My discovery of the Arctic started August 8, 1999, in Brakke 4, a student housing unit in the city of Longyearbyen on the Svalbard Archipelago. The path to Longyearbyen started several months before landing by 78 degrees north. At the time a student at Lyon 1 University, France, I wanted to spend my last year of undergraduate abroad. I found UNIS, the northernmost university in the world, by pure chance; the faculty in charge of student exchange had one of their handbooks on his desk; the cover page showed a student in a heavy jacket with ice sickles all over the face. I instantaneously knew that this was the right choice for me.
Memories of the ’99 Fall semester are still very vivid to this day. We were only 4 students enrolled in the geophysics program – 3 Germans and myself. Far from being a problem, this small number became our chance to learn more, to explore further the glaciers, fjords and the Arctic Ocean around us, and to interact with our incredible professors to a higher level. Though just an undergraduate, I felt that we were treated like graduate students. It reinforced what I had started to feel all along; entering the Sciences was the right choice for me.
I am back in the Arctic for my third time after a research project in 2008 during the International Polar Year with several Norwegian and American colleagues. When I get back to my family in California in a few weeks, I will have learned even more, explored even further what this ocean has to tell, all while interacting with a fine group of students and instructors. Then, it will be my turn to educate others about the many wonders of this remote part of our Blue Planet. If my daughters and students choose to get interested in the Arctic, it will be the right choice for them.
How will this expedition benefit my research? I am interested in expanding my current research with foraminifera (tiny marine animals that form a shell of calcium carbonate –more on that in a future blog post) to the Arctic. Many of the lectures onboard have lots of information relevant to what I would like to do, and thus provide an important knowledge base upon which I can build future research projects.
Here I am onboard, to the right in this photo.
![images[2]](http://www.miamisci.org/lindsayinthearctic/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/images2.jpg)
– Mathieu Richaud
Hello This Is Sharon Vazquez Coming From Leomhs Hoping To Ask You Two Questions .
My First Question Is What Specific Foods Do You Eat To Maintain Your Diet On This Artic Expedition?.
My Second Question Is What Inspired You To Go On This Powerful Expedition? How Did U Hear About It ?
Dear Sharon, they are feeding us quite well on board the ship – actually a little too well! All of our meals are prepared for us (but we all brought snacks onboard too), and they usually include meat with potatoes or pasta (they have a vegetarian option if needed), and soup. As for how I got to go on this expedition, I have always been in love with exploring (as I think many scientists are). I have a goal that I want to live on every continent. But I never thought I’d get to be on a ship in the Arctic! I love that I get to be here not just as a tourist, but on a ship with people trying to understand the Earth. I found out about it because I had worked with the expedition organizers on a museum exhibit and on another expedition to Antarctica. I hope there are more adventures in my future, and in yours too! Do you have places you’d like to visit, or would you like to go on an expedition like this?