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Navigate:VIRTUAL EXPLORATIONS > ARCHIVED EXPLORATIONS > ELYSIUM ARTISTS FOR THE ARCTIC
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Part 3: First Day on the IcePosted: Monday, August 31, 2015
A glance outside just after our 0645 wake up call got many people up and out of bed to take photos. The ocean has many small bits of ice floating around — beautiful in the bright sunshine we have to start our day. This morning the divers and the snorkelers will get their first briefing. The divers will try to get their check-out dives done to test out all their gear just to make sure everything made it with them and still functions after the long journey to Svalbard. The dry teams will go ashore via zodiac shuttle to visit Nyaalesund Scientific Station to walk around and, hopefully, chat with some scientists. We hope the afternoon will hold the opportunity for another dive and a chance for snorkelers to get in the water as well at “14th of July” Glacier. The dry teams will enjoy a zodiac cruise in the bay. We’re looking forward to our first full day and looking forward to sharing it with you. Love What You Do:Having woken to a cracker day of blue skies and white puffy clouds everyone spilt into various teams. The ‘Dry Team’ geared up for a zodiac trip to Nyaalesund Scientific Station. Armed with a bear rifle, just in case, and a lot of neat stories as to its colourful history the guides escorted us through the little-visited station that is home to scientists from 11 different countries. “You must really love what you do to live here,” someone was heard to say.
The bust of Amundsen dominates the village and this man was impressive! Flying his Zeppelin from the location of this research station over the North Pole to Alaska in the early part of last century, he was a pioneer in Polar exploration |
The scientists tell us the bay used to ice over every winter, but not now. We manage to dodge the floaties — baby icebergs — and head back to the ‘Polar Pioneer’ quiet with our thoughts.
A few puffins flew across our bow frenziedly chased by the arctic skua (see photo to right). They are meant to be gone by this time of year but clearly someone had forgot to tell them. The Skua harass the puffins until they vomit up the food they had just digested. I thought it would be easier to go get your own!
We scanned the sea ice for the bearded seal — a familiar sight around the bay at the research station, but none came out to play.
Having layered on the clothing for the landing our thoughts turned to the divers and snorkelers who were off getting their gear wet and testing out their suits and cameras. They must really love what they do!
Lunch is over and we are underway off to cruise the bay near the 14th of July Glacier. Now I just need to find out how it got its name.
A few puffins flew across our bow frenziedly chased by the arctic skua (see photo to right). They are meant to be gone by this time of year but clearly someone had forgot to tell them. The Skua harass the puffins until they vomit up the food they had just digested. I thought it would be easier to go get your own!
We scanned the sea ice for the bearded seal — a familiar sight around the bay at the research station, but none came out to play.
Having layered on the clothing for the landing our thoughts turned to the divers and snorkelers who were off getting their gear wet and testing out their suits and cameras. They must really love what they do!
Lunch is over and we are underway off to cruise the bay near the 14th of July Glacier. Now I just need to find out how it got its name.
Wonderful Experiences to the End of Our First Day:
This afternoon provided us with some incredible experiences that really showed us what makes the Arctic such a special place. The weather this afternoon was just as gorgeous as it was this morning and got progressively more stunning as the light softened and faded into a mild dusk with a soft orange glow; this is the closest we get to night time here is Svalbard. While there were determined divers and snorkelers that returned to the water this afternoon, most of the Elysium team desired a closer look at the glacier and icebergs beckoning to us in the background.
This was the first time that the vast majority of people on this journey had the pleasure of viewing icebergs in all their glowing blue wonder. It was a sight that can only be described as otherworldly. They seem to produce light from within themselves akin to the way a muted blue bulb would illuminate an impossibly abstract white lampshade. No less captivating was the glacier, a sheer wall of calving ice pushed into the sea ever faster by a warming world. The unmistakable cracking sound created when pieces of the glacier detached and fell into the sea was impressively loud and could actually be felt reverberating through our bodies while we snapped photos and captured video on the Zodiacs.
As we sat in near silence taking in the ethereal scenery, we could hear an extremely faint but almost constant popping sound and soon discovered that it was coming from the tiny air bubbles in the ice bursting as they melted in the unseasonably warm water. Imagine walking across a sheet of miniature bubble wrap; this was the soundtrack provided to us by the Arctic.
We also encountered a group of at least 30 belugas as they swam in the shallows to hunt for their food fish. These enchanting ice whales are also known as “sea canaries” due to their penchant for beautiful song. Arctic fox, reindeer, bearded seals, skuas, and kittiwakes were all seen from the Zodiacs this afternoon and many wonderful images were taken.
As we close this day, we’d like to wish a very happy birthday to our dearest Sylvia Earle and thank her for choosing to share this special day of hers with us. It seems as though every day is special in the Arctic though…
This was the first time that the vast majority of people on this journey had the pleasure of viewing icebergs in all their glowing blue wonder. It was a sight that can only be described as otherworldly. They seem to produce light from within themselves akin to the way a muted blue bulb would illuminate an impossibly abstract white lampshade. No less captivating was the glacier, a sheer wall of calving ice pushed into the sea ever faster by a warming world. The unmistakable cracking sound created when pieces of the glacier detached and fell into the sea was impressively loud and could actually be felt reverberating through our bodies while we snapped photos and captured video on the Zodiacs.
As we sat in near silence taking in the ethereal scenery, we could hear an extremely faint but almost constant popping sound and soon discovered that it was coming from the tiny air bubbles in the ice bursting as they melted in the unseasonably warm water. Imagine walking across a sheet of miniature bubble wrap; this was the soundtrack provided to us by the Arctic.
We also encountered a group of at least 30 belugas as they swam in the shallows to hunt for their food fish. These enchanting ice whales are also known as “sea canaries” due to their penchant for beautiful song. Arctic fox, reindeer, bearded seals, skuas, and kittiwakes were all seen from the Zodiacs this afternoon and many wonderful images were taken.
As we close this day, we’d like to wish a very happy birthday to our dearest Sylvia Earle and thank her for choosing to share this special day of hers with us. It seems as though every day is special in the Arctic though…
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