The first time on the water is always a bit hectic, developing the best working process with the equipment and research team. After a few hours everything worked fine and we were able to complete the whole sampling we had scheduled for that location. Fulmars joined us around the boat during the whole sampling. So what did we do during sampling?
Monitoring for litter on Poolepynten and Sarstangen shows the ocean pollution of the Gulfstream. On its way to the North, the Gulfstream will pick up any litter item that floats. When these items arrive in the Arctic, they will remain here. This is why the amount of litter in the Arctic is building up every year. As a consequence, the sea around Svalbard ends up becoming the drain hole of the Gulfstream.
– By : Steve Geelhoed – Off survey flight The sun shines over northern Scotland. We are in our hotel in Inverness though. Off effort. Validating data from the last three days of surveying. The wind is too strong to survey. The last days the weather was suitable enough to…
– By: Isolde Puts – The polar days in Ny-Ålesund passed by very fast. The focus during the last few days were on finishing the experiments, cleaning up in the labs, and storing our research equipment. And now we’re back home. Midsummer celebration at Ny-Ålesund Luckily I could celebrate the ending…
– By: Tinka Murk – Socks with holes Life at research station Ny-Ålesund differs a lot from life in the Netherlands. I feel at home quite easily. Not only because everybody here speaks Norwegian to me (I guess I look quite Norwegian), but also because life is quite easy going…
– By: Martine van den Heuvel-Greve – Resembling an oil spill We use small crustaceans to test their sensitivity to oil, when dissolved in water, resembling an oil spill at sea. We conducted similar tests in the Netherlands with related Dutch species. The results will tell us whether the tests…
– By: Tinka Murk – The sediment sampler During 2 sampling trips we had the opportunity to collect some deep (300 m) and shallow (30 m) sediment samples with a Van Veen – sampler. With its ‘big mouth’ opened the sampler is lowered. It closes as soon as it bumps…
– By: Isolde Puts – Fieldwork; sampling water and dirt On a small research vessel, Teisten, we went out to sample algae and sediments. Surrounded by several sea-glaciers it is a pretty sight floating amidst many icebergs. Puffins are floating on the fjord on our way to the sampling station….
– By: Tinka Murk – Do Arctic algae make ‘sea snot’? We found out that in the tropical climate of the Gulf of Mexico (Deep Water Horizon blow out in 2010), and experimentally with Dutch algae (in temperate climate) marine algae make ‘sea snow’ and ‘sea snot’ in combination with oil…
– By: Martine van den Heuvel-Greve – Sampling gear For our test we need to catch small crustacean type invertebrates, gammarids. We hope to be able to catch these directly in the harbour next to the marine laboratory. Wearing a neoprene wading suit to keep us warm we enter the…