Interview: “The trickiest part of field work on Svalbard is that you don’t have any control over the natural conditions”

PhD researcher Ricarda Runte recently conducted fieldwork on Svalbard to find out how carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus from melting glaciers affect marine ecosystems in the fjords. In this interview, she talks about walruses, high winds and the perfect Arctic field snack selection.

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Can you briefly tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? 

I am originally German and I moved to Norway about two and a half years ago for my master’s. My background is in geosciences, leaning towards environmental geochemistry, but I did a master’s in environmental chemistry, specifically focusing on environmental chemistry in the Arctic and analytical chemistry. 

Credit: Anette Wold

What do you do here with iC3? 

I'm doing my PhD researching how fjord sediments from the terrestrial system are incorporated into the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in pelagic systems. We’re trying to see that across a spatial and temporal range. 

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Cool! So you just got back from Svalbard, can you tell us a little bit about what you were doing there, and what the goal of that field work campaign was?

Yes! I went to Ny Ålesund, specifically to carry out field work in the Kongsfjord system. I was alongside a group from the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; iC3 partner institution), and I was doing sampling of the marine water column as well as sediment coring. The purpose of this work was mainly to get samples along the transect from the marine-terminating glacier front to the mouth of the fjord.

Photo: Kongsfjord's marine-terminating glacier front (credit: Ricarda Runte)

We’re trying to do a seasonal study to see the variations we can find both in the water column, sediments, and pore water concentrations in terms of how carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are behaving. The aim we have right now is to sample throughout the melt season. So, in February, we assumed that no melt had started yet from the glacier. In May we assume that we have started the surface melt. Then in July/August the subglacial drainage system should have opened. 

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I know you’ve been to Svalbard a couple times now. What makes work on Svalbard particularly different or difficult? 

I would say the trickiest part of field work on Svalbard is the natural conditions, and the fact that you don’t have any control over them. The issue for this time was winds, but from what I did in my courses, we had weeks where we had -30°C or snowstorms and you just can't go out, you can't do stuff.

I think the extreme environment limits you in what you can do, actually, and what is possible of your science. And you try to make the best out of the conditions at hand. 

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Photo: Collecting nutrient concentrations from a sediment core (credit: Ricarda Runte)

You mentioned how the natural environment, especially the weather conditions, make work on Svalbard pretty difficult. How do you manage meeting your objectives while still staying safe and being realistic in these kinds of environments? 

I think it's quite easy at points as a scientist to get lost in your goals and say, “I really want to get this, I want to do this.” I think you have to always plan with a bit of buffer time, but still that might not be enough. 

An example for us was that it was super windy, so it wasn't really safe to go out coring. With the days that we were there, we only really had two days when it was possible to go, which is quite little time. But we tried to make the best out of it and get what we could.

It's always important to consult with people who work there often and who are part of the team there. We had quite a bit of support from the local captain, the laboratory leader at Kings Bay, and a team from NPI. That was quite helpful when we were trying to assess the situation: what is safe, what is not safe.

I think it's important to try to not go in over your head in terms of what's actually feasible, but also try to still be ambitious and get what you can, while you can. 

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So at times this work is really challenging physically, mentally, and logistically. What drives you to do this kind of work? 

I think it's a bunch of different reasons. On the one hand, I really like to be outside and find those challenges. But I also really think that the work in itself is important. It's important to study things we don't really know and see what happens with the retreating of ice sheets, especially with climate change at hand.

You get to go to super nice places with cool landscapes, and you get to have these experiences. Even though they might be exhausting and tiring at times, it's also really rewarding and fulfilling in a way. 

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Do you have any particularly entertaining anecdotes from this trip, or anything you saw that was super cool or unexpected? 

We were on the way to the airport and our bus driver stopped and was like, “Oh, look at the ice over there, that's two walruses!”. That was very fun. You can just randomly see a walrus on your way to the airport. 

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Any final thoughts you want to leave us with today?

I want to say a thank you to the team from NPI that's working on the International Kongsfjorden Year for taking me with them and helping me get integrated into this big international monitoring of the Kongsfjord system. If people are interested in learning more about the Kongsfjord system and the science going on inside that pelagic system there, then I think it's a really cool project to look into.

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One last very important question, what's your favorite field snack? 

In Ny Ålesund I discovered the greatness of being able to make your own mixed bag of all the stuff people would usually put in the healthy cereal in the morning, stuff like dried banana and walnuts and dried apricots. Very great field snack if you have that with the thermos of hot tea. 

Though usually, of course, I have to recommend a Kvikk Lunsj. 

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Ricarda Runte is a PhD student working with the research units RU2 and RU3 in the iC3 center. To find out more about her work with fjord nutrient cycling, please email her at ricarda.c.runte@uit.no. 

If you want to join the iC3 team as an early career researcher, please check out our current MSCA postdoctoral opportunities.

This interview was conducted by Jamie Hollander, Fulbright Norway Research Grantee at the UiT Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø. She is currently based in the Geosciences Department, where she contributes to the iC3-affiliated METHANICE and GlaciGas projects and pursues science outreach in Tromsø. She recently received a bachelor’s degree in Earth and Climate Sciences and looks forward to a long career in geoscience research.