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Personal Experiences
What is all that white stuff about?
By Carla Perez Mon - experience as participant in the 4th SSWS, Col de Lautaret, France
It is February 11th, on Sunday. Temperatures are of -10◦C or less and moderate wind gusts makes the environment especially chilly. There I am, in the mountain pass of Col de Lautaret, in the heart of the French Alps, collecting snow shoes, sticks and avalanche safety gears. I am getting ready for starting the 4th Snow Science Winter School (SSWS), a five days’ workshop to learn the basics on snow and snowpack by the hand of experts. The SSWS was organized by Marie Dumont (Météo-France – CNRS) and Martin Schneebeli (WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche research SLF, WSL-SLF) and consisted on lectures combined with field work. We were 24 students and eight instructors; Marie, Martin, Florent Domine (Laval University), Charles Fierz and Henning Loewe (WSL-SLF), Isabelle Gouttevin (Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques-CNRS), Anna Kontu (Finish Meteorological Institute) and Jessica Lundquist (University of Washington).
In the lectures we learned about the physico-chemical properties of the snow, the physical processes behind the formation and evolution of the snowpack and the characteristics and applications of snowpack models (CROCUS and SNOWPACK). We also learnt about forest-snow processes and the interactions between climate and snow, especially important in the context of climate change (e.g. albedo and its cooling effect on air temperatures). We translated the acquired theoretical knowledge from the lectures to the field. Snowshoes on and safety gears ready, we adventured into the snowy mountains. We were divided in teams and, guided by the expertise -and the patient- of the instructors, we described snow profiles and measured essential properties of the snowpack (e.g. temperature, hardness of the different layers, density, snow grain size and type, water equivalent etc.). We familiarized with the use of routine instruments; from traditional density cutters to measure snow density to electronic devices such as Denoth meters for snow wetness, the IceCube to measure specific surface area or the high-tech SnowMicroPen, developed in SLF, that allows fast and reliable profiling of the snowpack depth and the hardness of its layers. Back in the comfort weather of our classroom, we evaluated the collected field data and compare it to the output of the physical CROCUS snowpack model. This allowed us to experience first-hand the limitations of the models and to better understand the need of continuous in situ monitoring in the field.
I really enjoyed the course, I never imagined that snow could be so fascinating and complex. Now I have a much better understanding of one of the elements that most influence the physico-chemical properties of permafrost soils and thereby the life within. Marie and Martin did an excellent job organizing the course. The lectures and field work sessions were very well balanced, alternating between the two types. Lectures were very interactive, with quests and discussions between students and experts. Accommodation and meals were first-rate. Last but not least, the social program was really enjoyable. We visited local bars and restaurants and the last night of the course we went to thermal baths before the closure dinner.
I am truly grateful of having had the opportunity to participate on the SSWS and to get to know the other students and instructors, all from different countries and research fields. I hope I will meet them again on other occasions and that we will engage once more in discussions in such a friendly environment.
For more information about the 4th SSWS:
https://www.slf.ch/de/ueber-das-slf/veranstaltungen-und-kurse/snow-science-winter-school.html
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Snow-Science-Winter-School
Learning in the frozen lands of the Inuit
By Carla Perez Mon - experience as participant in the 1st IAFS, Iqualit-Nunavut, Canada
Iqualit (“city of many fishes”) is the capital of Nunavut, the largest and northernmost territory of Canada and home of the Inuit. Iqualit is located at 63.75° N, in the Arctic bioclimate subzone D, as defined by the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map ( https://www.caff.is/flora-cfg/circumpolar-arctic-vegetation-map). This small city, of only 7000 inhabitants is the most populated of the region. A remote, seaside gem in the heart of the tundra. I arrived to Iqualit the 2nd of March of this year and stayed there for a week, as a participant of the 1st International Arctic Field School (IAFS). This ambitious program, organized by the researchers Marie-France Gévry and Pascale Ropars from Laval University and sponsored by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund and 13 other partners, brought together 30 international and local students and over 20 mentors with a key objective: training the future generations on the environmental and socio-economic challenges linked to an Arctic Cryosphere that is undergoing drastic and long-lasting changes.
The IAFS program combined lectures with groups exercises and field excursions. A first core of lectures focused on the physical and biological components of the Arctic ecosystems. Florent Domine from Laval University explained the features of the Arctic snowpack, its complex interactions with the vegetation and the soil, and how the diminishment of the snowpack leads to the enhancement of global warming. Murray Richardson and Keegan Smith from Carleton University described how the snowpack is shaped by the wind and how the snow depth varies over the land, which determines the amount of fresh water available to the human populations during the summer. Daniel Côté from Laval University presented the many optic techniques to measure snow properties, including inventions of its own. Jean-Michel Lemieux from Laval University focussed on the hydrology of the Arctic and highlighted the importance of groundwater as an alternative drinking source for the northern communities, especially in the context of climate change and its negative impact on surface waters. Margareta Johansson from Lund University and Anne-Marie LeBlanc from the Geological Survey of Canada gave lectures on permafrost, its distribution, its geological properties, its landscape features and its rapid thaw due to climate change. Murray Humphries from McGill University and Vicky Sahanatien from the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board told us about the regional terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, the trophic relations between the different species and their vulnerability to climate change. We completed modelling exercises in teams to deepen into the groundwater hydrology and permafrost-snow interactions. In the field, we learnt how to describe a snow profile and how to measure snow depth and snow water equivalent. We also trained on monitoring water quality in one of the local lakes, where we measured salinity, oxygen and light penetrance.
A second core of lectures focused on the local communities: their ways of living, their issues and the profound transformations they are going through as a consequence of climate change and a radical “Westernization” of the traditional societies. I especially enjoyed this part of the program because it focused on what fundamental research often overlooks: people. Guy Doré from Laval University presented the challenges of building on permafrost, the damages that permafrost thaw is causing on infrastructures and the current solutions to the problem. Jean Allen from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Amy Caughey from the Government of Nunavut told us about food security, the monitoring of contaminants in country food and the importance of educating the citizens on food quality and eating healthy. Trevor Bell from Memorial University presented SmartICE, a program developed with the community members to monitor the ice thickness and, based on the results, inform the population about the safety of travelling on the sea ice. Jason Carpenter from the Nunavut Arctic College presented the Environmental Training Program (ETP), which provides local students with a strong training on environmental sciences and a higher education Diploma. We were fortunate to spend the week with students from this program, most of them from Nunavut. They told us about their culture and their experience as participants in the ETP. Jamal Shirley from the Nunavut Research Institute presented the ongoing research projects in Iqalit and emphasized the importance of engaging the members of the local communities on the projects and to inform them about the results. The mayor of Iqaluit, Madeleine Redfern, and Mary Ellen Thomas from Nunavut Research Institute told us about the demography of Nunavut communities and their social organization. And of course, we experienced ourselves the fascinating Inuit traditions! We built an Iglu together. We listened to the traditional throat singing and played Inuit games. We rode on snowmobile over the sea ice and we ate Char, whale and Caribou, among many other exiting activities.
The IAFS was an invaluable experience both professionally and personally. I hope the program grows and continues in the future. The Canadian Arctic is a land full of beauty, both in its nature and in its people. I thanks once more to Marie-France and Pascal for the excellent organization of the program, the Swiss Polar Institute for its economic support and the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists for the extensive advertising of the program.
For more information:
http://sentinellenord.ulaval.ca/en/changing-cryosphere-field-report
https://www.facebook.com/sentinellenord/