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Minutes of the station leader meeting August 26, 2009
Present at the meeting: NMA, NPI, AWIPEV, Kings Bay AS Absent: NERC, NCAOR, Kings Bay Marine Laboratory (KBML) Ongoing projects/new projects
Mr. Ole Bjørn Årdal attended the meeting. Maintenance work being done. The cryogen compressor has been changed. Between September 21 and 24 a group will visit to investigate possible sites for new antennas in Ny-Ålesund. Ground penetrating radar will be used at Knutsenryggen, West of Ny-Ålesund, to check for good ground conditions. To continue VLBI measurements in Ny-Ålesund, the equipment needs to be upgraded. The accuracy of the measurements must be improved, and new antennas will meet this requirement. Mr. Geir Mathiassen will be away from August 31. Mr. Ole Bjørn Årdal will be away between 3 & 7 September. Mr. Carl Petter Nielsen will return to Ny-Ålesund on September 14. 2) AWIPEV
Mr. Marcus Schumacher attended the meeting. 2 divers arrived today from AWI-Bremerhaven. The SPITZBAY group will stay until Monday next week. 28 students will arrive on Monday August 31. They will stay at the base until September 3. 1 journalist and 2 TV-crew will arrive on September 7, and stay until September 24. These will give online lectures from Ny-Ålesund to German school classes daily. Relatively quiet at the Sverdrup Station now. The end of the summer season at the moment. 1. Ms Iris Jæger (Akvaplan-Niva) works in KBML. She will stay until September 28. 2. Torunn Berg (NTNU) works at Zeppelin and Målebua. She will stay until August 31. 3. “GRACE” has a group working in KBML and at Zeppelin. 4. Ms Cecilie Rolstad and her group (2) have been monitoring calving at Kronebreen. They set up some equipment at the verandas in the Service building. They left from Ny-Ålesund on August 27. 5. Ms Anne Chapuis and her group (4) returned from field work by Kronebreen on August 27. They left from Ny-Ålesund the same afternoon. 6. On Friday August 28, the crew which has been studying reindeer at Camp Heaven will return to Ny-Ålesund to finish their season. Staff from the Sverdrup station will go to Camp Heaven by boat to bring the researchers (3) back. 7. Ms Elisabeth Isaksson arrived on August 26. Short stay only until August 27. 8. Ms Monica Mårtensson arrived on Thursday August 27 to continue and complete the aerosol measuring campaign at Kvadehuken. She will leave on September 14. 9. Mr. Jack Kohler will arrive on September 10, together with a small team (3) to conduct the annual autumn campaign for investigating the glaciers. Kohler’s group will depart on September 17. The Zeppelin station is currently being cleaned and tidied up before the official visit next week. Mr. Kim Holmén returned from Ny-Ålesund on Wednesday August 26. He will return on Monday August 31 to take part in the final preparations for the official visit on Tuesday. He will also be involved in the visit on Tuesday. Mr. Max König will stay until September 17 and assist Mr. Kohler with his work during the last week of his stay. Ms Fiona Danks arrives on September 10 to continue as station manager for the next 2 months. 2) Miscellaneous.
Official visit of UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
On September 1 there will be an official visit by the UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Norwegian Minister of the Environment, Mr. Erik Solheim, to Ny-Ålesund. The visit is hosted by the Norwegian Polar Institute. On Monday August 31, two helicopters with crew will arrive and stay in Ny-Ålesund. The crew will be received by Kings Bay AS’ staff. The helicopters shall be used for transporting people on Tuesday. Expected arrival is app. 18.00. On Monday August 31, 12 journalists and representatives from the UN will arrive late in the evening. A chartered plane is expected to arrive at app. 23.25. Kings Bay AS will handle this group. On Tuesday September 1, the first helicopter going to R/V Lance will take-off at app. 06.00. K/V Svalbard will arrive at the harbour, bringing the VIP guests from Longyearbyen. Expected arrival before 08.00, with disembarkation from 08.15. Between 08.30-08.50, visit to the Dasan station. Between 08.45-10.15, visit to the Zeppelin mountain. NPI runs own schedule for this part of the visit. At 10.30 the VIPs will depart for R/V Lance by helicopter. From 10.30 the journalists remaining in Ny-Ålesund will have their own programme: 16.30: departure by plane from Ny-Ålesund airport. In case of bad weather, alternative programmes have been prepared. Please contact either the NPI or Kings Bay AS for more information about the visit. Swine influenza.
A screening of 6 patients was executed on Thursday 13 and Friday 14. The samples were sent to Tromsø for testing. All test results from the samples were negative with regard to swine flu. There are no further recommendations from the hospital in Longyearbyen for the moment. Pan-Svalbard Workshop.
The Pan-Svalbard Workshop found place between August 17 and August 21. Participants from many institutes and all research bases on Svalbard convened to discuss cooperation mechanisms between the stations. Particular attention was given to upper atmosphere studies and glaciology, in addition to existing and planned mechanisms for cooperation and development of Svalbard. There will be follow-ups after the workshop to be able to proceed with the ambitions expressed. Mr. Bendik Eithun Halgunset will participate on behalf of Kings Bay AS. Climbing course.
The NMA explained that they need to send one of their employees to a safety training course for working in tall installations. If there’s interest for such training from others in Ny-Ålesund, please contact the NMA. If a minimum of 5 people can attend, the course will be given in Ny-Ålesund. Contact person is: Mr. Ole Bjørn Årdal Scheduled experiments at the VLBI-antenna in the near future:
• Intensive: September 07 from 07:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 08 from 17:00 UT. • Intensive: September 14 from 07:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 14 from 17:00 UT. • Intensive: September 21 from 07:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 21 from 17:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 23 from 18:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 24 from 18:30 UT. • Intensive: September 28 from 07:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 28 from 17:00 UT. Next station leader meeting:
The next station leader meeting will run as scheduled on September 2. Kings Bay AS, August 28, 2009 Bendik Eithun Halgunset. Minutes of the station leader meeting August 12, 2009
Present at the meeting: UiG, NPI, NERC, CAA, NCAOR, AWIPEV, Kings Bay AS Absent: KOPRI, NMA, Kings Bay Marine Laboratory (KBML), NIPR Ongoing projects/new projects
Mr. Maarten Loonen attended the meeting. 296 geese have been caught, together with 50 terns, 9 snow buntings and 2 foxes. 2009 proves to be the best year for the goslings since 2000. 11 geese that were ringed in 1991 have also been found (7 adult ones and 4 young at the time of ringing). 2 more scientists will arrive from Amsterdam on August 17 to remove the open-top chambers placed a little East of the settlement. Ms Lise Fivez will stay at the station from August 27. The students depart from the base tomorrow. Mr. Loonen & 1 staff remain until Monday August 17. More quiet at the Sverdrup Station now. Many have left or will leave the base within the coming few days. 1. The NSF group led by Julie Brigham Grette will depart tomorrow. 2. Mr. Bjørn Henrik Hansen (SINTEF) is working on effects of oil spill on copepods. 3. AMASE has 6 people in Ny-Ålesund at the moment. 4. Ms Åse Kristine Tveit who is an author stays at the base at the moment. She’s writing a book named “9 chapters on Svalbard”. 5. Ms Anne Chapuis monitors calving at Kronebreen. 6. “Science-Pub” led by Ms Heidi Ryen stays at a camp behind Blomstrandhalvøya. The NPI was kindly requested to remind the team to use the beach for toilet. Pan-Svalbard Workshop will arrive on Thursday August 20. Mr. Kim Holmén is expected to arrive together with the workshop, and will stay over the weekend in Ny-Ålesund. The painting of the Sverdrup Station is soon completed. Mr. Cox expressed warm thanks to all inhabitants of Ny-Ålesund for the good support that was given to Mr. Simon Herniman during his duty as station leader for the NERC station over the last few weeks. Currently 12 persons participating in a total of 7 projects are at the station. 1. Ms Joelle Richard is working in the Marine lab. Focusing on effects of a warming 2. Mr. Tristram Irvine-Flynn is working on cryoconites. 3. Mr. Jon Telling is working on glaciology. 4. A project from UNIS is focusing on insect collection and identification. 5. One glaciology project finds place at Midre Lovénbreen. 6. NSINK has participants from the University of Sheffield. A request for N15 treatment of a plot has been sent to NySMAC. Coordinates for the plot(s) will be stored. There’s a possible swine-flu outbreak at the station. 6 people arrived last week. These are working on 3 different subjects: 1. Completion and improvement of the imaging riometer. 2. Alignment of antennas and installation of copper wiring for the riometer. 2 Chinese + 3 British scientists arrive tomorrow, Thursday August 13. 8 staff at the station, departing on August 31. Teisten has been in use. Some equipment is in demand, and the NCAOR has been missing an autoclave and some chemicals during their stay. A comment from the UiG was that the terrestrial workshop initiated by the SSF has identified a need for improved lab facilities for microbiological studies in Ny-Ålesund. The CNR have indicated that they might host such a lab, and make this accessible to all user groups. This discussion will be followed up later. 6) AWIPEV
Mr. Marcus Schumacher attended the meeting. Mr. Roland Neuber from AWI-Potsdam is in Ny-Ålesund at the moment. He’s doing some preparations for the Pan-Svalbard Workshop next week, and visits the AWIPEV base as well. Mr. Neuber participates in the German/French management of the station. 1. Mr. Dean Barrie Godden and Mr. Philip Porter participate in an ARCFAC project 2. Mr. Sven Lucas is in Ny-Ålesund with a group of 4 in total. Glaciology, working 3. Ms Konstanze Piel works at the Bayelva station. Focus on mass transfer. 4. Mr. Joerg Bareiss, Mr. Johannes Lüers and Mr. Martin Wagner are working at Tomorrow 2 persons from SPITZBAY are expected. 1 more will arrive on Monday next week. 2) Miscellaneous.
Introduction routines for arriving visitors to Ny-Ålesund.

The station leader meeting addressed the issue of welcoming routines for visitors arriving in Ny-
Ålesund. The stations have different routines and demands in this regard, but some minima
criteria should be established. This has become increasingly important with the rapid increase in
activities that we’ve seen over the last few years.
The station leader meeting will follow up on this issue, and prepare in due time before the next season. Swine influenza.
Several persons have flu-like symptoms in Ny-Ålesund at the moment, and a request for more information in this regard was addressed at the meeting. The following information came from the hospital in Longyearbyen, and was shared with the station leaders on Thursday August 13: • The best advice for avoiding contagion of others is to maintain a strong focus on hand- and cough hygiene. Please also note the e-mail distributed on July 24. o Wash hands regularly and minimum for 30 seconds in running water each time. o Cough either in your hands or towards the elbow or armpit. This provides good • If you feel ill (typical flu symptoms like aching joints, fever or reduced general condition), stop working and stay tranquil. It is recommended that you stay at home for 7 days after the illness begun. This also to reduce the contagion risk towards others. • Face masks have very limited effect, and are considered less effective than focus on hand- • If you suffer from a chronic disease you should inform a doctor (and Kings Bay AS) if you feel unwell. Treatment with Tamiflu will be carried out. Kings Bay AS has a limited number of doses available, for treatment of particularly vulnerable patients. A screening of 6 patients was executed on Thursday 13 and Friday 14. The samples have been sent to Tromsø for testing. The results from these tests are not available before a few days, and might give an indication whether or not we have a swine flu outbreak. Kings Bay AS will follow up on this matter and provide more information if needed. Pan-Svalbard Workshop.
The Pan-Svalbard Workshop will begin on Monday August 17. Participants from many institutes and all research bases on Svalbard will convene to discuss cooperation mechanisms between the stations. The workshop will be in Ny-Ålesund on Thursday August 20. Please see the attached schedule for more details. Mr. Bendik Eithun Halgunset will participate on behalf of Kings Bay AS. Scheduled experiments at the VLBI-antenna in the near future:
• 24 hours: August 31 from 17:00 UT. • Intensive: September 07 from 07:00 UT. • 24 hours: September 08 from 17:00 UT. Next station leader meeting:
The next station leader meeting will run as scheduled on August 19. Ms Bodil Paulsen will attend from Kings Bay AS. Kings Bay AS, August 17, 2009 Bendik Eithun Halgunset.

Source: http://www-arctic.nipr.ac.jp/nyalesund/stationleader-meeting/aug2009.pdf