John’s Polar Adventures

Today was our last day on the boat and we said goodbye to the great staff that became our friend over the last week. After disembarkation, we quickly headed to UNIS (The university on Svalbard specializing in Arctic sciences). A really prominent glaciologist Jack Kohler quickly stopped by to give a really concise and informative lecture about glacial recessions on Svalbard. Oftentimes on this trip we have been asked by press if we have seen climate change happening directly and Dr Kohler had a great response to this regarding glaciers. He said that while it is impossible to tell which centimeter is a response to human impacts and which is a response to other stresses, he noted that it is one piece of a puzzle and that globally all of these trends of recession are consistent.

We also said goodbye to Soli Townsend today who quickly became an integral part of our trip. She really gave some great advice and tips that came in handy on our trip and will continue to be useful as we return home. This came in great help today when we had a special meeting with some Norwegian VIPs. At the moment, we are not allowed to give more details, but check up with me in a couple weeks to get more info!

Tomorrow we head to Oslo where the program will inevitably reach its close. It is bittersweet to leave all of the people who I have lived, learned, and been incredibly cold with over the last 10 days but, we are all going to stay connected and continue to use this network to unify our varying efforts in working towards a sustainable future. Everyone has such diverse backgrounds and interests, so the projects that come out of this group are sure to be just as fascinating.