This year’s second expedition (VOYAGE IV:B) was carried out in September 2019 with initial fieldwork consisting of concentrated multidisciplinary surveys of the Forlandsøyane and the West coast of Forlandsletta on Spitsbergen. The main tasks were to collect data and start to dismantle the temporary micro FIELD STATION | NATURAE OBSERVATIO | MARTIN’S EYE. Documentation and collecting of data has been made by the autonomous Field Station during a period between May to September. Follow-up fieldwork and the final decommissioning, including dismantling of the station and to bring back the square meter – used by the Field Station – to this truly wild spot; which will be made in Winter/Spring 2020 (Voyage V).

The project uses the ice-strengthened ship M/S Origo as a platform for all of the expedition participants, transport, fieldwork and communication. Field documentation at Forlandsøyane | Prins Karls Forland (pictures, artwork, sound and text) of the coastal area, particularly research area A-B, for reference studies of Anton Rolandsson Martin’s visit in the area in 1758. Coastal survey by field scientists onsite and via the Field Station at a distance will put into effect projects/ fieldwork in the following branches of knowledge: fauna, flora, astronomy, meteorology and biosphere.

• LONGYEARBYEN:
  
Assembly/preparation for the fieldwork, meetings with regional institutions and embarking on the expedition ship M/S Origo.
• SKANSBUKTA:

  
Testing of field equipment and personal resources.
• FORLANDSØYANE | PRINS KARLS FORLAND (West):

  
Field documentation (pictures, artwork and text) of the coastal area, research area A-B, for reference studies of Anton Rolandsson Martin’s visit in the area 1758. Update and service/maintenance of the temporary autonomous micro FIELD STATION | NATURAE OBSERVATIO | MARTIN’S EYE. Coastal survey by field scientists on site and via the Field Station at a distance, will put into effect projects/ fieldwork in the following branches of knowledge: Fauna, flora, astronomy, geology, meteorology and biosphere.
• FORLANDSUNDET | PRINS KARLS FORLAND (East):

  
Night/anchorage and protection for poor weather conditions. Field documentation (pictures, artwork and text) of the east coast of Forlandsundet (research area C).
• HAKLUYTODDEN:
  Tracking historical data from Martens to Martin to the present. Ship based. Field documentation (pictures, artwork and text). This part of the voyage will only be activated if the weather conditions in the area around Forlandsøyane do not allow field work in the area.
• LONGYEARBYEN:

  
Field documentation (pictures, artwork and text) of the coastal area. Return to base.

THE PROCESS TO DISMANTLE THE AUTONOMOUS FIELD STATION ON SPITSBERGEN

Background

In May 2019 (VOYAGE IV:A), The IK Foundation successfully installed the temporary micro FIELD STATION | NATURAE OBSERVATIO | MARTIN'S EYE on the west coast of Prins Karls Forland positioned at a short distance from the coastline along the west side of the majestic Forlandsletta, on a smaller height circa 5 meters above sea level. This location has unrestricted visibility in all directions giving simultaneously a good overview of the close-by and the distant landscape – an ideal position to observe Forlandsøyane, the coastal and mountainous areas and Forlandsletta in an easterly direction.


The Field station a hazy September day. PHOTO: Lars Hansen | Bridge Builder Expeditions Spitsbergen, VOYAGE IV:B, 2019.


The scientific mission of the project has been to use the Field station to carry out entirely automated observations of the local biosphere. The Field station was set up to make the following photo documentation via digital photography, all round the clock: Camera 1 in a westerly direction (every 15 minutes): Forlandsøyane and its bird life as well as biosphere, coastline, sea and sky. Camera 2 in a northerly direction (every 60 minutes): the lagoon with sandy beach and its wildlife, biosphere, coastline, sea and sky. Four Trap Cameras aiming to observe the closeup area around the field station. Sound recording, in particular bird calls and song, recorded in 360 degrees every 15 minutes all round the clock. Weather Station measuring; temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, rain, solar radiation, evapotranspiration, UV index, wind speed and wind direction.

The west coast of Forlandsletta with wind, waves and bird sounds of Snow bunting (song), Barnacle goose (call) and Purple sandpiper (song). An example of audio documentation of nearly 11,000 recordings. Credit: The Field Station | Naturae Observatio | Martin’s Eye: The IK Foundation (31.05.2019 | 23.15).


The Work

Unlike our latest visit in May, the weather in late September was much harsher at sea as well as on land. Extensive rolling waves made transports between the expedition ship M/S Origo and land difficult to carry out and sometimes not even possible. Even worse, fog banks made it impossible to navigate the Zodiac in the coastal waters. On land, the fog made it hard to secure the work area around the Field station, for observation of wandering polar bears. All in all, this for the area quite normal autumn weather, made the planned work effort more unpredictable and from some perspectives not entirely possible


Transport of people and equipment between expedition ship and Zodiac. PHOTO: Måns Bergendal | Bridge Builder Expeditions Spitsbergen, VOYAGE IV:B, 2019.


to implement. The combination of shorter days and transport to a safer night anchorage location many hours away, the work at the Field station had to be concentrated on preparing for the final dismantling of the station and emptying it of data and securing it for a winter mode and the complete upcoming dismantling from the site.


Preliminary results

Although the Field station on some occasions during the summer has been visited by polar bears who bit and pulled the station's cable protections, pushed some cameras and buckled into a ventilation hood, the station's operation has stayed largely intact and is still able to provide unique, valuable and massive amounts of data. This is primarily due to its autonomous eco-design and internal memory devices – on the local biosphere in the form of tens of thousands of pictures, sound files and weather data.


All data will be searchable in a synchronised system. Expected to be open for use from December 2019.


In the autumn of 2019, all data will be freely available at the dedicated site Field Station | Naturae Observatio. In 2020, the first analyses of all data will be completed from research projects around the world which are linked to the Field Station.

Lars Hansen


THE FIELD ARTIST’S INITIAL REPORT

Like during the previous journeys in this project, BRIDGE BUILDER EXPEDITIONS – Spitsbergen, VOYAGE IV:B was documented within the domains of both arts and science.

Documentation started in the morning of September 21st, which is well before the departure of M/S Origo on September 23rd at 16.30. Plant and animal life in the vicinity of Longyearbyen were covered as well as geological formations in the Longyear valley. These were rendered in watercolour despite unfavourable conditions such as temperatures below the freezing point.

The beginning of the actual expedition experienced poor visibility. Foggy seascapes were painted on our journey from Longyearbyen to Prins Karls Forland. Once there, these conditions favoured motifs at short distance. Those were generously covered and include details in the immediate vicinity of the FIELD STATION | NATURAE OBSERVATIO | MARTIN’S EYE such as reindeer droppings, driftwood and a long-abandoned fox trap.

The shoreline of Levin hamna was documented in watercolour to complement photos and measures taken by Viveka Hansen and Måns Bergendal. This study aimed to facilitate calculating distances and latitudes from the photos taken by the Field station.


Field artist Måns Bergendal | PHOTO: The IK Foundation/Estvall | Bridge Builder Expeditions Spitsbergen, VOYAGE IV:B | Click here for more Pictures

Visibility improved towards the end of the journey, which made it possible to draw coast profiles of Prins Karls Forland, Oscar II Land and Nordenskiöld Land. These sketches were principally made with a soft pencil in order to maximise speed and emulate the working conditions underlying historical mapping. The commander’s bridge served as an atelier during these sessions.

At the end of the expedition, in the evening of September 27th, the artist work was exhibited on a mess hall table and thereafter handed over to the expedition leader.

Måns Bergendal


THE FIELD COMPOSER’S REPORT

The composition element of my trip into the Arctic circle spanned over the six days at sea. I wrote three pieces based on three different events, which happened during the voyage.

The first piece "Fog" was written after we had first landed on the shore in the fog with the ever present bear danger. The piece is solo piano and evokes feelings of isolation, mystique, excitement and fear.

"Fog" by Field composer Will Clemens. Music composed in the field and aboard the expedition ship M/S Origo. Original raw files that will form the foundation for the project's music in upcoming films and exhibitions.


The second piece "Linnaeus Apostles" was born from a conversation with Viveka and some study with her on musical references in the Linnaeus Apostles’ book series. Within the books there was a melody which I thought would work well within a piece of modern music. I started composing whilst Jeff and Tom were battling to get one of the cameras working (and failing unfortunately). 

"Linnaeus Apostles" by Field composer Will Clemens. Music composed in the field and aboard the expedition ship M/S Origo. Original raw files that will form the foundation for the project's music in upcoming films and exhibitions.

The piece is very mournful, sad with a serious peaceful feel, the sort of feeling Jeff and Tom felt when they were coming to terms with the unfortunate truth that their camera was never going to work!

The final piece "Voyage Back" came out of a conversation I had with Lars H and Mikael (the hunter) about the Sami traditional singing style called "Joik". I ended up singing a Joik into my iPhone and then emailing myself the file to use on the computer recording. The piece was the last one I wrote as we had completed our mission and were heading back to harbour.

"Voyage Back" by Field composer Will Clemens. Music composed in the field and aboard the expedition ship M/S Origo. Original raw files that will form the foundation for the project's music in upcoming films and exhibitions.

 It celebrates the excitement of adventure reinforced by the emotion of arriving home safely. 

Will Clemens



COASTAL PROCESSES

The data in form of regularly uploaded pictures, weather and sound observed from the autonomous FIELD STATION | NATURAE OBSERVATIO | MARTIN’S EYE on Prins Karls Forland, provide a unique opportunity to follow the evolution of a beach system over the course of a season or longer. Based on the images from the cameras it will be possible to analyse coastal processes by observing the sediments and landforms at and close to the beach and how (if) they change with time. For example, the appearance and shape of the beach and berm (height, slope, sediment distribution) and connecting any changes over time to weather and sea-level variations (snow melt, storms, etc.). Observations of modern coastal processes in western Svalbard are interesting in light of ongoing relative sea-level and climate changes, and ties to recent and ongoing mapping efforts of coastal areas on Svalbard carried out by UNIS and NGU.


Collage. PHOTO: The Field Station | Naturae Observatio | Martin’s Eye: The IK Foundation.

To be able to better describe visible features and to quantify any changes, an absolute scale is needed. A request for measurement of some distinct features visible in the images was therefore submitted, along with a request for a sediment sample. Based on the known size of a few features in different parts of the image, it will be possible to estimate the size also of other features in the photo. A sediment sample from the beach would additionally allow an accurate determination of grain size, grain shape and other sedimentological properties that in turn could provide information on wave energy level at the beach, sediment sources etc. Both requests were approved and measurements and sampling were carried out by Viveka Hansen and Måns Bergendal during the visit in September 2019. The plan is now that during winter/spring together with a student study a series of selected photos and available meteorological data, as well as analyse the collected sediment.

Helena Alexanderson
Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden &
Department of Geosciences, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

EXPEDITION PARTICIPANTS