Today we had the opportunity to sleep in and catch up on much needed rest. We got out of the hostel and headed to Hellisheidi geothermal power plant. There was a guided tour lead by Chris who was incredibly knowledgeable and gave us a lot of good info on both the technical side and what was going on around the plant. There was two start ups right outside, one was creating algae using the resources from the plant. The other one was using carbon capture to take carbon from the atmosphere and inject it back into the ground where it is going to turn back into rock. They were currently the biggest one in the world but, had plans to expand 10 fold. The plant was currently using grant money but in the future will using carbon tax credits will become profitable. The next place we went was Gullfoss which was a waterfall about an hour away. The views were super scenic and we were able to walk right up close to the edge. The water has some pretty intense flow. Afterwards we went to the Althing which is a historic site in Iceland. Im sure I’m going to forget some of the major events that have happened, some of them are, the signing of Icelands independence, the location of the first ever parliament and where Iceland decided to become Christian. It was selected because it had a megaphone effect and freshwater nearby. Everyone seemed to have a great time but got back to the hostel pretty tired and wanting to rest for the next day on the glacier. – Andy
Today (July, 11th, 2022), our group of intrepid researchers made it safely to Iceland. We landed at 8:30 in the morning at the Keflavik Airport. It takes a 9 seater van and hybrid car to carry 8 cases of equipment, personal luggage and ourselves. We made our way to the Igloo Hostel, taking over an entire floor and then some.
View from the plane as we landed in Keflavik Airport and car ride photos. (I was lucky enough to have a window seat though I slept through my chance to see Greenland. Any mountains or hills are volcanoes and rocky formations of long cooled lava.)
The next need was lunch. Icelandic airports are small in their food court selection so off to Bonus we went. If you’ve never been in an Icelandic grocery store before and are very used to American stores, it’s shocking how small the store is. The entire store could probably fit inside the produce section of a Mejir or Walmart. There are only a few choices, instead of endless rows of brands and to get anything refrigerated you go into a walk-in fridge. We collected groceries for the next few days, and managed to only need help at the self check out 3 or 4 times and with only one incorrectly labeled produce.
Emmett and Seth in front of the hostel. (Pictured a brief moment of insanity in front of the hostel before a visit to the museum)
After settling in and eating lunch, our first tourist destination we visited was The National Museum of Iceland. This museum is a walk through history of Iceland from the first Nordic settlers to the country’s adoption of Christianity, all the way to modern day. (www.thjodminjasafn.is/english/)
Each student had their own focuses and interests and I in particular enjoy anything to do with fiber. I am a fiber artist (as well as a scientist) and so I loved seeing the carefully preserved tapestries and embroidery. Below will be some photos of my favorite pieces.
Image of the museum banner and fiber art photos. (I also enjoy slightly absurd faces and creatures in art as well lol).
Finally, we all gathered for our first big group meal. Our fearless leaders cooked first and with every chair from every room and a desk, all 12 of us shared our day’s highs and lows (including a maple syrup explosion in the crate of toiletries).
I’m here to report that this 10am departure was much better than last year’s 4am.
Hey folks! Here are some highlights of the last couple days.
• Charlie, Emmett & Seth have been working for the last week getting our stuff in order • Porter spent countless hours helping us get ready. We promise to let him come with next year! • Students who were off campus arrived yesterday • Everyone has tested negative within the last 2 days • Charlie cooked us lasagna and Emmett made bread for our first dinner. Seth did dishes (obv). • Doug drove us to the airport in Dayton (much closer than Chicago, where he drove us last year!) • Then, we flew to Chicago where we’ve been waaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiting. It’s been about 6 hours.
Ummm …don’t judge our mess
• Our flight leaves for Iceland in about an hour (~9 pm central). • We land in Keflavík airport tomorrow morning, where the local time will be 8:30.
This is all just the beginning of the adventure. We don’t return to the US until August 3. More soon! – Seth
We are in Iceland! It’s been an adventure getting here with speed bumps at almost every step. But, we are excited and already have two days of field science in our rear view mirror.
Emmett and Tamara in a giant valley created by the glacier Kvíarjökull
Friday, 6/4 Richmond, IN -> NYC
We met at EC at 4:00 AM to start our drive to Chicago. The (very generous) Doug Harms came with us so he could drive the Earlham van back to Richmond. Difficulties began during our first flight from O’hare to JFK. Weather grounded the flight in Buffalo, NY. By the time we got back in the air and landed in NYC we had missed our connection to Iceland. While Seth, Emmett and Craig went to find lodging for the night, Charlie, Tamara, Davit and Yujeong stayed at the airport to ensure we were got booked on the next possible flight.
Craig and Tamara showing off the NatGeo love. They’re funding our trip!
Saturday, 6/5 NYC -> Iceland
After waking in a very swanky Best Western, we confirmed our (rebooked) 8:30 PM flight to Iceland. We spent the day at the recently refurbished TWA hotel, which is connected. Played Carcassonne. Ate crepes. Would recommend.
Seth and Emmett chilling in the TWA Hotel. 1960s Swank.
Saturday evening we finally boarded our flight to Keflavik, the only international airport in Iceland. An uneventful flight left us arriving in the country at 6 AM local time.
Sunday, 6/6 KFK Airport –> Cabins in Höfn
Iceland has only recently started lifting Covid-19 travel restrictions. We each brought vaccination cards and recent negative test results. Then, after going through customs we each had (shockingly painful!) COVID tests. We were released with the personal responsibility to quarantine. Within 6 hours we had each received negative results and were free to move about the country.
During our quarantine we met up for a (socially distanced) breakfast with our friend Gummi who lives in Reykjavik. Since we couldn’t enter stores or restaurants Gummi helpfully acquired delicious local food to sate our each grumbly tumbly.
Breakfast at Gummi’s
Fed and hopped up on coffee, we were ready to finally get on the road. In our fully packed rented van we took off for our first destination: Sólheimajökull (AKA Solo), a beautiful glacier that is among the easiest to access on the island. Undaunted by the rain and wind, we were ready to engage in some first class field science!
Emmett dwarfed by Sólheimajökull
The work at Solo is part of Emmett Smith’s research into the changing microbiome diversity of the region. The glacier has been receding for over a hundred years with the location of its leading edge being well documented over the years. Areas closer to the present location of glacier have been exposed to the air for less time than those further away. As such, they have had less time for moss, flowers, soil, etc to grow. On Sunday we took soil samples at about 10 locations. We will use the samples to meaure soil properties (pH, Nitrogen/Potassium levels, etc). Additionallty, we will sequence DNA at each site looking for particular signatures. (More details in the upcoming paper!) We have been returning to the same sites since 2014, investigating how the soil has changed through the intervening years.
At Solo: Tamara flies a drone while Emmett collects samples. Yujeong is taking photos for documentation.
The field work was cold and wet, but we knew we could do it! We put our backs into it! We piled back into the van and drove four more hours to Höfn where we had reserved two very tiny and very dry cabins. It was time for our first good night’s sleep since being in Richmond.
Turns out these little tiny cabins don’t have everything! We all had to share one teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy towel … not all at once. But still!
Loaded with oatmeal and more coffee it was time to return to the field. So, rainier, colder and windier than Sunday? But you know our motto: Don’t stop, get it, get it!
Seth, Emmett & Tamara at Kvíarjökull atop a giant moraine
So, we drove back along the ring road in the same direction we had just come (I know … but trust me, this itinerary makes sense). This time we were collecting samples near Kvíarjökull. Another spectacular glacier, Kvíarjökull is a finger of ice splitting off of Vatnajökull (the second largest ice sheet in Europe). We split into two teams (as we had done on Sunday) to get to the sample site more quickly. This was our first year visiting this site, so it’s just the beginning of a much longer study! We braved the elements, collected soil from 12 sites and ran back into the van to strip off our soaking rain gear.
As I write this, we are headed toward Skálanes where our friend Olí is going to make us some delicious stew! (Oh my! We just saw our first reindeer!) It’s certainly been a rainy and tiring beginning to the trip, but Iceland is so beautiful, our spirits are quite high. Speaking of spirits, we’re about to stop at the local vínbúðin. (look it up …)
