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Polar bear protection
Every year, all persons visiting the Netherlands Arctic Field Station have to take a special
"polar bear protection" course. The ultimate defense against an attacking polar bear is a weapon
(.308 Winchester).
However, this weapon can be at least as dangerous as the bear. The course is paying attention to the
behaviour of polar bears, the maintenance and safety with the gun,
and finally there is a practice shooting at the shooting range.
On this picture, you see colleguas from South-Korea with whom we did the course.
Apart from the weapon, we carry always flares. We hope that we never have to use the weapon. |
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Eider studies
A French team from Strasbourg is studying immunocompetence in eider ducks.
They take us with their boat to the breeding islands. From left to right you see Maarten Loonen,
Alain, Thiery, Luis and Sophie. |
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On these pictures, you see them working on the island of Storholmen. They are marking nests of eiders
and will catch them at different times during the incubation period to test if the speed at which the immune system
reacts to a challenge is changing during fastening.
On the right photo, they are attacked by a Great skua, who is protecting his nest. |
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British colleagues
At the British station, the first team of the year is servicing the equipment.
Nick Cox is repairing the antenna for contacting his field radios.
Since 1978, he has been working here in summer, first as a boatman, later as station manager.
Mark Clilverd has made a low frequency receiver station and relates the logged data to global change events
related to e.g. the sun activity.
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