7 September 2017 R/V Sikuliaq Polar Profile: Introducing Dr Kristina Kvile!

My Polar Profile of the day will focus on Dr. Kristina Kvile. Kristina is a Postdoctoral scholar who works for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (also known as WHOI) in Woods Hole Massachusetts.

Kristina received her bachelor degree in biology from the University of Oslo in Norway and her masters degree in marine Biodiversity and Conservation while studying in Portugal and France. She earned her PhD in marine ecology from the University of Oslo. She grew up in Ålesund Norway, but now lives in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Kristina is a zooplankton ecologist and is helping sample zooplankton on this research trip, with a focus on copepod and krill. Specifically she will be working with Dr. Carin Ashjian from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Dr. Robert Campbell from the University of Rhode Island, investigating the life history of Arctic copepods of the genus Calanus. They’ve been catching a lot of these with the Tucker Trawl and Bongo nets in different layers of the pelagic zone.

What are you excited about on this research expedition?

While on this expedition Kristina is professionally most excited to measure the condition of Calanus copepods and see whether or not they can identify individuals who differ from what they expect to find at this time of year in this region of the Beaufort SeaThe Beaufort Sea lies to the north of Alaska and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.. Kristina’s most essential item for her work onboard the R/V Sikuliaq are her guides for identification of zooplankton species. Personally she’s excited to be in the Arctic and hopeful to see beluga and bowhead whales! While there have been sightings of bowheads and gray whales we’ve unfortunately not seen any beluga’s yet! Kristina’s essential personal item, not related to her research, are her seasickness pills and a good book! Presently she’s reading Birds In Fall by Brad Kessler.

Getting To Know You!

When I asked Kristina what career she was interested in when she was in elementary and middle school, she responded that she thought about becoming a journalist or writer. However her interest in nature, especially life in the oceans swayed her into her present profession! Kristina loves to snorkel or go Scuba diving especially in warm tropical water, although she did belong to a diving club when she was in the university in Norway. Her favorite unhealthy food is cake! “My mother’s family is very good at baking cakes…” Lol. I guess that could turn into a problem, but it’s a nice problem to have! Her favorite healthy food is oatmeal, which she usually has with milk and fruit for breakfast. While on the Sikuliaq she's been enjoying the morning fruits and granola! Her favorite books are by Haruki Murakami and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and while on the ship she enjoys listening to Serial – a murder mystery podcast.

Can you eat more bacon than Dr. Steve Okkonen?

I hadn’t met Dr. Okkonen before this trip so I wasn’t originally sure. Now that we’ve been at sea together for a week and a half, I can say, “probably not!”

Favorite Quote?

“I'll take the Norwegian saying: "Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær", meaning "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing". That's something I heard a lot growing up. And it fits well for a cruise in the Arctic!”

Any fun or interesting fact that other people might not know about?

Kristina practiced Capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) for about 10 years. Capoeira is a type of martial art that combines elements of fight, acrobatics, music and dance rituals. Kristina said that the history of Capoeira goes back to African slaves in Brazil. The slaves invented these martial art fighting techniques and disguised them with music, singing and dancing to prevent their captors from learning that they were actually practicing fighting techniques to defend themselves. Wow!

Through the Porthole: Arctic Artwork!