23 May 2011 Off to Greenland...again! Solar Radiation on the Greenland ice sheet 2011

Off to Greenland...again! Solar Radiation on the Greenland ice sheet 2011

Well, the journey has begun, with a few bumps. I started my trip in Pittsburgh with my wife and kids dropping me off at the airport. After some great hugs and goodbye’s, I was on a plane to Dulles International Airport in Washington DC. With a relatively short layover, I boarded a Scandinavian Airlines flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. As I settled in for the 8 hour flight, the captain announced something in Danish that alerted the European passengers. I was curious as to what he said. After the Danish announcement, he gave the same message in English, and the unfortunate news of a volcanic eruption on Iceland. He indicated that we would be flying around the ash cloud and will be unaffected by the volcanic ash in the atmosphere. The flight went smoothly and we landed in Copenhagen at 7am Denmark time. I immediately went to baggage claim to retrieve my luggage so I could check-in for the Greenland flight. After about 30 minutes and no appearance of my bright yellow duffle bag, I went to Scandinavian Airlines to file a delayed baggage claim. I spent several hours trying to find my baggage through Scandinavian Airlines, with no luck. Finally, I sent my information to my wife in Pittsburgh and she was able to locate my lost baggage, in Chicago! She informed me that my baggage was on its way to Copenhagen and should arrive around 2pm Denmark time. I hope it gets here soon; my clothes are getting a bit ripe!

I figured that if I was going to be stuck in Copenhagen, that I might as well do a little exploration. So, I rented a bike from my hotel and peddled around Copenhagen. I made sure to visit as many landmarks as possible. One of the first things I noticed and appreciated was the abundance of bike paths and number of bike riders. It seemed like 50% of the people were riding bikes, young and old, casual and business, it was a major form of transportation in this city. I imagine that if cities in the US had a bike infrastructure like this, more people would ride to work and use for general transportation. One of the major benefits of having a major part of the population riding bikes is the reduction of carbon emissions. A second benefit is people staying in shape and being healthy.

Some of the significant places I visited in Copenhagen were: Tycho Brahe Planetarium (Tycho was one of the significant astronomers during the Copernican Revolution), multiple “gardens” or parks, the famous Little Mermaid, and several historical buildings in the center of Copenhagen.

On to the volcano! As I watch the news and speculate on the possible outcome of our next flight, I wonder how the rest of my research team is doing. Professor Konrad Steffen and the team from the University of Colorado at Boulder are stranded on the Greenland ice sheet, waiting for Air Greenland to pick them up and return them to Kangerlussuaq where I am expected to join them for the rest of the expedition. They have been at Swiss Camp since the beginning of May and I am sure they are ready to return to Kanger to get some much needed supplies and human interaction. The team will return to Kanger on a ski equipped twin otter airplane as soon as the airspace is safe. Until then they will have to wait patiently and hope for clear skies or an alternative mode of transportation to get them back to Kanger.

Until then, this is Jim Pottinger, signing off and hoping for clear skies!