So, since people like pictures so much, I thought I would give you a few to get a feel of what it is like for us in Kilpisjärvi. The following photos were taken by the CONCUR team.
To start is off, the thing that brought us here ICE!
Ice on Kilpisjärvi.
Now, 8 of us are living in a cottage that has many out-buildings and is right on the lake. Luckily we have room for everyone and most importantly, we have a coffee-maker and a dishwasher.
This is our home and transportation for the time that we are here.
The animals here are very interesting. The various birds are quite astounding. Reindeer are quite common to see. Also, we have noticed that there are giant bumblebees here, maybe it’s their cold-weather coats that makes them so large.
Reindeer relaxing by the side of the road.
The ice seems to go on forever. The lake is approximately 7.5 km long and 3 km wide, so it makes for a long walk when you want to sample every 50 m, and you can’t use a snowmobile.
CTD team sampling (the orange suits are great to spot).
When we arrived, the ice wasn’t touching the shore, so a bridge was built (well another was built later to accommodate the widening gap).
Jeff Williams, Alex Forrest, and Will Rizk working hard on the bridge (don’t worry the water was only a foot deep and we had safety measures in place).
When access isn’t possible, a boat is always a good option for transportation, especially when you aren’t the one doing the rowing.
Kelly Graves and Jeff Williams going for a leisurely paddle.
However, when you hit solid ice, it gets a bit hard to paddle, so that is when you push.
Christof Engelhardt and Georgiy Kirillin giving Will Rizk and Elisa Lindgren (photographer) a lift across the ice.
A great way to pass the time between measurements is taking photos.
Looking towards Norway across Lake Kilpisjärvi at 9 pm (it’s just the cloud that is making it dark).
Well, I hope that gave you a bit of an idea of our experience on our lake. There will be more photos and thrilling posts to come.
Now for TWO Finnish words of the blog: pähkinät (nuts, as in peanuts, cashews, etc.) and kasvisruoka (vegetable diet). You can guess our interest in those particular words…
Seuraavaan kertaan! (Until next time!)
Arctic Research 