Lightning radar day

July 7th, 11:29pm

We began the day with a discussion on fossils, focusing on the small fish fossils found commonly here in Kangerlussuaq. Although Skipper and Rikke led the talk, everyone contributed with questions and commentary. Even Kasper, who hates rocks and everything to do with them (for example: instead of saying, 'you rock', he says, 'you plant'), had a few things to say on the subject. The laid-back atmosphere of our classroom made paying attention so easy; I've realized over the past couple of days that I learn more quickly when I'm being talked with rather than talked at, and I think many of my classmates would agree. Our teachers give us structure and guidance, but it doesn't feel like we're being held captive to learn. 

We then went to the airport's weather station for a lecture on meteorology. It was actually fairly interesting; the meteorologist showed us how she interprets satellite images from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to gauge the safety of air travel. It struck me just how different her job is from the work of other scientists we've met. While they dissect known information to formulate new ideas, she evaluates new information in the constant pursuit of certainty, of safety. It's an inverse relationship I imagine looking something like this: Known <-- Research --> Unknown. I'm sure any type of science works in both directions, but if I had to choose I'm not sure which I'd prefer. 

Our weather lecture

Anyways, the main point of the meteorologist's lecture was that while automated forecasts are technically correct, it takes skill to be able to give value to those forecasts. It's comforting to know that technology hasn't made us humans completely unnecessary yet, even with something as precise as weather. 

We stopped at HQ for a quick lunch, then drove to a dusty, wide plain lining the fjord where our teachers claimed there were tons of fish fossils. Coincidentally, the area was right behind the airport- and more importantly, very near the sledgedog pens! Ten-month-old puppies ran out to greet us as soon as we stepped out of the trucks, and though Rikke told us not to pet them (after all, we were there for science), I think everyone broke down and hugged a puppy before we started walking. Four of the puppies even followed us to the plain, where they helped us search for fossils. 

Puppies! The sledgedog pens are to the distant left, behind Skipper and Josephine

As it turned out, there were tons of fossils lying around. It was easy to distinguish them from regular rocks because the fossils were smoother, more spherical, and had different coloration. Samantha found a full fish imprint right away, which we were both very excited about; I grew steadily less excited as time passed and I wasn't finding one. However, I did find smaller fossils, among them a fish vertebrae, fin, and head. To my delight, I also dug up a rusty hunk of metal and a shell casing, which Lynn said were probably remnants from WWII. 

Samantha's fish. Note the vertebrae

Metal-thing

Later, my group video-taped me as I gave some background on our fish fossils. About 8000 BP (Before Present, or before 1950), the sea level in Kanger was much higher than it is today. In fact, the entire area was underwater. However, the ice sheet began to retreat slowly toward the center of the continent, which had two main consequences. ... Firstly, the melting ice reduced pressure on the continent, causing it to gradually rise above sea level (much like holding a toy boat underwater and then letting it bob to the surface, but of course over the span of thousands of years). This forced the water to flow off of the land and back into the ocean. Secondly, the moving glaciers pushed sediment down into the fjord, which rapidly covered the remains of small fish and shells, essentially trapping them. Those stranded fish skeletons eventually formed fossils. 

Fossil hunting

Michael's amazing finds

We were just getting back into our trucks at the sledgedog pens when Britta started talking in an awful baby-voice to the puppies. The ensuing conversation went something like this:

Gracie: If I were a  dog, I'd be terrified of you.

Britta: Well, my dog likes it. He's deaf.

I'm going to miss my teachers here so much. 

After fossils, we went to Kellyville, a small research facility on the outskirts of Kanger, to learn more about radar, solar flares, and the Northern Lights. As we drove up the rolling mountains to Kellyville, I wondered where exactly the research facility was hidden, but then I saw an enormous satellite dish poking above the top of a hill and immediately I knew. The dish was very animated, rotating and tilting as we pulled up to the tiny building next to it. Kasper told us that the researchers were just trying to show off, and that we should act impressed- but I certainly wasn't acting as I stared up at the massive structure in awe.   

We went inside the facility, which was also home to several of the scientists who worked there. (In fact, all of the researchers who work at Kellyville LIVE in Kellyville with their families, which I think is outstanding and probably a little crazy.) We then listened to a scientist present on radar ... in his living room, from couches and a dining table. In hindsight, I was glad that I had to sit at the table; some of the students -and teachers- started to doze off in their comfy couch seats. It had been a long day and we were all tired, but many of us were still conscious enough to learn about radar and its relation to solar flares/the Northern Lights. The best part of Kellyville, however, was a tour of the facility. Groups Umimak and Tuttu went first, while Nanoq and Ukaleq waited until they returned. 

While we were waiting, I introduced myself to a radar specialist who had been listening to the lecture at the table next to me. I saw an opportunity in this man to test myself: was I confident enough, did I have enough questions, could I hold an intellectual conversation with an adult whom I had never met before? I swallowed my nerves, and we ended up having a nice little chat. He was from California -a fellow American!- and was headed to Summit station to repair some equipment there. Like me, it was his first trip to Greenland, but he'd been to several other countries before to make similar equipment repairs. We talked about the radio and how important it is- and he told me about how his opinions on what could be changed to make a more efficient worldwide radio system. Eventually it was my group's turn for a tour, so our discussion came to an end. 

Although Kellyville is small, it's loaded with all kinds of equipment. Of course there's the enormous satellite dish out in front of the building; this emits a thin laser beam every night and records radar data. Apparently the beam poses a risk to pilots' night vision, so the researchers at Kellyville have to be careful not to use the radar when they know planes are flying overhead. We also walked past one tall, blue machine several times during our tour, which crackled faintly. The crackling noise was actually lightning from all over the world, which the sensitive sensors at Kellyville are able to pick up. Last but not least, the researchers also use a huge computer from the 1960's, which our guide assured us had been modified in the last 50 years. I was so impressed with all of the technology in the facility; it hit me then just how amazing humans are and how far we've come. We shoot lasers into the sky. We can hear lightning across the planet. ...And all of this technology has been developed in the last century! What's next?

Lightning machine. 

1960's computer

After Kellyville, we had dinner at the airport again, which was delicious. We had beef with french fries and a salad, straying into familiar American territory. Britta and I inhaled our fries and then spent a significant portion of dinner eyeing Lynn's, lying uneaten to the right of her plate. As we soon found out, Lynn was saving her fries for last. Britta and I are planning on buying a muskox burger tomorrow so that we can have those delicious freedom fries again!

We had to rest of the night to work, and I am glad to say that the sea tomato video is 99.9% finished. I'm really starting to dislike sea tomatoes at this point. 

Takuss! 

Greenlandic day

July 6th, 11:02pm

Today had a shaky start; I woke up a little later than usual because the Greenlanders were preparing dinner early in the morning, and it was difficult to get ready for the day with everyone else rushing around. I prefer to wake up before the other students so that I don't have to wait for a spot in the bathroom or kitchen and whatnot. There was also some confusion in the morning because some boys slept in, making us about 20 minutes late. Bummer!

Interesting cloud formations on the Volkswagon road

We took a trip to a lake near the ice sheet, meeting up with two Eric Post scientists, David and Sean, who were to lead us in a biodiversity activity. After we had split into two large groups, one for each scientist, our progress was halted by the presence of a large tuttu (reindeer)! The tuttu made a wide circle around us, stopping often to pose. My group with David had a pretty good view of the reindeer, but Sean's group was maybe twenty feet away from it at one point. It was really an amazing specimen. Unfortunately I didn't bring my zoom lens on the field that day, but I will definitely bring it tomorrow.

David (L) and Sean (R)

Britta, Samantha and I also worked on some GLOBE stuff

Our tuttu. Please take a moment to appreciate Britta's comment about it stabbing me with its antlers, and also my flawless animation transition:

Our work was in a grassy plain to the side of the lake. The Eric Post scientists want to know how much the area's biodiversity will shift with climate change. Right now the majority of the plain is covered by grasses, but shrubs may gradually overtake the land as the temperature warms. Today our job was to take measurements on the current biodiversity of the field. Each group set up a huge 50-meter by 50-meter grid, marking its intersections every ten meters. We then went to each intersection with a 1-meter by 1-meter PVC pipe frame, laid it flat, and recorded the plant species we could see within the frame. We also had to estimate the percentage of the square that each plant species covered; given that there were about ten people in my group, this was the most tedious part of the whole process. Everyone had a different idea of what percentages to record. A typical conversation would go like this:

Ronin: Shrubs- 40%.
Samantha: I think it's more like 45%, with 55% grasses.
Josephine: Shrubs- 48%.
Grace: Why 48%?
Josephine: I like 8's!
Lynn: How about 43% shrubs and 57% grasses?
Everyone: Agreed.
Sheryl: Oh look, is that horsetail?
-collective groan-

Us doing work

I could see this research being fun if one had a small entourage, but since many bodies mean many differing opinions, working on that field was the most painful three hours of the entire trip so far. By the end of our activity, everyone had about had enough of forbes, horsetail, willow, and grasses. David gave us a short lecture on his research, and then the majority of students had a break while group Tuttu interviewed the scientists. I took what Lynn called a "tundra nap", and it was glorious. Moss is surprisingly soft and warm; I could definitely do fieldwork in the future if it meant more tundra naps.

View of the ice sheet from the plains

We packed up and headed back to the cars. I rode in Rikke's car with her usual group: Marie-Louise, Josephine, and Samantha. Sam fell asleep on the ride home, and you can bet she was confused when she woke up at the sledgedog pens! Rikke took us there instead of going straight back to HQ so that we could have a couple of minutes to play with the puppies. If this trip has taught me anything, it's that I love Rikke, I love Greenland, and I especially love sledgedog puppies.

When we got back to HQ, everyone was just heading back to work. My group, Nanoq, really got down to business. I labored over our sea tomato movie and finally finished it (disclaimer: it is boring. Also, I can't stand sea tomatoes), Ronin wrote our PolarTrec blog entry for the day, and Makka and Michael prepared dinner with the other Greenlanders.

We had an official dinner at the airport: pork with saurkraut, potatoes, and gravy. It was alright. I think I'll order a muskox burger the next time we're at the airport, though. Samantha and I shared a donut-type pastry afterwards, which was -of course- delicious.

After dinner, no one was feeling especially productive. We were all tired from fieldwork, even if we hadn't done much intense physical activity today. ...One thing about this program that is new for me is the exhaustion; though the days are fun and I'm learning a lot, we're being worked pretty hard. It's great. There's no better feeling than knowing you've done the most with the time you were given! ...Which reminds me that I only have a couple of days left here in Greenland ...

A little after 8pm, everyone was called downstairs for a meal of fried fin whale, potatoes, and smoked salmon on bread. It was all delicious, especially the whale! A local woman sang us two of her original titles, and they were beautiful. It's strange to hear music being sung in another language; there's something haunting about the way Greenlandic sounds to a beat. Everyone loved it.

Potato, whale, and smoked salmon

Let's see if this video works ...

We went outside to play "Inuit games", which were basically a bunch of variations on the classic egg-on-a-spoon race. My team lost about every single time, but it was only because we had all of the short people, and by extension, short legs. More games were waiting inside: a seated elbow-pulling game, a middle finger tug-of-war (I faced Samantha and dominated), a head-strap tug-of-war, and a game of strength where you have to keep your body rigid as you're picked up by the elbow/feet and pulled across the room. As you can imagine, everything was extremely entertaining to watch.

John Peter (L) and Nuka (R) showing us how elbow-wrestling is done

The Greenlandic students had prepared another small meal for us: apples, dried cod, raw fin whale, and raw narwhal. Let me start off by saying that the dried cod was excellent, as were the apples. The raw whale, however, went down "sideways with teeth" (insert an obligatory nod to Mr. Sharos here), especially the narwhal. I gagged a bit on the narwhal, and actually thought I was going to throw up; the texture was just ... Not pleasing in the least. It was rubbery and crunchy, and I foolishly swallowed it whole. I will spare you more unsavory details; yes, there are more. Many more.

More pictures from the night:

Fred not having any of Ronin's shenanigans

Me killing Samantha at middle finger-pulling

Head tug of war with Josephine (L) and Chloe (R)

At one point during that little meal, the lights turned off and flickered. The door to the spare room opened, and Sandra, Lana, and Makka came out of the darkness, hunched and swaying. Their faces were painted black with red markings, and they wore dark clothing. They grunted as they lurched around the room, occasionally sneaking up behind someone and growling menacingly in his or her ear. It was frightening, to say the least! I thought Sam Blair next to me was going to have a panic attack. A couple of tense minutes later and the three girls retreated back into the spare room; the lights came on and we applauded as they came out a second later, smiling and happy! We got the backstory to that little performance: if their children don't go to sleep when told, Greenlandic mothers put on masks, sneak into their child's room, and pretend to be spirits to scare him or her. Outstanding.

From left to right: Makka, Lana, and Sandra with their game faces on

There was some Greenlandic "cake" ready post-dinner, which tasted like Irish soda bread. Delicious! I saved some for lunch tomorrow.

Overall it was a great day. I'm dreading my departure!

Aviaja day

July 5th, 11:24PM

Today Aviaja, a Greenlandic PhD student, came to work with us. She was scheduled to arrive at 9am, but you know how Greenlandic airports are; seeing as her flight was delayed, we had an extra hour to clean up our tables and work on various projects.

Aviaja arrived at ten and began presenting at ten-fifteen. It was amazing how different the atmosphere was for this scientist than for the others; all of the students sat up straighter, took more diligent notes, and asked more questions than usual, especially the Greenlanders. I think it had something to do with the fact that we had only seen Danish and American scientists thus far in our trip- you could definitely see the Greenlanders' eyes brighten as Aviaja translated into their native language (while the Greenlanders can all speak in Danish and English, none of the Danes or Americans can speak Greenlandic). Aviaja is also young, stylish, friendly, and speaks Greenlandic, Danish, and English flawlessly- not to mention incredibly successful. She was brilliant. I know the rest of the JSEP crew would agree with me that hearing her talk today was nothing short of inspiring.

Also, she wore glasses chains. I knew those were coming back.

Aviaja's lecture covered a variety of topics. First she talked about biotechnology: how biology is applied to industry to create useful products like detergent, food products, soap, etc. She also spoke to us about the Ikaite columns in southern Greenland, which are unusual because they contain bacteria that thrive in low temperatures and high pH. Since you can't find these conditions in many other places on the planet, Aviaja says that the Ikaite columns are very important to research. She and her mentor Peter want to apply the low-temp-high-pH bacteria to laundry detergent, which could save huge amounts of energy every year.

Ikaite columns

The last topic Aviaja spoke about was Greenland's very healthy potatoes. In southern Greenland, where the climate isn't so extreme, farmers have been able to grow potatoes and other underground vegetables. What is special about these potatoes is that they grow in fungal-resistant soil, since the climate is still too cold to support fungal life. Given this, the Greenlanders don't have to use pesticides or other chemicals to keep their potatoes alive! I thought this was really awesome but a little worrying. While climate change may make growing vegetables easier in Greenland, it may also change the properties of Greenlandic soil, creating a more suitable environment for fungi and other pests. And again on the flipside- if Greenland can grow its own vegetables, pesticides or not, it might become more independent from Denmark (although Greenland is no longer Danish territory, Denmark still has a great deal of influence here). Climate change is definitely a two-sided coin. I see the need for strong Greenlandic leaders in the next few decades!

When Aviaja was finished we headed up to the salt lake. It was much easier driving there than biking there, as Ronin and I knew very well. (It's a good thing we didn't try to continue on the salt lake path yesterday, because we still would have had a LONG way to go.) The salt lake was very beautiful, of course, with fields of shrubs and flowers surrounding it. There was lots of evidence of wildlife; bones, tracks, and scat was everywhere. Muskox and reindeer come here often to satisfy their sodium fix, Kasper told me- much like horses and salt licks. As for why the lake is salty? I'm still not sure, and neither is Kasper. Skipper says that it's just because the mineral composition in this valley is special; how so, and why, I still do not know. I'm not sure there is an easy explanation.

Salt lake

360-view of Salt lake

After we collected some samples for our water/soil tests (no phosphate in either the soil or water, surprise surprise), Aviaja had a couple of activities prepared for us at the lake. We received four petri dishes (two of them had sugar-rich nutrients, and two of them had protein-rich nutrients), two falcon tubes, and a couple of sterile loops. Michael partnered with me; together we collected soil and water samples in the falcon tubes, then streaked the samples onto the sugar/protein plates using our sterile loops. My plates looked horrible because I didn't adjust my plates to the light and couldn't see where I was streaking, but of course Michael's were immaculate. In the next few days we'll monitor our plates and see which ones grow the most bacteria.

Salt lake

Later at the lake we went on a plant hunt! Each pair was handed a list of plants to find and bring back to Aviaja. Michael and I split up to cover more ground, and I found niviarsiaq- he found almost everything, including niviarsiaq. So much for splitting up.

View from the mountain above Salt lake, where we were dropped off and picked up

360-view from above Salt lake

We took our plant samples with us back to HQ, and once there we listened to Aviaja talk a little bit about every plant on the list. She had chosen them for their value in Greenlandic folk lore and medicine- it was pretty neat to hear all of these seemingly insignificant plants' little quirks and backstories! Here are some of my notes:

Rhododendron

• used for teas and spices; smells nice and used commonly in Greenland

Fir clubmoss

• people who were done living in society and chose to live in nature changed into these plants
• can fly, can talk to animals, and has other mythical powers
• very "hairy", looks like fingers coming out of the ground

Common juniper

• functions as a contraceptive and treatment for diabetes and arthritis
• apparently gives good taste to tuttu- thanks to Kasper for that little gem

Roseroot/King's Crown

• enhances focus and concentration
• stress relieving, has been used in Chinese medicine as well
• can actually be found in pill form in America
• I need to find this and consume it

Niviarsiaq/River Beauty

• the national flower of Greenland

Arctic blueberry

• antioxidant, very healthy

Aviaja closed with a short talk on how important it is for more Greenlanders to invest themselves in science, essentially because the entire island of Greenland is a lab on climate change. There is so much research just waiting to be done, and who better to do it than the Greenlanders themselves! Sam Blair also pointed out that new Greenlandic resources uncovered by glacial melting might be exploited by other countries if the people of Greenland don't take a more active role in the management of their country's environment.

Probably the most moving thing for me to hear was Aviaja's response to someone's question at the end of her presentation, "So how many Greenlandic microbiologists are there?" She smiled a little and responded, "Just one. Me." I sincerely hope that changes as a result of this program, and I think it will. It was obvious that Aviaja's talk had a huge impact on the Greenlandic students.

After Aviaja was finished, we had free time before dinner to work on our projects and whatnot. Makka and I are still stressing over our stupid sea tomato video, but it's coming along. Dinner was great because Samantha and I got ice cream afterwards, and Kasper bought us more hot chocolate mix. At nine we finished Independence Day, and then Samantha and I had a 10:30pm hot chocolate walk to one of our favorite spots by the river.

Tomorrow is Greenlandic cultural day! I'm not sure what to expect, although Rikke asked me not to wake up so early because the G-landers wanted to prepare for dinner in the morning. I have a feeling it's going to be good!