GeoLog

Arctic

Imaggeo On Monday: Revealing the secrets of the Arctic sky

Imaggeo On Monday: Revealing the secrets of the Arctic sky

When it is dark over Ny Ålesund, Svalbard, a bright green laser beam can be seen quite often, shooting from the AWIPEV Arctic Research Base observatory towards the sky. This beam belongs to “KARLi” the Koldewey Aerosol Raman Lidar, run by the Alfred Wegener Institute for more than 25 years, which contributes to long-term, atmospheric …[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: Konsfjorden and Kronebreen glacier

Imaggeo On Monday: Konsfjorden and Kronebreen glacier

Taken shortly after our departure from Ny-Ålesund after our first “Lost Meteorites” field trial in Greenland testing new equipment that can be used to discover ‘missing’ iron meteorites in Antarctica, the return flight gave incredible views of the surrounding landscape. This photo was taken looking down to the icy waters of Kongsfjorden on the west …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: A walk at the glacier

Imaggeo on Mondays: A walk at the glacier

In 2012 I had the opportunity to help lead a teaching excursion to the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard. On this trip, geography students from the Ruhr-University of Bochum in Germany had the chance to learn more about the nature of this fascinating island. In addition to Svalbard’s climatology and the wildlife, the region’s glaciology and geomorphology …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Robotics at the service of the polar science

Imaggeo on Mondays: Robotics at the service of the polar science

This picture was taken in the Arctic in May 2018. It shows the unmanned marine vehicle Proteus in front of the tidewater glacier Conwaybreen in the Kongsfjorden in Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago. The front of tidewater glaciers is an almost vertical wall of ice standing over the sea where direct measurements are very critical …[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Up close and personal with Svalbard glaciers

Imaggeo on Mondays: Up close and personal with Svalbard glaciers

A University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) Glaciology student examines the calving front of the Paulabreen glacier [in Spitsbergen, Svalbard], taking advantage of sea ice in the Rindersbukta fjord to safely approach the front. Paulabreen is a surge-type glacier, which means that it periodically switches between long periods of slow, stable flow to short-lived periods of …[Read More]