Expedition log M/S Nordstjernen

Transcription

1 Expedition log M/S Nordstjernen Svalbard August 23 rd 26 th 2016

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3 Tuesday, August 23 rd 09:00, N Longyearbyen Longyearbyen is a Norwegian settlement and the capital of Svalbard. It was originally a mining community, but now science and tourism are slowly taking over. It is named after the american John Munroe Longyear who started the first coal production in the Longyear valley in It was bought by a Norwegian mine company in Today Longyearbyen is a modern town with almost every facility you can imagine. The population is approx and increasing. After breakfast at the hotel we went sight seeing in town, and visited the Svalbard Museum and the Longyearbyen Gallery. At noon we embarked on the M/S Nordstjernen and our Arctic Adventure started. During lunch, in brilliant sunshine, we sailed westwards towards Barentsburg, passing the former coalmining settlement Grumant and its port Coles Bay. In august the sun is low in the sky, giving a warm and light which emphasize the colours in the terrain. The mountainsides were coloured deep red, green and orange, which with the crisp air let us know that autumn had arrived in the high Arctic. Tuesday, August 23 rd 16:00, N Barentsburg Barentsburg is a mining settlement found on the east ern side of Grønfjorden. It is currently the only Russian mining settlement on Svalbard there used to be two more: Grumant which closed down in the early 1960 s, and Pyramiden which closed down in The first house in Barentsburg was built in 1912 by a Norwegian company and then sold to the Dutch N.V. Nederlandsche Spitsbergen Compagnie (Nespico). The settlement was bought by Russia in In Barentsburg today there are currently approx. 400 inhabitants. We went on a guided tour with a Russian guide, and we joined a genuine and entertaining modern russian folklore show, in which the mine workers perform on their spare time. We also visited the hotel, and some of us t ried the the local beer brewed right in Barentsburg!

4 Barentsburg, located along the eastern shore of Grønfjorden 60 km west of Longyearbyen. After having visited Barentsburg we returned to the ship and sailed out of Grønfjorden. Grønfjorden means the green fjord, and today we could see and enjoy why, the mountains on each side of the fjord were dressed in deep autumn colours. During dinner we sailed out of Isfjorden, passed Kapp Linnè and started navigating northwards. The sun was shining low, giving this typical arctic light to the mountains and the sky. Actually august 23 rd is the first time the sun touches the horizon in the Isfjorden area after the long period of midnight sun. During the evening and the night we continued our journey north, sailing along the outer coast of the island Prins Karls Forland and towards new experiences. Wednesday, August 24 th 08: N Woodfjorden & Liefdefjorden We woke up as we navigated along Reinsdyrflya, and during breakfast we sailed into Woodfjorden. The weather was windy (15 m/s) and a bit cloudy, the sun still managed to break through the clouds. There was fresh snow on the mountain tops and overall it was a quite fresh morning. Wednesday, August 24 th 10:45, N Texas bar We intended to go on land by a cabin called Texas Bar. The cabin was a satelite station built in 1927 by a norwegian trapper called Hilmar Nøis. But as we navigated into the fjord arm of Woodfjorden called Liefdefjorden (the

5 fjord of love in Dutch) the wind picked up, and the sea was quite white. As we approached the landing site the wind was 19 m/s and it was a no go. So we changed the plan and went further into the fjord to have a look at the spectacular Monaco glacier instead. As we came closer we found that the wind conditions improved, the surrounding mountains gave us shelter. So we decided to do the cruise in front of the glacier in the smaller boats now in the morning instead of in the afternoon as planned. Monacobreen and Seligerbreen 11:00 We had some calving ice in front of the glacier, ice that had been falling off the glacier as we were there. The guides explained how a glacier is formed, about morains and the different types of glaciers found on Svalbard, while we were admiring the scenery. Closer to the front of the glacier we could see some birds, the Kittiwakes. In summertime the outflow of meltwater from the glacier, and the increase in calving events, stirs up the water which brings nutrients from the bottom and up to the surface. This attracts millions of plancton and the Kittiwake party is on! Some of us managed to see a seal. Wednesday, August 24 th 15:00, N Bockfjorden & Jotunkjeldane After lunch we arrived in Bockfjorden where we had our second landing. On the beach we saw drift wood, russian logs brought to the Svalbard beaches by the current in the Polar Basin. The geology in this area is quite unique. South of the landing site is the latest active volcano an Svalbard, Sverrefjell, and we took a look at some of the very few hot springs of Spitsbergen. On the eastern side of the fjord we could see the beautiful red mountains (Old Red) that are characteristic for this area, stemming from sediments with iron oxide from the Devonian period. We went for a walk in the rugged terrain, which was covered by a surprising variety of moss and vegetation e.g. the willow. Up in the hillside we spotted an Arctic Fox jumping around in its catlike style. We continued towards a small lagoon a few hundred meters away from the landing site, where we were picked up by the tenderboats. Wednesday, August 24 th 21:30 80 N & Moffen During dinner we sailed northwards, and after dinner we passed the 80 N parallel. This was celebrated in the wind and rain on the aft deck with a bubbeling toast.

6 The North Atlantic is the only place on the planet where you can be almost certain to pass the 80 th parallel with a ship the southern hemisphere is mostly ice-covered and at 80 S you will hit a continent. An interesting thought is t hat there were hardly any other people between M/S Nordstjernen and the North Pole at this time! Moffen is an atoll slightly north of 80ºN latitude. It is a very flat and peculiar ring-shaped island and its maximum altitude is about five meters. This small atoll is mostly known for heaps of male walrus chilling out on the beach. The atoll is classified as a protected bird reserve and no ships are allowed closer than 300 metres between mid March and mid September. It is also a popular haul out place amongst walruses. The walrus is the largest seal species in the Arctic being as heavy as two metric tons characteristics Moffen is a peculiar-looking atoll that is commonly habitated by walrus. are impressive tusks, absence of beauty, lack of charm, and as made clear for everyone out on the front deck a rather unpleasant smell. In the middle of the night we entered the famous Magdalenefjorden, a small fjord with pointy and rugged peaks and many glaciers creating big contrasts. In the inner part is the Gravneset, a graveyard for whalers during the first european oil adventure in the 17 th century. Thursday, August 25 th 09:45, 79 N Krossfjorden & Signehamna The next day we woke up in Krossfjorden, in front of the mighty Lilliehoek glacier. The weather was partly cloudy with a beautiful light and frsh autumn snow on the maountains. The bay in front of the glacier was filled with calving ice. First activity for today was a landing in Signehamna. This sheltered landing site is very beautiful, with the beach in the lagoon and the green birdcliff behind, the kitty wakes flying high. There was ice in different shapes, from the glacier, on the beach.

7 Our tour in Signehamna went around the lake, passing the remains of a German meteorological station that was established during WWII. The landscape here is rocky with some typical arctic tundra and polygon ground (classical permafrost structure ground). The polygons are structures in the terrain, a result of a slow freeze-and-thaw process that only occurs on flattened ground in permafrost areas. By the lake we saw some raindeers grasing and jumping. The raindeers in Svalbard are genetically closer related to the Canadian caribo than the Scandinavian ones. The are believed to have survived the last glaciation in ice free refugees in the Arctic and then migrated to Svalbard. Thursday, August 25 th 15:30, 79 N Nordvågen and Blomstrand In the afternoon we sailed into Kongsfjorden, into into a bay called Nordvågen. In Nordvågen there is the Blomstrand glacier calving in the fjord, the Blomstrand Peninsula and the Blomstrand beach where we landed. The beach is a white A, and there were quite a few pieces of ice stranded. The guides spread out on the hilltops and we walked freely around, enjoying the silence, the fresh air, the sound of the waves beating on the shore and the thundering sound from the glacier as it was calving. Quite a beautiful spot. From the small hills we got a good panorama over the lower plains and the fjord outside. By the landing site we spotted some Ringed seals. The little island, the Blomstrand Peninsula, was believed to be a peninsula as the glacier used to cover the Nordvågen. As the glacier retreated it was clear that it was an island. The original name was kept to remember how the landscape looked before. The name Blomstrand comes from a Swedish geologist, who took part in the Swedish Spitsbergen Expedition of 1861, together with admiral Liljehöök. Kongsfjorden. Ny Ålesund is located to the south and New London on Blomstrandhalvøya to the north.

8 Thursday, August 25 th 20:00, N Ny-Å lesund In the evening we arrived at Ny- Ålesund, the world s northernmost community. As we came onshore we went on a guided tour in town. Ny-Ålesund is a former mining village which has become an important international research centre - mainly on the atmosphere and ozone layer but also geological, biological and glacial research is carried out here. In downtown Ny-Ålesund there is a small souvenir shop, an old telegraph, a post -office, a museum and a small house frozen in 1963 showing how a family lived here in those days. Ny-Ålesund has been the focal point of the world s attention several times during the 1920 s. In 1925 Roald Amundsen attempted to reach the North Pole from Ny-Ålesund with the two seaplanes N24 and N25. In 1926 Amundsen returned to Ny-Ålesund, accompanied by the American Lincoln Ellsworth and the Italian Umberto Nobile, to set out on a joint expedition with the airship Norge. The expedition was a success: t he airship flew over the North Pole as planned and landed in Teller, Alaska. This was the first time man saw the North Pole. In 1945 until 1962 Ny-Ålesund experienced a second mining period. The problem with the coal layers in Ny-Ålesund was that they were almost vertical and gases accumulated. More than 70 miners lost their life in these mines, the worst accident happened November 5 th Late at night there was a big explosion in the Esther Mine and 21 miners lost their life. A fter an investigation it was concluded that the Norwegian state should have been more concerned about the safety in the mines. Since Kings Bay was a state enterprise the public blamed the government. In August 1963, Prime Minister Gerhardsen and his government resigned as a result of this tragedy. Research started in Ny-Ålesund in 1964 and during the 1990 s research increased from 4,100 man-days in 1990 to 10,031 in Each year scientists from at least fifteen nations run more than 120 research projects.

9 Friday, August 26 th 09:00 Farewell gathering We gathered with the ships crew and the guides for a farewell meeting. Certificates were handed to everyone for having passed the 80 th parallel. And that was the end of the Svalbard summer adventure for this time. Are you sad to leave Svalbard? Are you curious about what it is like in the winter? Grab a copy of our catalogue or visit We hope to see you back again for another arctic adventure. Best regards from your cruise guides, Heiko, Ingunn, Helga, Fredrik, Remi and Magne.