Since working on the boat is done we are now in the Marine
lab mostly, this building is the absolutely perfect example of how complete a
lab can be, it has several climate rooms, working areas and much more. But it
is also located directly near the water which has the enormous benefit of
seeing wildlife while at work!
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| Ariadna's test in the climate room ©Ben Frederiks |
For example, 5 days ago a huge group of belugas
swam through the fjord and yesterday a walrus was spotted in the harbour! This of
course does not affect the work performed by us, but it is a great feature that
makes this place so special.
Besides watching the magnificent wildlife work has to be
done! This week we started Ariadna’s tests, the organisms were put in the
aquaria and water is changed every two days. With the starting of the tests
monitoring becomes a standard part of the day to see if animals are staying
vivid and alive.
My (Ben) materials are arriving on Thursday, from them on I
can practice my skills in the lab too, until that time I am assisting Ariadna
with the project. But I cannot wait till Thursday, will be a great to finally
get started! That is, if the polar bears leave us alone…
This morning at around 7:30 we woke up because of gunshots
near the house, assuming that it came from the shooting range we stayed at ease
and kept on sleeping, after a few more shots we heard our German colleague Gigi
shouting “Polar bear at the beach!”, immediately we jumped out of our beds,
grabbed our camera’s and ran towards the door! And there it was: A large white polar
bear walking along the shoreline being followed by two watchmen that shot
flares at him to scare him away.
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| The polar bear near the Dutch station only 500 meters away! ©Brigitte Weiss |
Although the bear did not seemed impressed by the explosions it moved
away from the village leaving us exited and fully awake!
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