AMU professors Łukasz Kaczmarek, Piotr Klimaszyk and Bartłomiej Gołdyn from the Faculty of Biology have spent a significant amount of time on Svalbard this year. Each had a different goal to follow, and each believed that the expedition, funded by IDUB, was an excellent effort.
Prof Kaczmarek discussed with Krzysztof Smura on Życie Uniwersyteckie about the time spent at the AMU Research Station.
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You have recently returned. Was this not your first stay in the Arctic?
- No. It was my fourth visit to Svalbard but my second to the Petunia Station.
Are there changes?
- They are visible with the bare eye. The base has been expanded. We can store food products in more comfortable conditions, and research equipment has also arrived. However, living conditions have remained at the usual level. In particular, they are modest. The situation in the mountains around the Petuniabukta base camp is poor. The glaciers are retreating a lot. By the time we were there this autumn, their melting should have slowed down considerably meanwhile, we found rushing streams flowing from under them. It is a very unsettling sight.
Observing your stay in Svalbard, I could see that you did not go into the field without a gun...
- It is a necessity. About 2,500 people live and work on the island, while bears number about 3,000. Coming to Pyramiden, we already had information that you have to be careful because there are bears around the base. In short, going into the area unarmed is inviting trouble.
You were there in a powerful line-up.
- The three of us sailed to our base with Piotr Klimaszyk, head of the Department of Water Protection, and Bartek Gołdyn, head of the Department of General Zoology. Each of us had a different research objective to pursue. Piotr dealt with benthic sediment and plankton, Bartek conducted research related to diatoms, and I studied Tardigrades.
You can read more about Arctic Research at Uniwersyteckie.pl (The article is entirely in Polish)
photo by P. Malczewski