In the morning we had lots of sunshine while working offshore.
But in the evening the weather in Ny-Ålesund quickly changed. Heavy clouds rushed
in and seemingly endless rain poured down. Nevertheless, Maarten Loonen from
the Netherlands Arctic Station took us out for a field trip. First the
instructions: check the rifles, flare gun and radio. Then off to the west. Just
outside the village the rifles are half-loaded, just to be sure. We walked
towards the airport, a 800 meter long gravel road. Along the strip, several
scientific observation stations are functioning, such as the large satellite
dish of the Norwegian Mapping Authority, measuring the earth’s rotation speed.
After the air strip we reached the red river, which is red because of the silt
that is transported from the glaciers. After crossing the a small bridge we
reached the tundra. Because of the melting upper layer of the tundra, many us
of sank into the mud. In the meantime Maarten explained that we were actually
walking on a former ocean floor. About 10,000 years ago, just after the
glaciers retreated, an ocean was formed. This is proven by the white shells that
can be found at many places. After the tundra we reached Kongsfjorden. Due to
the rain and clouds we the view was not stunning; however good enough to spot a
walrus and some belugas.
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| View over Kongsfjorden, 6 km north-west of Ny-Ålesund © Bas Bolman |
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