David at the Polar Bear Plunge
Today we had our last and most exciting landing. Before breakfast, the crew had spotted a polar bear, but it was hard to see even with binoculars. As we went out on the zodiacs, we went in close to look at the polar bear, and it was amazing seeing it in its natural habitat. We were lucky that it had a whale carcass that it wouldn’t leave so we could land safely nearby.
After we finished wrapping up our group activities, we had our polar dip. Today was the coldest day of the trip so far, and just getting down to our bathing suits was cold enough. Most of us lost sensation in our feet as we ran toward the water, and almost an hour later, it still hasn’t fully come back. It was a great way to end our final landing, although it would have been slightly better had the hot water not run out on the boat before we got back.
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After 24 hours rocking and rolling to the dance of a sea storm that kept us awake for most of the night of September 18 and forced Captain Zaynigabdinov to anchor the ship in Cape Mercy while the cold front which brought snow, fog, rain and gale-force wind passed. It was another moment of ecstasy to awake this morning, September 19, in Butterfly Bay to a sunny day. (The captain and his crew lifted anchor at around 16:00h Thursday afternoon and sailed all night.)
The magic of the Arctic fills our day and night with memorable view, smells and events. What an epic one when less than an hour ago we got to see a polar bear close enough to take a decent photograph of it.
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Baffin Island, home of Cassiope tetragona
First off, I have to apologize for not blogging for so long. Believe me, it has been a busy time here on the Shokalskiy. Today though, something really great happened that I couldn’t pass up telling you all about.
Since the beginning of the voyage, the biogeography group has been keen on finding one unique plant. We were unsuccessful in finding the little flower in Iceland or on our landings on the coast of Greenland. Since our arrival to Baffin Island yesterday morning though, Cassiope tetragona has been close to unavoidable. Also known as White Mountain Heather, it is a plant which has recently been used scientifically to determine climate.
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Snow covered peaks rise from the Tasermiut Fjord.
As I am making my way towards the half-way mark of our expedition I am truly beginning to grasp the importance of this voyage. The voyagers, the ship’s crew and the staff have all helped me to open my eyes to our current global situation. This experience has not only altered my outlook on climate change, it has helped me to look at my entire world under a different light.
I spent the first few days of this voyage completely overwhelmed by my surroundings. For me, the beauty and immense vastness of the landscape were completely beyond my comprehension. I have begun to realize the importance of simply closing my eyes and listening to the mountains, the brush and the birds rather than trying to see and capture every image.
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The Geomorphology group measures permafrost
Early breakfast this morning at 6:30am and a Zodiac ride to another extraordinary glacial landscape on the south side of Tasermiut Fjord. Between immense, rock-strewn mountains we dug holes in the soil at different levels (for a British Council Director, I am becoming unusually adept at searching for the permafrost layer with a shovel). We found very different soils, and explored the distribution of trees. Though much of the slope was another exquisite bonsai forest of dwarf willow and ground birch, there were patches of taller trees, some of them a gigantic four feet high; and down in a steep-sided gully, some willows reached eight feet. Why? Chris patiently elicited from his students their thoughts on snow as an insulator, and how the subtle inclines and angles in the land retain deeper snowbanks that protect trees from the icy winter wind. I thought of Yeats’s “dark declivities”, and enjoyed the gently sheltered willow-beds.
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Approaching the coast of Eastern Greenland
We are heading into the Tasermiut Fjord and the seas are rather calm… phew! I am no longer on sea sickness meds, which is a big relief.
The energy around the vessel is rather comforting as all the voyagers find their niche. If they aren’t sketching in their notebooks or analyzing scientific data, they are gathered in the bar drinking cups of tea while singing a tune or writing a blog.
The highlight of the voyage so far was sailing by massive icebergs on either side of the vessel. Wow: what a sight! All I wanted to do was climb them — but the crew weren’t too keen on that. So I settled for taking lots of pictures while standing close to the end of the bow.
I’m really looking forward to getting to the west coast of Greenland and I’m very curious to see what kind of vegetation and landscape we will see. What a fantastic expedition so far.
I’m writing this on September 9th and I am officially 17 years old. As I was talking to the second officer at the bridge (control deck) this morning, we started to talk about the importance of one’s birthday. He told me a little bit about how the crew celebrates their birthdays because they are often very far from family. The second officer told me that he considers the crew to be his family and is just as happy to be with his “second family” on his birthday rather than his biological one.
I feel like this applies to me today. I have only known these 27 wonderful people for about a week and I feel completely satisfied spending my birthday with them. (The baby cake that the cooks made for me had much to do with today’s success.)
Our first two days were at sea heading from Iceland to Greenland. Unfortunately we experienced rough seas because we were traveling between two cyclones. Therefore, 24 out of 28 students were more than just sea sick, I’ll leave it at that. Even now, two full days later some students are still unable to get out of bed. Lucky for me, I did not experience any sea-sickness whatsoever!
Today we landed for the first time in Greenland and it was one of the most majestic and powerful moments of my entire life. We have also been performing oceanic experiments taking in data two times a day. We have a small tube-like pod that we drop 200m into the water and it measures salinity, temperature and depth.
As for our art, we paint the colours of the ocean after every experiment.
Well let me tell you right now: being sea-sick is one of the worst things you will ever experience in your life. As my buddy Pablo would say, combine the worst car sick, worst rollcoaster sick, the worst drunk and you get half sea sick.
Sunday was good; we collected birch seeds and planted them in a different place to help the vegetation in Iceland. We then went to the Blue Lagoon it is a beautiful spa — very relaxing. I had a great time. We then boarded the ship were little did I know that I was in for one of the greatest yet, worst experience of my life. Monday was alright; still sick in the morning but around 2:45pm I started feeling better and I’m good right now. We then finished the day with an art project.
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Youth Respond to International Polar Year
While the Cape Farewell students are in the Arctic, students across Canada have responded to the Ontario Science Centre’s request for art and ideas inspired by polar research. Through photography, painting, sculpture, music, stained glass and electronics, students address the impact of issues like global warming that face the Earth’s polar regions. One of the highlights is, “up-to-the-minute field diaries from the Arctic voyagers of Cape Farewell.”
You can learn more about this event, which runs from Sept. 4th – Jan. 15, from the Ontario Science Centre: “On Thin Ice: Youth Respond to International Polar Year”.
