Arctic research in my life

- is much funnier wearing orange vinyl trousers

February 28, 2011

To seek answers

I just checked out the academic steps on the university (very frustrating not to know):

  1. Bachelor's degree 3yr
  2. Degree of Master  2yr
  3. Degree of Doctor (PhD) 4-5yr

so.. total 10 years... and after some millions of publications and tutorial job you may become a:
      4.  Professor


On Svalbard I'll end my Bachelor's degree and, back home, I'll do the residue of my master's education, which will take me a year or so. Hopefully I'l do a PhD in gothenburg. 


No news about The Svalbard excursion... I hope I'll get some more information soon... 





February 13, 2011

February 11, 2011

Isbjørn

"3000 bears. 2500 humans." is the first thing you see if you visit Svalbads homepage (svalbard.net). Rumor says that Svalbard is a fantastic place if you want to do outdoor activiteis. You can go kayaking, dog sleeding, hiking, skiing or why not see the landscape from a scooter?! All activiteis together with a very experienced guide who know everything about Svalbard. But if you want to do something on your own, it becomes much more difficult. You're not allowed to walk away from the village on your own. If you are a very stubborn person and really want to do some activities without a guide, than you have to pay lots of money, like an insurance, before you leave... Otherwise they won't search for you if you're missing... And all this is because of the polar bears.

I'll collect data in the field almost every day for two months. I will do it somewhere outside of Longyearbyen. The first thing this means is that I most have someone with me, cause you're not allowed to leave town on your own, I think this someone will be a PhD from the university of Lund. The second thing is that I most have a gun with me, cause you're not allowed to leave your home without a gun (they even have lockers on the bank for rifles). The third thing is that I have to do a polar bear theory course, so I have a chance to survive in the field.

The best thing to do if you see a polar bear is to, of course, leave. If you're walking away you should leave something behind, for example a glove (that the polar bear will investigate for some seconds), just to save time... I heard from my supervisor that the first thing you'll learn on the polar bear course is not to be interested... "Don't stay and look, leave!", can someone imagine me leave if I could have a look at a polar bear... I can't!

But please don't be worried; believe it or not, I am a natural talent when it comes to shooting guns!

Next week I'll have a meeting with my supervisor and a professor from Gothenburg, because they have offered me to start a PhD (in swedish: doktorand-utbildning) on the department of plant and environmental science... more about that after the meeting!