glacier is immense. A glacier seems to be alive with beautiful hues of blue, white and brown. Glaciers make noises that sound like thunder. The icebergs that calve off from the front are equally magical. They also seem alive and are beautiful. They are colorful and make noises that sound like rice crispies.
Today was the first day out in the boats. It was a "recon" trip of sorts; we wanted to look at the glaciers and assess their condition. We were looking at how much the glaciers have retreated and deflated since the last team was here. We also looked at the landforms left behind by the retreating glaciers. The purpose was to help the students finalize their research goals so that we can start collecting data tomorrow. The trip was also just sight seeing; it was the first time any of us had seen glaciers and Julie and Ross just wanted to show us around and introduce us to our lab for the next few weeks. When we were in the water near the base of the glacier it was a magical moment for all of us. I stared and stared, having never seen something so beautiful and powerful at the same time. Courtney broke the silence and summed it up for all of us by shouting, "And who says science isn't cool?!?!?!?" Enjoy the pics!

Today was an amazing dayToday was an amazing day Icebergs are beautifulIcebergs are beautiful Steve Ossim, Grand Valley State UniversitySteve Ossim, Grand Valley State University And who says science isn't cool?And who says science isn't cool? Ryan Payela, University of Massachusetts, AmherstRyan Payela, University of Massachusetts, Amherst I am so lucky to get to share this with you!I am so lucky to get to share this with you! Jessica Miles, University of MichiganJessica Miles, University of Michigan Feast Your Eyes!Feast Your Eyes! Courtney Payne, Bowdoin CollegeCourtney Payne, Bowdoin College Icebergs make noises like rice crispiesIcebergs make noises like rice crispies Dominique Seles, Worcester State UniversityDominique Seles, Worcester State University Our lab for the next two weeksOur lab for the next two weeks Kean Ivey, Virginia TechKean Ivey, Virginia Tech Life is goodLife is good

Comments

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 11:55

Peggy McNeal

Janet- I can't believe it either! Coming soon, I'll have a whole journal dedicated to polar bears because of the many questions I got from kids. And yes- please join us for this and lots more at our PolarConnect event August 10.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 12:25

Sian Proctor

Peggy, your photos are way cool and it looks like you've got a great crew. Can't wait to read more.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 18:30

Stephanie

The pics are so great! I can't believe you took all of them.The polar bear looks like a friendly guy so maybe you won't have to shoot it.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 19:28

Peggy McNeal

Thanks Sian,Getting that close to a glacier is amazing and evokes such a feeling of awe for nature and Earth. We do have a great team- getting to work with the undergrads is such an added benefit of this experience. They are hilarious and keep us all laughing.

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 19:30

Peggy McNeal

Maybe friendly, well friendly enough that we can let her do her thing and leave us alone hopefully. You might notice that she is collared. They do track and study the bears, so they have a way to keep an eye on her.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 05:08

Dr. Clyde Wylie

Hi Peggy. It is wonderful see your experiences and to read about how obviously exciting the whole experience is. I was wondering, besides bears, what other wildlife are you able to see around and when you get your core samples is there any "life form" that you would see in the cores? Is there a measure of organic matter in the glaciers or in the samples you pull?

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 06:40

George

Hi folks, George from the 2011 REU here. Big fan of the blog, fun to see what's changed and what hasn't. In 2011 we had a bear poking around town too, but it was at 4:30am and most people didn't find out it had visited until breakfast. Stay safe!
Oh, and have fun tonight...

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 11:19

William Roemmich

Peggy...great correspondence and updates from you...did you take the pics with iPhone or another camera...they are crystal clear and informative...I am so glad so many science teachers like you will be spreading the news about fascinating science is...WR

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 11:50

Peggy McNeal

Thanks for the comment! It Saturday so we are off to Mellegaret! thanks for your sustained enthusiasm....Julie BG

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:07

Larry Kraft

Hello Peggy and rest of the team!What an incredible two experiences... polar bear and a glacier. We so enjoyed introducing our kids to glaciers in the past few days, and they are amazing, almost alive, things. We are in awe of the polar bear photos (Jamie and Jason especially) - we did not see one, so we are living vicariously through you. We leave Svalbard tomorrow morning - it is a special place. We're so glad to have met you and the team, and we will absolutely be following you for the rest of your adventure.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 22:23

Peggy McNeal

Well hello, Dr. Wylie! Thanks for checking in! There is all kinds of wildlife around here. I have seen Svalbard reindeer, which you know all about. I've seen the Arctic fox a few times and he is always scampering and running about with a flock of very agitated birds above because he is looking for and scooping up their eggs and chicks to eat. We can see little lumps on a island off in the distance- seal! We are waiting to get a closer look at them. And my bird life list is growing quickly. Black Guillemot, Black Legged Kittiwake, Little Auk and more. I have a question for you. The Black Guillemot is an almost entirely black bird. What evolutionary advantage do you think being black would give any creature in this very white world? I don't know, but maybe it has something to do with spending much time in the sea.In terms of organic matter in the cores, glaciers and samples, I checked with Courtney who is looking into the biology in front of the glacier. She is going to collect samples with a plankton net, measure the water column with a fluorimeter (measures chlorophyll fluorescence) and look at sediment under a microscope. The area where we are looking is recently exposed open water (was covered by glacier just a few years ago) so it will be interesting to see what communities have been established and what might remain in the sediment. Courtney is primarily looking for phytoplankton and diatoms. The abundance of organisms decreases with proximity to the ice face, so it could be a challenge to find these organisms. I will let you know once the work gets underway.
I talked with Courtney about life in the actual glacier. Life is amazingly persistent and with our growing knowledge of extremophiles, I would expect that there is biology in the ice as well. Sure enough, there are microbes living at the ice-atmosphere interface, microbes that swim in the network of veins between individual ice crystals and algal growth that produce reddish-pink blooms. And feeding on this algae are ice worms! It is not understood. how these worms tunnel through the ice but they are several centimeters long, and can be black, blue, or white.
Well, this gives me great hope for potential life on Europa! Perhaps we might find an intelligent alien worm society if we can ever get up a mission to get there and check it out!

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 22:29

Peggy McNeal

George it is so great to hear from you and know that you are still following along and enjoying this round of REU adventures. Viewing the glaciers through Ross and Julie's eyes was an experience- lots of "Oh wow, look a how much that has changed." This is a dynamic place and the continuity of sending our teams here allows us to really establish and document what is happening. Keep in touch. I would love to hear more comments that compare the two experiences!

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 22:46

Peggy McNeal

Hi Bill,Thanks! I am taking the pictures with my mother-in-law's fancy camera. I'm still trying to figure out some of its advanced features, but I think I'm doing ok so far. One thing I want to master is getting the shutter speed fast enough to get birds in flight. I'm working on it.
Being here makes it easy to spread the news about fascinating science. It is a remarkable place. And once we start getting our own data I will have much more to share. So stay tuned and thanks so much for checking in!

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 22:51

Peggy McNeal

Larry! So good to hear from you. We are all still talking about your wonderful family. The glaciers ARE amazing and something everyone should see for themselves as the grandeur just cannot be conveyed in words or pictures. Thanks for following and for everyone else out there, you can follow the year long adventures of the globe-trotting Kraft family at http://krafttrip.blogspot.no/

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 07:30

Jimmy Jazz

Looks like a great time!

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 14:14

KMears

Your pictures are awesome! Thanks for sharing so many with your interesting comments. It is like we are there looking over your shoulder. Looks like you are having a blast!!

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 20:12

Peggy McNeal

Hello Mears family! I'm so happy to know that you are following. Glad to hear that you feel you are looking over my shoulder- that's the idea, to take you all along. This is more fun that I ever thought possible. Hey Karl and Kaitlyn- this is the kind of stuff you can do too in college and beyond. It's so exciting to think of all the opportunities ahead of you. I'll be reading about you some day! Stay tuned and thanks for the comment!

Fri, 08/01/2014 - 11:40

Janet Warburton

Hi Peggy. I can't believe this bear! We are looking forward to learning more about the bear and your adventures. For those following Peggy, she's planning on a PolarConnect event (webinar) on 10 August 2014. Join Peggy and the REU students for a LIVE EVENT from Norway! It's free and easy to participate. Just check out the link to register and get instructions on how to join!