Dear reader!

This blog it is written by five students at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS); we hope that you will enjoy these tales from the high Arctic. We will start with a short introduction about everyone:

Tine Larsen
Gender: Female
Study: Master in Geology
Home: Geilo, Norway
Home University: University of Tromsø
Interests: Skiing, kiting, paddling...
Life motto: "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, whisky in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn put and screaming ~WOO HOO what a ride!!"

Matilda Hallerstig
Gender: Female
Nationality: Swedish
Age: 26
Studies at UNIS: Arctic geophysics
Interests: Nature, outdoor life, plants, ceramics, and of course the Arctic.

I have always been fascinated by the North and the cold, harsh climates. First time I heard about a university in Svalbard was a couple of years ago. Already at that time I desired to go here and so it became. Back "home" in Bergen, Norway I study meteorology and I’m just about to start my master.

Eike Stübner,
I'm female (you can't see it from the name, since it's used for both genders) and I'm a masterstudent in marine biology at UNIS. I'm German but moved to Norway 2 1/2 years ago - first as exchange student and later as master student at UNIS/NTNU.
My master thesis is about the distribution of marine benthic Crustacea and Mollusca. I' working on samples from 9 locations around Svalbard from about 250 m depth, trying to identify the species living there. The main aim is to get an overview over the distribution of these species and how their occurrence is connected to water temperature.
I had field work in 2005 and 2006 and now the lab work is nearly finished. Besides studying, there are lots of possibilities on Svalbard, so I worked as well as field assistant and at a dogyard.

Sanna Kallio
I am girl from Finland. I have studied in UNIS one term (autumn 2006) already and I hope that I will study at least two terms more. I have study geography previously but I changed my subject to geology. I have concentrate on more quaternary geology. Some point I should start to do my master thesis which topic should focus on Polar Regions.

Mikko Vihtakari
Nationality: Finnish
Studying: Nature & Life (Biology)

I am a fish biology student from University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Last summer I did half year exchange on Svalbard. I took two bachelor level biology courses in UNIS. I experienced the Arctic summer with its all-hectic life. I saw mid-night sun, glaciers, whole range of sea birds, walruses, numerous amount of strange fish species, Albert, icebergs etc. I did things I have been only dreaming. I had great time with new friends I found from small community of UNIS –students. I got best kind of teaching in Biology. Simply I felt more life than ever before.

My original plan was to do my Master thesis in Finland dealing with anadromous salmonids, but when you have seen Svalbard, you are not interested original plans anymore. You get hooked and life in your home doesn’t taste the same anymore. In fact you have found new home. The home is Svalbard with lots of action in its arctic beautifulness.

However, there is a medicine for Svalbard –syndrome and luckily there was someone who offered the medicine for me… Currently I am doing my Master thesis at UNIS. My thesis deals with relatively small crustaceans called as amphipods. Amphipods are essential part of arctic marine food webs and thus studying them gives a view of state of the ocean. My supervisors at UNIS are Assoc. prof. Jørgen Berge and Ph.D student Henrik Nygård. I have great opportunity to follow work of experienced scientists and take part to some expeditions with Ice edge programme to Ripfjorden, North-East Svalbard. I hope that I can catch piece of the spirit of Svalbard to my writings; something about arctic nature, expeditions and of course student life on Svalbard. Briefly: I hope you enjoy the blog.