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Herschel Island 2013: 30°C in the Arctic shade
(Photo: S.Weege) Jule getting the first bagel out of the freezer at the Inuvik supermarket. In total we bought 250 bagels and 60 bread. Monday, 1st of July 2013
The first days in Inuvik with Canada´s National Day and 30°C in the Arctic shade
Our first day in Canada's northwestern most city Inuvik (68.2°N), a settlement with about 3500 inhabitants, was everything else than what one would expect from an Arctic city.
We had more than 25° C, and enjoyed a fantastic BBQ with researchers from all over Canada. First sunburns and uncountable mosquito and horsefly bites. But it was a successful first day.
Our group was complete as Isla and Louise from the University of Edinburgh joined us. We started getting ready for Herschel Island, arranging our freight, and getting together all the licenses we need to work here.
(Photo: U. Bastian) Cooking in Action: Prepairing 25 dinners for Herschel IslandAmong those, the most important ones are:• Uno Marine Scientific License (MSR)
• Parks Canada Research License for Ivvavik National Park
• Environmental Impact Screening Committee (EISC)
• Yukon Scientist and Explorers Act Licenses
• Herschel Island Territorial Park License
The second day started with a thunderstorm. At 18 °C it was a perfect day for work. It turned out to be a pretty busy day for all of us. Micha and George checked all the boxes which were stored in the storage over winter.
Boris started charging all the batteries, and on the odd side, helped the park manager of Herschel Island install his new washer and dryer at his house.
(Photo: B. Radosavljevic) The Royal Canadadian Mountain Police at the Parade on Canadas National DayUte got to test our lab equipment what we had stored here over winter. Steffi, Jule, Isla and Louise did a marathon shopping round that lasted over 8 hours, covered three different supermarkets, resulting in more than 30 boxes of food and water that should last for the next five weeks.
On the third day we started our big cooking action. Twenty-five meals are being cooked in advance, to save time in the field, and not to waste it with preparing food. All this cooking is going on while we are preparing lots of field equipment, and finalize our field working plans.
Today on our fourth day is Canada Day. Every 1st of July is Canada's birthday, this one was the 146th. The locals have the day off, and most shops are closed.
We mingled with the local crowd on the main road and there was even a parade. It was a mix of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or mounties, in red clothes, kids on their red-white decorated bikes, the fire fighters throwing candy to the crowd, a truck with the modern skidoo and a traditional sled on top, and even a car saying "Reading in the Arctic is cool".
(Photo: S.Weege) Swimming after a day with temperatures of 30C in a lake close to Inuvik We got several red maple leaves, the Canadian national symbol, on our cheeks and found ourselves eating more burgers. It seems that not one day can pass without them.
It seems to be the national food here. It is an incredibly hot day, as well. At 4 pm, we measured unbelievable 30.0 °C in the shade, while continuing our cooking action.
The good part is that almost all meals have been prepared and stowed in the freezer, so now they just have to be thawed and cooked with pasta or rice in the field. National day finished with a cool dip in the lake close to Inuvik. We could either dive in or let the mosquitos eat us alive :)
Summer hot arctic greetings from Inuvik!
Written by: Stefanie and Boris