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Nuclear Ninety North
Eclipse of the Midnight Sun
August 1st, 2008 |
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Ziegler Island
2008-07-28 08:44 UTC |
Click images for reduced size. |
81°3.98'N 56°5.30'E |
Our first landing in Franz Josef Land would be on
Ziegler Island.
We had intended to land on
Payer Island,
but heavy fog prevented
helicopter operations, so we diverted to Ziegler Island instead.
While approaching the island, a female polar bear and cub were
spotted on the sea ice between the ship and the island. This was
to be our last polar bear sighting.
2008-07-28 08:48 UTC |
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81°3.99'N 56°5.34'E |
Ziegler Island is visible across the ice as helicopter transfers
from the ship began. Note the round holes in the melt ponds
in the foreground. These are breathing holes used and maintained
by seals. The polar bears we saw above were patrolling
these holes in search of a meal.
2008-07-28 09:48 UTC |
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81°4.02'N 56°5.21'E |
The helicopter returns from delivering a batch of
passengers before picking us up for our trip to the island.
2008-07-28 10:01 UTC |
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81°4.21'N 56°17.91'E |
After landing, the first impression of the landscape is its
apparent bleakness. But when you look closer, there is life
everywhere.
2008-07-28 10:01 UTC |
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81°4.21'N 56°17.91'E |
Note the colours among the dark volcanic basalt rock. These are
lichens and wildflowers we'll see in more detail below. The containers
at the left were brought to the island by an Austrian film production
company making a documentary about the
Payer-Weyprecht
Austro-Hungarian
North Pole Expedition
which discovered Franz Josef Land in 1873.
2008-07-28 10:03 UTC |
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81°4.21'N 56°17.81'E |
So-called
“reindeer moss”
(Cladonia rangiferina)
is abundant on the island. This is actually a lichen, not
a moss, and is not eaten by reindeer in Franz Josef Land because
none inhabit the archipelago.
2008-07-28 10:04 UTC |
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81°4.20'N 56°17.83'E |
2008-07-28 10:12 UTC |
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81°4.15'N 56°17.81'E |
2008-07-28 10:15 UTC |
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81°4.15'N 56°17.80'E |
2008-07-28 10:16 UTC |
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81°4.14'N 56°17.80'E |
The arctic poppy
(Papaver radicatum)
is one of the most prolific plant species in Franz Josef land.
The flowers, which track the Sun as
it moves in a helix in the Arctic sky, give a yellow cast to
slopes with soil in which it prospers.
2008-07-28 10:25 UTC |
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81°4.10'N 56°17.66'E |
These extreme Arctic environments are all about microclimates.
Note how this trench, shielded from the wind and supplied
by meltwater from winter snow, is host to reindeer
moss and other flora which are sparse in the surrounding
rock.
2008-07-28 10:28 UTC |
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81°4.10'N 56°17.60'E |
Looks like a seal had a really bad day here. I'd put it down to a
polar bear.
2008-07-28 10:28 UTC |
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81°4.10'N 56°17.60'E |
Death, and life.
2008-07-28 10:41 UTC |
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81°4.07'N 56°17.21'E |
These plants are tiny—I'm sorry I didn't bring
anything on this landing to provide a distance scale; on subsequent
visits to the islands I used a 1 Euro coin to provide a sense of
scale.
2008-07-28 10:44 UTC |
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81°4.08'N 56°17.06'E |
Look at the arctic poppies in bloom on the slope before us and in the distance.
The containers from the movie crew are visible on the other side of the lake.
2008-07-28 10:45 UTC |
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81°4.09'N 56°17.01'E |
The ship is visible in the distance. After delivering everybody
to the island, the helicopter stands down for a hour or so to
refuel, and then begins shuttling people back to the ship. All of
the yellow dots are arctic poppy flowers.
2008-07-28 10:48 UTC |
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81°4.09'N 56°17.02'E |
I'm pretty sure this is a
saxifrage.
I'm not certain about the species, but it looks kind of like
a purple saxifrage
(Saxifraga oppositifolia)
which is common in the high Arctic.
2008-07-28 10:59 UTC |
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81°4.19'N 56°16.71'E |
Lichens are among the hardiest lifeforms on our planet, and
they are abundant in the Arctic. This rock is host to a
variety of lichens.
2008-07-28 11:00 UTC |
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81°4.19'N 56°16.71'E |
These furry little critters are everywhere. They look like
spiny tribbles, but I'm pretty sure they're lichens.
2008-07-28 11:06 UTC |
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81°4.26'N 56°16.69'E |
Wow! They said the Arctic was barren, but look at this. Another lichen,
of course.
2008-07-28 11:27 UTC |
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81°4.07'N 56°17.50'E |
What's this? No, it's not some kind of fungus, but
Arctic cotton grass
(Eriophorum scheuchzeri),
a sedge which grows in boggy areas formed by meltwater in
the Arctic summer.
2008-07-28 11:36 UTC |
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81°4.22'N 56°17.81'E |
Time's up—farewell to Ziegler Island and back to the ship.
This document is in the public domain.