Team UKCEH rendezvoused in the metropolis that is Alta airport before picking up their trusty vehicle steads and heading out to the soon to be named “cabin lab”, near Utsjoki in Finland. Despite team 1 undergoing a rigorous potato search at the border (fortunately potatoes were safely stashed in innocent looking team 2’s vehicle), we made it to our home for the next 10 days. Turns out the side cabin to our Airbnb cabin made an excellent little lab with the sauna providing the perfect tap to get our water purification system going.
With the lab set up complete, operation science began, and we spent the next days driving up and down the river Tana taking water samples, greenhouse gas samples, running experiments, and Isabelle and Alex even managed to find some sediment amongst the sand and rocks. Never had we crossed borders so many times; fortunately the potato scare seemed to have passed and we were subject to no further potato searches. The basket ladies, Isabelle and Alex, got their basket experiments out and incubating away for a few days at some spots in the river and in Tanafjord, whilst the rest of the team headed out with friendly fisherman Sverre to sample the salinity gradients at the mouth of the Tana. Sverre didn’t bat an eyelid as drove around in circles hunting the gradient down, though suspect he was thinking “crazy British scientists”.
Granted an extra day to science with the news the cargo wouldn’t be picked up till later, we managed to grab some extra sites and rock various stylish waders to get some discharge measurements. A successful week, overseen by several curious reindeers visiting cabin lab to check out the work of BIOPOLE.
In a picture on the left:
Friendly Maurice the reindeer checking out the tasty grass next to cabin lab.
With boxes of samples to take back, and Alanna’s efficient packing, we managed to get the remaining cargo on one palette, leaving one palette spare…and as conscientious citizens not wanting to litter the Airbnb place, we decided it would make excellent fuel to finally be able to put the sauna to its proper use and have a fire in the firepit. Perfect way to finish up the week’s work before starting the long journey’s home with fingers crossed the samples arrive at the other end.
Till the next BIOPOLE campaign!
The author of the article – Anna Belcher (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)