“The whole of the
western coast is mountainous and picturesque; and though it is shone upon by a
four months’ summer every year, its snowy covering is never wholly dissolved
nor are its icy monuments of the dominion of frost ever removed.”
So said William Scoresby, in his 1820 publication, An Account of the Arctic Regions. And on
the face of it, not much has changed. It was with these thoughts that I tiredly traipsed down the steps of my flight from Tromso at 0030, last Sunday. Or was
it Monday?
 |
| Longyearbyen in (some) sunshine. But what time is it? |
To be honest, I don’t really know; the Arctic summer is still
here, just. The slightest tinge of a sunset around midnight seems to happen
above the mountain of Plataberget, adjacent to Longyearbyen. I’m normally awake
then, -the curtains in my room in Barrack 11, seem to defy the idea of staying
closed, and will fall open just as I am drifting off to sleep, letting the
daylight spill in once more.
For centuries now, people have been travelling north to
Svalbard, in the pursuit of whales, mining, industry, scientific discovery, or
maybe just some good old-fashioned adventure. Any of these predecessors who
visited at this time of year, I am sure, would have been struck by the
peculiarities of it being sunny (-sometimes anyway!) when it’s meant to be
dark. This is something I can maybe share with all my historical polar antecedents.
Yet, what I sadly cannot share with them is the scientific evidence of how our Polar
environment is altering.
However, walking into the UNIS (The University Centre in
Svalbard) building, in Longyearbyen, there is a buzz about the place; the study
of polar science isn’t just a theme here, it’s an actively chosen lifestyle.
The quest to understand and measure how the Arctic behaves and how it relates
to our global environment as a whole is no stronger than it is here. And to me, it’s stimulating and all-engrossing.
Hopefully over the next few weeks and months this blog might try and help
explain the whys and hows of being a student from SAMS (UHI), studying in the High Arctic. And put
simply: What's it all about?
In the meantime, I think I’ll find a stapler for my curtains.
