Wednesday, the entire team set out for Kongressvatnet, the smaller, but very deep lake above Linnevatnet. The hike is about 45 minutes from the south shore of Linnevatnet and the first mile or so is up a very steep, rocky hill before it settles out into a flat walk the rest of the way (about another 1 1/2 miles). This lake is interesting because it is so deep, has very clear water and has higher chemical proprties due to an inlet with high hydrogen sulfate gas. The lake has such low turbididty because of low primary productivity (low algae) and it is not fed by the glacier, which would deposit a lot of sediment into the lake. Rather, this lake is fed by ground water perculating throgh the limestone (another reason for the unique chemical properties).
A small zodiac boat outfitted with a motor awaited us on the shore, having been dropped in by a heliocopter the previous week. Al and Mike set out on the boat to recover the sed trap placed there last year while the rest of us, led by Steve, organized some gear and then hiked to the moraines on the south shore of the lake. I was dissapointed to see so much trash in such a remote place. This lake has been a destination for ice fishing for Russian villagers from neighboring Barentsburg. It amazes me, whether it is in national forests in the U.S. or remote valleys in the Arctic, that people are drawn to remote, beautiful, wild places only to enjoy the gifts nature offers and then leave their trash and degrade the land upon exiting.
Anyway, The sed trap was finally recoved and we made some equiptment adjustments, hiked back down to Linnevatnet with the recoverd sediment sample, prepped the several traps for deployment on Thursday and then made the long trek back to Isfjord radio station for dinner.
