We spent our second day in Svalbard preparing for the field. We had a lecture at the University Center in Svalbard (UNIS) and then had the opportunity to meet with the Congressional Delegation from the United States. Several senators and Representatives are visiting Svalbard, Norway to learn and gain first hand experience about the issues of climate change. We listened to a lecture given by the communication specialist at UNIS and then were able to mingle with the delegation and talk with them. Some of the first questions the delegation asked of the students was "How do you think we are doing in Washington?" and "what do you think of our energy bill?" The students had a chance to voice their opinion to Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, Representative Rober Aderholt, R-Al and Representative Louise Slaughter, D-NY among several others in the delegation.
Rep. Robert Aderholt and Cara Mangnaobosco talk about political issues.
Senator Tom Udall talks with Diana Zamora and Terra Hittson
After our meeting with the delegation, some of us went for a walk to one of the nearby knolls surrounding Svalbard. It was a nice vantage point to look at the town from an aerial view. The town was named after Mr. Longyear because he discovered the presence of and began to mine coal in this area. (The word byen means town.) It has been the most important economic development factor for the town. In the summer season, or the light season, many people come to the town for tourism and many are on cruise ships you can see in the picture.
View of area surrounding Svalbard.
View of Svalbard from up on a hill.
The origin of the coal is a result of plate tectonics. This archipelago island has travelled from a place far south of the equator, moved through the equator unit it finally reached it's current location near the north pole. It spent a majority of it's time at the equator and as a result had plants and ferns on its surface. When these living plants die, the can be buried and over geological time can decompose to coal. Coal is the primary source of energy for the town today.
Tomorrow we will learn to protect ourselves from polar bears with rifle training and will train for an emergency if the boat we are taking out to Kapp Linne should capsize!