Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Time has just flown by! Today is our last day already! With a few last-minute runs into town to snag souvenirs in between, we completed our final projects and prepared to present them to the scientists from KISS in the evening (We had a great turn-out for our presentations! Thank you to all who came to watch us!). I have learned so much from this experience. I gained a much more profound understanding and appreciation of the polar ecosystems and the cultures of the people living in them, and words cannot express how grateful I am for that. My experience in Greenland shaped me as a person and as a budding scientist, and I am looking forward to returning someday. I'm sad to leave, but I enjoyed my time in Greenland immensely, and I'll always be looking for a way to get back. I owe an enormous thank you to everyone who was involved in this program; to all the Danish, Greenlandic, and American students, teachers, scientists, and behind-the-scenes workers, who not only made this trip possible, but who made it amazing, thank you.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
PERMAFROST!!!! (And Soil Profiling)
We went out with Julia and Ruth (from Dartmouth University) again today! They visited us in the morning to share atmospheric carbon dioxide data from our last encounter and to teach us about gelisols ("ice soils"). We traveled up to an area near Lake Fergusson and discussed remote sensing techniques (the use of satellites, cameras, or other methods of observation to perform preliminary surveys on a landscape), vegetation classification, and the purpose of soil pits. Julia and Ruth have been using soil pits (deep holes dug to reveal a soil profile) to analyze fluctuations in the depth of the active layer in relation to that of the permafrost layer. Each group was assigned an area in which we dug our own soil pit. We measured the depth of the permafrost layer at various locations and compared the results. My group dug our pit on a north-facing hill slope covered primarily in grasses and small shrubs. The top 8 centimeters of our profile was moss! That layer was followed by a 4-5 cm layer of organic soil (dark, nutrient-rich peat) beneath which was a layer of mixed sand and silty clay. Our pit was comparatively shallow - only 28 cm of active soil on top of the permafrost (other groups' pits ranged from ~40 cm deep to ~55 cm deep). We hypothesized that this is largely due to the orientation of the slope to the sun. Because the hill is north-facing, the slope is less exposed to the sun than the surrounding area, and the permafrost layer can exist at a shallower depth because the ground is cooler. This activity gave me a different perspective on the ground beneath our feet - and a chance to play with some permafrost! It was so much fun!This doesn't have a lot to do with what we did today, but I thought it might be worth mentioning; relative to its level the day we took discharge measurements (July 3), the Watson River has risen considerably and is flowing at a seemingly greater capacity than before. It's extremely formidable!
Tomorrow will be our last day in Kangerlussuaq. I'm so sad to be leaving, but I've definitely got the Polar Bug, and I'll be looking for any chance I could possibly get to return to Greenland! For now, I'll just have to enjoy the time I have left.
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| Group 3 digging our pit! |
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| PERMAFROST!!!! |
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| The inside of our soil pit |
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| We stuck Sydney in a soil pit...Aqqu wanted to leave her there |
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| The rock pictured used to be completely exposed |
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| The water of the Watson River was getting dangerously close to the main water supply for the town! |
Monday, July 9, 2012
Åsa Rennermalm from Rutegers University visited us this morning and brought us up to Point 660 to assist her in taking discharge measurements. We took measurements in a small stream, found baby birds (Redpolls specifically), and "bumpy-bused" (a school bus was our mode of transportation for the day) up onto the moraine. We took a slippery hike out onto the ice to run maintenance on one of Åsa's ablation stakes and weather probes. Åsa uses 3-meter-long bamboo posts to track supraglacial (on the surface of the glacier) melting. As we drilled a new hole in the ice for the stake, Åsa told us about the previous month's measurements. A 3 meter post she placed in the ice on June 8 was completely exposed when she returned 16 days later (on June 24) to check on the weather probe associated with the ablation stake. She explained that it is typical for the ice sheet to undergo seasonal melt, but not at as drastic a rate as 3 meters in 16 days.*
On a different note, I officially caught the "Polar Bug" today. I now know that I caught the "bug" as soon as I applied for this program, but it didn't quite catch up with me until I was out on the ice sheet away from the edge of the glacier. They're really not kidding when they say that once you've been out on an ice sheet, it's guaranteed that you won't want to leave the polar regions. Standing in the sea of ice and sky, its hard to avoid being drawn in by the ice sheet's presence. It truly is a powerful feeling, and it's what draws many scientists to return time and time again. See for yourself if you'd want to come back - check out the pictures.
*Regarding this, many of you may have heard about the sizable chunk of the ice sheet (twice the size of Manhattan!) that calved off into the Arctic Ocean early in July. Perhaps you've even heard about the major melting measured by NASA. Additionally, while in Kangerlussuaq, we experienced the massive flooding of the already fast-flowing Watson River. These matters are definitely worth further investigation especially regarding the potential influence human activities may have had over these normally natural occurrences. Here's a link to NPR's story on the iceberg and the melting: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/25/157343661/heat-dome-linked-to-greenlands-biggest-melt-in-30-years
On a different note, I officially caught the "Polar Bug" today. I now know that I caught the "bug" as soon as I applied for this program, but it didn't quite catch up with me until I was out on the ice sheet away from the edge of the glacier. They're really not kidding when they say that once you've been out on an ice sheet, it's guaranteed that you won't want to leave the polar regions. Standing in the sea of ice and sky, its hard to avoid being drawn in by the ice sheet's presence. It truly is a powerful feeling, and it's what draws many scientists to return time and time again. See for yourself if you'd want to come back - check out the pictures.
*Regarding this, many of you may have heard about the sizable chunk of the ice sheet (twice the size of Manhattan!) that calved off into the Arctic Ocean early in July. Perhaps you've even heard about the major melting measured by NASA. Additionally, while in Kangerlussuaq, we experienced the massive flooding of the already fast-flowing Watson River. These matters are definitely worth further investigation especially regarding the potential influence human activities may have had over these normally natural occurrences. Here's a link to NPR's story on the iceberg and the melting: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/25/157343661/heat-dome-linked-to-greenlands-biggest-melt-in-30-years
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| Asa's device for measuring discharge. |
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Sunday, July 8, 2012
Rikke started us off this morning with a presentation on fossils and evolution. Afterwards, we all trucked out to the local fossil beds. Although they are now fully exposed, the beds were formerly located on the ocean floor. For this reason, we found everything from clam and mussel shells to full fish fossils while digging through the sand and silt! After a while, though, the inevitable happened, and Sydney, Dana, and Fie started an all-out mud fight. Amid much squealing, mud-slinging, and shouting, Agnes, Sasha, and I took cover and did our best to avoid being hit while we continued digging for fossils. Aggu simply sat back and laughed while all those who weren't involved in the fight took pictures and video.
Things settled down after a little while, and all the crazies left to get cleaned up. Those of us who weren't completely coated in mud settled back into digging for fossils, which turned out to be quite fruitful. I found half a fish, an interestingly shaped piece of what I think was something's jaw, a full fish, and a ton of clam shells. I'm excited to clean all the gunk off of these things and uncover what they actually are! (Hopefully I'll have some better pictures of these to share later, but right now they just look like lumps of dirt.) So exciting!
We had a fun little movie night this evening. We watched The Proposal, which was actually pretty popular with the Greenlandic students. Another great day in Greenland!
Things settled down after a little while, and all the crazies left to get cleaned up. Those of us who weren't completely coated in mud settled back into digging for fossils, which turned out to be quite fruitful. I found half a fish, an interestingly shaped piece of what I think was something's jaw, a full fish, and a ton of clam shells. I'm excited to clean all the gunk off of these things and uncover what they actually are! (Hopefully I'll have some better pictures of these to share later, but right now they just look like lumps of dirt.) So exciting!
We had a fun little movie night this evening. We watched The Proposal, which was actually pretty popular with the Greenlandic students. Another great day in Greenland!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
We had a day to recover from yesterday's intense hiking. After finishing yesterday's video editing, we had the rest of the day to ourselves - I napped. :) In the evening, we enjoyed a spectacular Greenlandic feast! The Greenlandic students served up smoked salmon, boiled shrimp, Matak (whale skin and blubber), Danish Rugbrød (rye bread), and scrumtious hardtack-like crackers. I tried everything, including the whale, which had a mild flavor, but was like chewing on rubber. We also enjoyed some herbal tea made from a native Greenlandic plant. We played some Inuit games and had a little friendly competition before bed. What a fabulous day off!
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| "Hanging out" with Bikke (GR), Cecilia (GR), and Marisa (US) |
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| Having a laugh with Marisa (US) |
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| Trying my hand at an Inuit game with Cecilie (DK) |
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| Malene (GR) showing off her jumping skills in an Inuit game Aggu is holding the "target" (or a charging chord) |
Pictures for July 6
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| Collecting Garnets with Cecilie, Nivi, Lynn, and Marisa |
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| Sydney photo bombing me :p |
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| "Fluffy" the caterpillar Marisa found him just as Mike was describing this particular species to us. |
Here are some of the views :) Look forward to more on Facebook
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Friday, July 6, 2012
Back out to the Russel Glacier area today! We visited Eric Post's and his students' site to learn about caribou populations, vomiting caterpillars, and a curious fungus. Michael Avery explained the group's findings. They found that the changing climate is effectually causing an earlier spring in plant communities. What does this have to do with caribou? Warmer temperatures and more exposure to sunlight at an earlier time cause the plants to bud and leaf out sooner, bringing about a higher mortality rate in caribou calves. By the time the caribou herd arrives at its calving grounds (which has continued occurring at the same time each year), it has missed the short period of fresh, healthy, "new" vegetation critical to the mothers and their calves (without nutritious vegetation, the mothers can't produce nutritious milk for their calves).
Michael has been collaborating with other students on Eric Post's work (with the caribou), but individually, he studies invertebrates. Michael has been studying a particular caterpillar species (Eurois occulta) that experiences frequent population booms and crashes. While there are a number of plausible causes for the population booms, the reason the population crashes was a mystery to him until very recently. Michael discovered that there is a fungus (Zoophthora radicans) that has been targeting and infecting the caterpillars, evidence that it is a factor in the sudden decreases in population. The fungus slowly consumes the caterpillar from the inside, starting with the non-essential organs and working its way up to the brain. Before killing its host, the fungus floods the caterpillar's brain with chemicals and hormones that stimulate the caterpillar to climb as high as possible and clamp onto something tightly. Once the caterpillar "clamps on" and dies, the fungus matures and sporulates (the reason for stimulating the caterpillar to climb - the higher the caterpillar is, the greater the dispersion of fungus spores).
On a side note about the caterpillars: if you tease them enough, they will respond by vomiting a sticky string of chewed-up grass goo at you! (Some of you might be thinking "EWWWW!", but I say "AWESOME!") This behavior is actually a natural defense mechanism that Michael explained the caterpillars probably developed in an evolutionary "arms race" with the Greenlandic bird species that typically prey on them. In order to avoid being eaten, a caterpillar will rear up on its pseudopods (the suction cup-like "feet" on the end of the abdomen), regurgitate its grass "gunk", and, as Michael found on closer examination, eject an additional chemical substance into the emesis out of a tooth-like orifice located below the caterpillar's mandibles. All of this serves to create a very unappetizing deterrent that the birds have learned to avoid. How did Michael discover this behavior? Apparently, after weeks of collecting and examining caterpillars, you become kind of cynical and begin messing with your specimens for fun - thus Mike turned to purposefully making caterpillars vomit.
After learning about Mike's work and that of some of the other students, we went on a glorious trek up into the hills. Okay, so the trek wasn't all that fun - there was so much steep terrain - but the views were absolutely breathtaking! Marisa, Shelly, Lynn, Cecilie, Nivi, Charlotte, and I stumbled upon a rock face covered in garnets! The surface of the bedrock had been sheared off at some point in time by the glacier, and what remained was an exposed area riddled with loose garnets! Needless to say we took some samples for scientific purposes (*cough, cough* ;) ).
What a day! It was so much fun, but I'm exhausted again! Stay chillin!
Mike's Lecture
Michael has been collaborating with other students on Eric Post's work (with the caribou), but individually, he studies invertebrates. Michael has been studying a particular caterpillar species (Eurois occulta) that experiences frequent population booms and crashes. While there are a number of plausible causes for the population booms, the reason the population crashes was a mystery to him until very recently. Michael discovered that there is a fungus (Zoophthora radicans) that has been targeting and infecting the caterpillars, evidence that it is a factor in the sudden decreases in population. The fungus slowly consumes the caterpillar from the inside, starting with the non-essential organs and working its way up to the brain. Before killing its host, the fungus floods the caterpillar's brain with chemicals and hormones that stimulate the caterpillar to climb as high as possible and clamp onto something tightly. Once the caterpillar "clamps on" and dies, the fungus matures and sporulates (the reason for stimulating the caterpillar to climb - the higher the caterpillar is, the greater the dispersion of fungus spores).
On a side note about the caterpillars: if you tease them enough, they will respond by vomiting a sticky string of chewed-up grass goo at you! (Some of you might be thinking "EWWWW!", but I say "AWESOME!") This behavior is actually a natural defense mechanism that Michael explained the caterpillars probably developed in an evolutionary "arms race" with the Greenlandic bird species that typically prey on them. In order to avoid being eaten, a caterpillar will rear up on its pseudopods (the suction cup-like "feet" on the end of the abdomen), regurgitate its grass "gunk", and, as Michael found on closer examination, eject an additional chemical substance into the emesis out of a tooth-like orifice located below the caterpillar's mandibles. All of this serves to create a very unappetizing deterrent that the birds have learned to avoid. How did Michael discover this behavior? Apparently, after weeks of collecting and examining caterpillars, you become kind of cynical and begin messing with your specimens for fun - thus Mike turned to purposefully making caterpillars vomit.
After learning about Mike's work and that of some of the other students, we went on a glorious trek up into the hills. Okay, so the trek wasn't all that fun - there was so much steep terrain - but the views were absolutely breathtaking! Marisa, Shelly, Lynn, Cecilie, Nivi, Charlotte, and I stumbled upon a rock face covered in garnets! The surface of the bedrock had been sheared off at some point in time by the glacier, and what remained was an exposed area riddled with loose garnets! Needless to say we took some samples for scientific purposes (*cough, cough* ;) ).
What a day! It was so much fun, but I'm exhausted again! Stay chillin!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Physics is phun! Today was physics day at Kellyville (year-round population of 7). We visited the multi-purpose research station housed in the diminutive town just outside of Kangerlussuaq. The facility has an enormous Incoherent Scatter Radar, which the resident engineers use to collect data for scientists from a variety of backgrounds. The facility also houses a laser and a smattering of other instruments that can be used to collect data and analyze data on the atmosphere, the Aurora, and anything else that may be needed.
When we returned to the field school, Shelly gave us a lesson on interpreting radiographs and how to use them to map a galaxy. I hate to admit it (being more of a "squishy scientist" as Shelly says), but I actually thought the galaxy mapping was pretty fun!
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| The Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) |
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| The ISR - it's dish is 30 meters in diameter, and it still moves effortlessly to track satellites. |
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| Some other instruments (and Kasper's head) |
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| For reference: I'm 5'10", and the radar is approximately 50 meters away. |
When we returned to the field school, Shelly gave us a lesson on interpreting radiographs and how to use them to map a galaxy. I hate to admit it (being more of a "squishy scientist" as Shelly says), but I actually thought the galaxy mapping was pretty fun!
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| Shynes describing radiographs and galaxy mapping |
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
We celebrated the 4th of July with biogeochemistry! Karen Cameron and her team of students brought us out to their field site near the Russel Glacier, showed us their collection methods, and helped us collect our own samples! We had some vehicular troubles getting out to the field, though - there wasn't a shortage in cars, just in cars that would run! Eventually we all made it there and back, and we brought the samples back to the lab at KISS for processing. Each group prepared a slide of microbes and examined it using a special microscope equipped with a UV light. The light served to illuminate the dye we used on the slides, making the microbes easier to see. In addition to working with Karen and her microscope, we also tested water samples for iron content with Kyla, one of Karen's students. Apparently, the tap water we used for comparison had a negative iron content....or it COULD have been a flaw on our part (not that we ever make mistakes ;) ). My group also placed our geocache today! We hid it in the area near Karen's site - maybe one of you blog readers will find it!
Our evening activities involved a festive 4th of July barbecue with lots of food and even brownies! The only thing missing was the firework display. We (the Americans) gave a short presentation on the history of the 4th of July and talked a little bit about how and why we celebrate the holiday. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the day - it was so much fun! (There are some great photos on Facebook)
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| Shelly was not particularly happy about the whole car thing |
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| Karen's students at their field site |
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| Testing water samples with Kyla at KISS |
Our evening activities involved a festive 4th of July barbecue with lots of food and even brownies! The only thing missing was the firework display. We (the Americans) gave a short presentation on the history of the 4th of July and talked a little bit about how and why we celebrate the holiday. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the day - it was so much fun! (There are some great photos on Facebook)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
In order to recover from yesterday's hikes up near Russel Glacier and Point 660, we had an "easy day" around the Field School. We held a video conference with Andreas Mikkelson, a Danish Ph.D. student, about his work on sub- and supra-glacial discharge. After learning about his measurements on the Watson River, we walked the few meters down to the bridge spanning the river and took our own measurements. Groups 1 and 2 took short-distance discharge measurements by dropping objects off of one side of the bridge and measuring the time it took that object to reach the other side of the bridge. Groups 4 and 5 followed the same procedure over a longer distance for comparison. My group (Group 3!) filmed the process and interviewed Andreas.
Meet Andreas
Discharge Measurements
In the afternoon, the groups participated in an interactive lesson about the Greenland ice sheet on the SPRINTT website. It was quite the wake-up call with regards to global climate change - very informative.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Off to the ice! We hit the ground running early in the morning with a bumpy ride out along the longest road in Greenland. Needless to say, we were quite the caravan (consisting mainly of pick-up trucks and land rovers) as we bungled along the narrow sand/gravel road - taking pictures out the window was certainly an interesting feat.
After about an hour, we met up with Julia Bradley-Cook and Ruth Heindel, two students from Dartmouth University, who talked to us about the Carbon Cycle and their work with soil respiration. They use an Infrared Gas Analyzer (made by LI-COR) and a soil moisture and temperature probe to measure carbon dioxide flux due to soil respiration. Julia and Ruth explained that the permafrost layer is a crucial carbon "sink"; it serves as a key long-term storage base for carbon that would otherwise exist in the atmosphere, biosphere, or lithosphere. As global temperatures follow an increasing trend, this poses a problem. Warmer temperatures are beginning to thaw out layers of soil deeper and deeper underground, meaning more and more permafrost is melting. As these layers thaw, the carbon that was previously trapped within them is released into the atmosphere. The newly released carbon dioxide, being a "greenhouse gas", then contributes to the rising global temperatures by trapping additional heat in the atmosphere. The role of soil respiration in this reciprocal action of warm temperatures causing carbon to be released causing rising temperatures is what Julia and Ruth aim to study. After teaching us about the carbon cycle (with an excellent carbon cycle dance) and demonstrating their methods of measurement, Julia and Ruth took us out to see the Russel Glacier.
While we observed the glacier and took weather measurements and water samples, a sizable chunk of ice calved off into the river below. I didn't see it happen first-hand, but I certainly heard it, and the video footage Malene was lucky enough to record was spectacular! After all the excitement, the steep hike back to Julia and Ruth's site was a breeze!
After finishing our work at the glacier, we continued down the road to Point 660, which is so-named because it is 660 meters above sea level. Once there, Rikke sent us Garnet hunting on the glacial moraines and Kasper led us out onto the ice. While it was not the first time I've ever stood on top of a glacier, it was definitely the first time I've stood on top of one so large. The glacier did not simply look incredible, but it had its own presence. As I stood and stared off into the distance trying to pin-point the exact spot where the glacier bled across the horizon into the sky, the vastness seemed tangible to me - I could almost feel the immensity of the mass of ice on which I stood. It was definitely worth the rough roads and the strenuous hike to be able to experience the feeling of vastness. Kasper became very excited by the density of scat we discovered on the hike back to the cars. We found three species - a musk ox, a caribou, and an arctic fox - all within the space of a meter! ("Three scats in a meter! That's like one in two million!" - Kasper Busk)
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| Kasper, why do you brake going UP the hill? |
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| A failed attempt at an out-the-window picture. Bumpy is an understatement. |
After about an hour, we met up with Julia Bradley-Cook and Ruth Heindel, two students from Dartmouth University, who talked to us about the Carbon Cycle and their work with soil respiration. They use an Infrared Gas Analyzer (made by LI-COR) and a soil moisture and temperature probe to measure carbon dioxide flux due to soil respiration. Julia and Ruth explained that the permafrost layer is a crucial carbon "sink"; it serves as a key long-term storage base for carbon that would otherwise exist in the atmosphere, biosphere, or lithosphere. As global temperatures follow an increasing trend, this poses a problem. Warmer temperatures are beginning to thaw out layers of soil deeper and deeper underground, meaning more and more permafrost is melting. As these layers thaw, the carbon that was previously trapped within them is released into the atmosphere. The newly released carbon dioxide, being a "greenhouse gas", then contributes to the rising global temperatures by trapping additional heat in the atmosphere. The role of soil respiration in this reciprocal action of warm temperatures causing carbon to be released causing rising temperatures is what Julia and Ruth aim to study. After teaching us about the carbon cycle (with an excellent carbon cycle dance) and demonstrating their methods of measurement, Julia and Ruth took us out to see the Russel Glacier.
Julia and Ruth taking measurements. :)
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| And so the steep trek begins... |
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| Our first view of Russel Glacier |
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| Russel :) |
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| Standing in front of Russel |
After finishing our work at the glacier, we continued down the road to Point 660, which is so-named because it is 660 meters above sea level. Once there, Rikke sent us Garnet hunting on the glacial moraines and Kasper led us out onto the ice. While it was not the first time I've ever stood on top of a glacier, it was definitely the first time I've stood on top of one so large. The glacier did not simply look incredible, but it had its own presence. As I stood and stared off into the distance trying to pin-point the exact spot where the glacier bled across the horizon into the sky, the vastness seemed tangible to me - I could almost feel the immensity of the mass of ice on which I stood. It was definitely worth the rough roads and the strenuous hike to be able to experience the feeling of vastness. Kasper became very excited by the density of scat we discovered on the hike back to the cars. We found three species - a musk ox, a caribou, and an arctic fox - all within the space of a meter! ("Three scats in a meter! That's like one in two million!" - Kasper Busk)
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| A close-up of some deep blue ice |
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| A moraine-topped ice-face |
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| A Moraine |
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| An improbable glacial erratic |
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| The expansive ice |
Once we returned to "base camp" (after a sumptuous aftensmad at the airport), Rikke helped me identify our mystery minerals (my favorite was epidote, a beautiful green-colored mineral) and judged the "Prettiest Garnet" competition - Group 2 won.
Today was so much fun, and I'm looking forward to what's in store for us, but I AM TIRED!!!!!
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