Cool way to enjoy the summer

Nov 22 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

Environment Editor Tony Henderson on a Greenland summer

CAMPING next to a glacier sounds a pretty cool way to spend a summer. Four Newcastle University students, who did just that in Greenland, predictably had the place to themselves – at least people-wise.

But they had unwelcome company in the shape of swarms of mosquitos.

And while they anticipated the silence of the Great Outdoors, the wind whistling off the glacier sounded like a motorway.

They will be giving a public talk on their glacier expedition at Newcastle University’s Curtis Auditorium in the Herschel Building at 5.30pm on Tuesday.

Geography students Christopher Williams and Katherine Bazeley, both 20, and 21-year-olds Rupert Bainbridge and James Barraclough travelled to Greenland in what is International Polar Year during which researchers from around the world have been concentrating on the effects of climate change in the Arctic.

The Newcastle team pitched their tents for a month near the Russell glacier on the western edge of the Greenland ice sheet.

Their venture was backed by Newcastle University Expeditions Council and the Royal Geographical Society.

The team flew from Copenhagen to Kangerlussuaq, the airport for Greenland.

“The airport is basically the town which has a population of around 400, and that is where we stocked up with supplies before travelling to the glacier,” said Christopher.

“We had daylight for 24 hours a day. At first it was a bit weird to be reading a book in the tent at midnight and going to bed when it was quite bright outside, but we got used to it.

“We experienced a massive range of temperatures each day from 25°C to -4°C but the wind which came off the glacier was freezing cold.”

But the warmer spells meant lots of mosquitos.

“There were more mosquitos than I have ever seen in my life and they could bite through our clothes,” said Christopher.

But after the temperature plunged, the problem eased.

The team’s diet was mainly pasta and porridge, with salami for meat. “We also had these hard biscuits which looked like blocks of soap and which did not have much taste.

“Our work on the glacier took up most of the day after which we read lots of books, went for walks and observed the wildlife.”

This included caribou, Arctic hare and fox and musk oxen.

“The scenery was like the Scottish highlands but with this huge white ice sheet in the background. It was quite spectacular,” said Christopher.

“There was no sign of civilization and we expected things to be really quiet, but there was so much wind coming off the glacier it was like camping next to a motorway.”

Christopher’s mission was to measure the melt-rate of the glacier against factors like temperature, wind and cloud cover and type.

Katherine plotted the rate of flow of melt water and James examined sediment carried in front of the glacier.

Rupert studied a two-mile lake fed by the glacier and looked at how it periodically drained and filled up. The expedition was aimed at increasing understanding of glacial environments, especially in relation to climate change and flooding.

At the Tuesday event, geography student Claire Williams will also give a talk on her expedition to the Copperbelt province of Zambia and how many local nurses are leaving a declining health care system for greener pastures overseas.