Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/23/2012 - 11:41
Forums
High Arctic Change 2012

I've always wanted to visit Norway. Although I've never thought of it as a very icy place. Normally I hear of explorations to Alaska or one of the poles. Please tell me, why you chose Norway? This is a project for my school.

Tue, 07/24/2012 - 09:49

Dan Frost

Hello and thanks for the question. Norway is an beautiful place that I think you should certainly venture to for a number of reasons. For one, the coastline of Norway is dotted with long and steep walled bays called fjords. These fjord were carved out by glaciers on the way to the sea during glacial periods and subsequently filled by sea waters near the end of the glaciations as the glaciers receded and global sea level rose. While Norway is does not have quite as much ice as it did 20,000 years ago you can still find it in the southwestern alpine regions of the country. By simply going to google maps, you could learn quite the bit about the glaciers of Norway through some time spent navigating the landscape online. As for Svalbard, it is 60% glaciated today and for that reason along with its mountains, fjords, wildlife, and polar science I couldn't say no to an opportunity to explore it. Also, some say that the best geologist is the one whose seen the most rocks and this was one island of rocks I'd never seen! I hope this answers your question and let me know if you have any others.Sincerely,
Dan Frost