Vol. 7

AERC

National Institute of Polar Research

Arctic Environment Research Center

NEWSLETTER

June, 2002

VOL. 7

A FUTURE VISION
FOR ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH MEMORANDUM
WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA
VISITING PROFESSORSFISCAL 2002 RESEARCH PLANSRESEARCH REPORTS
1

photo: Lena river, Russia

AERC Newsletter

A FUTURE VISION FOR ARCTIC ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
FUJII Yoshiyuki (Head of Arctic Environment Research Center)
The scheme of scientific and technological research inJapan is at a major turning point, with the merger of the
Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture andthe Science and Technology Agency; the formulation of
the Science and Technology Basic Plan (2001-2005);
and proposals for the major restructuring of universities.
Against this background, the Arctic Environment
Research Center (referred to below as the Arctic Center)needs to come up with a new vision for the future.
“The environment” is one of 4 areas emphasized inJapan’s new basic plan for science and technology.
Within this broad area, the Council for Science andTechnology Policy has designated 5 scientific issues foremphasis including “Research on Global Warming”.
Consideration is being given to promoting unified
initiatives, crossing the boundaries between government
ministries, for each issue, with a scenario approach. In
the Arctic, where global warming is most in evidence,research on global warming is particularly important.
What are important in research on climatic andenvironmental variability are high quality observations
that are continued for a long time combined withresearch on unexplained elements in the process, andsynthesis of the results of the two.
The Arctic Center has established an observationalbase in Svalbard which serves as a cooperative facility
that is used by many university researchers. Subjects
studied at this base include atmospheric science, theterrestrial ecosystem and glaciology. We hope tostrengthen the long-term monitoring effort within theframework of the “Global Warming Research Initiative”.
This monitoring program would become the Arctic
counterpart of the monitoring being conducted at Syowa
Station in Antarctica. Understanding of global warming
and related phenomena requires long-term continuationof high quality monitoring efforts. Considering themulti-faceted natural environment of the Arctic, it isimportant to also establish environmental monitoringbases in Arctic regions of Russia, Canada and/or Alaska

to form a circumpolar observational network. Having
this kind of observational network in the Arctic is
expected to not only lead to primary results from themonitoring itself but also to attract a great many
researchers from these and other countries, leading tosecondary results as well.
In order to promote research in the Arctic efficiently
and effectively, it is important to have a cooperative
research system that provides for close coordination withother research organizations. The basis of such
coordination must be exchange and sharing of
information among researchers. The Arctic Center has
been providing a variety of information by issuing theCenter News and providing information on observations
by issuing the Japanese Arctic Research Directory thatwas started last year in cooperation with the Japan
National Committee for Polar Research of the Science
Council of Japan, and intends to continue to cooperate inbuilding a network of Arctic scientists in Japan.
We also need to cooperate with other Arctic researchorganizations. I believe that this should start withcooperative research with those institutions, each
institution complementing the other’s efforts. This would
include mutual sharing of observational and otherresearch facilities possessed by each institution. The next
step is to propose cooperative research projects. This
cooperation among research institutions and cooperative
research by scientists can form the basis for a
multi-layered cooperative research system.
At present, with Japan’s science and technology
system about to undergo major change, it is difficult toforesee the prospects for research in the Arctic.
Considering the importance of Arctic research in the
global environmental field, we must form a clear “granddesign” for Arctic research that considers the structuralchanges taking place in Japan. I hope to have numerous
opportunities to exchange views with other people
engaged in Arctic research in the months and years to
come.

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH MEMORANDUM WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA

In June 2001 the National Institute of Polar Research
signed a memorandum on cooperative research with theInternational Arctic Research Center and theGeophysical Institute of the University of Alaska. Thisagreement covers a wide range of cooperative research
for a period of 5 years, without being limited to any
specific research field or research project. This will
open the path for researchers from the National Instituteof Polar Research to conduct observations in the Alaska
region.
The signing ceremony was attended by this author,
Prof. Takehiko Aso and Prof. Takashi Yamanouchi
from the National Institute of Polar Research(photograph). These 3 scientists toured the International
Arctic Research Center and the Geophysical Institute,the Poker Flat Experiment Station near Fairbanks, andthe Barrow Arctic Science Consortium and NOAA
observational facilities at Point Barrow.
(byFUJII Yoshiyuki)

2Vol. 7

Visiting Professor（June-September, 2001）

Li Yuansheng
Polar Research Institute of China
Prof. Li Yuansheng is a Chinese scientist from thePolar Research Institute of China. He was born inInner Mongolia. He grew up in a small village in thegrassland near the boundary between Inner and Outer
Mongolia. He graduated from Nanjing University andreceived his B.Sc. in geochemistry in 1982. His firstjob after graduation was in Hebei Geological College
as an assistant professor in fluid inclusion
geochemistry in minerals from 1982 to 1986. He
moved to the Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese
Academy of Sciences in late 1986, where he studied
fluid inclusions in minerals in the Fluid Inclusion
Research Laboratory. In 1987 he was appointed Headof the Fluid Inclusion laboratory. He served in that
position for 9 years, from 1986 to 1995. He was thefirst young fellow in charge of a project (1988-1991)
supported by National Science Foundation of China
due to his discovery of natural immiscibility in granite
magma.
In late 1994 he was accepted to stay in Canada for
one year as a visiting scholar with financia l support
from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. But insteadof visiting Canada he chose to move to the Polar
Research Institute of China in 1995 because of his
interest in Antarctic glaciology. His first experience infield work in Antarctic glaciology was through acollaborative study with Japanese polar glaciologists.
He learned much from Prof. O. Watanabe, Prof. Y.
Fujii, Dr. H. Motoyama, Prof. T. Yamanouchi andother Japanese scientists on polar glaciology, snow
and atmospheric chemistry, and how to conduct oninland traverse on the Antarctic ice sheet. He joined
the JARE 38th overland traverse to Dome Fuji Stationin the 1996/1997 season. After returning to China, hebecame the leader of a CHARE inland traverse party,
which went to Antarctica two times for inland ice
sheet exploration from Zhongshan Base to Dome A.
In the 1998/1999 season, he and his members
succeeded in setting up a new glaciologicalobservation profile from Zhongshan Base to Dome A,
and reached 79 degrees and 16 minutes south. The
distance was 1100 km from the coast. According toProf. Fujii's suggestion, he collected drifting snow
samples on the route from Zhongshan Base to Dome
A. One of the major chemical results from the snow
samples is information on the spatial distribution of
nitrate in the Antarctic drifting snow. It provided new
knowledge about the nitrogen cycle over Antarctica
and its depositional process onto the ice sheet. His air
samples collected in the lower troposphere from

Shanghai to Zhangshan Base to DomeA, we also acquirednewknowledge
about the latitudinal
distribution of freon
in the lower atmosphere; the concentration of freon on the Antarctic
plateau is higher than that in middle latitudes in thesouthern hemisphere, and increases with elevation on
the Antarctic ice sheet.
Japanese polar glaciologists have more than 30
years of experience in Antarctic ice sheet expeditions,middle depth and deep ice core drilling. The Dome
Fuji ice core is the best one in the world both in its
quality and its drilling rate of progress. It is a great
contribution of Japanese scientists to international
glaciology, not only in science but also in technology.
Prof. Li's research work on Antarctic glaciology has
profited considerably from the glaciologists of the
National Institute of Polar Research, Japan.
The Antarctic ice sheet and the Arctic Greenland
ice cap play important roles in global change. We canobtain considerable information on the variation of
atmospheric circulation from chemical species anddust in polar snow and polar ice cores. The two largest
glaciological research profiles in the eastern Antarctic
ice sheet (Syowa Station to Dome F, and Zhongshan
Base to Dome A), and also the most important ice
core drilling sites at Dome Fuji and Dome A, havebeen and are being developed by JARE and CHARE,
respectively. Prof. Li Yuansheng will be actively
involved in research activities related to snow, ice core
and atmospheric chemistry on Dome A, and still will
be interested in Dome F field work and the Dome F
second deep ice core drilling project, in the future.
Snowfall, dust-fall and environment of theatmosphere during winter and spring in northern
China are also interesting research subjects. Prof. Li isplanning to do research on these subjects. The cold air
mass has strong influence on the weather in most partsof China and Japan. In the last few years sand anddust storms have occurred frequently in northern
China in winter and spring. We also should beconcerned of climate change in that region. Chemical
species, water and dust in fresh snowfall are indicativeof the environment of the atmosphere above the area.
Seasonal and annual variations of the sources of these
species, water vapor and dust (in different sizes) canbe used to provide important information about the3

AERC Newsletter

atmospheric circulation. For this purpose, building along distance field observation network in north China
is necessary and very important. The observation
profile should be from Huhehaote to Xilinhaote,
Wulanhaote and Mohe, with a length of about
2000km. The direction of the profile will be southwest

to northeast, almost perpendicular to the main winddirection. If we conduct field observations andcollect snow and dust samples every January andFebruary, we will obtain much valuable new
information.

Visiting Professor(September-December, 2001)

Henrik B. Clausen
University of Copenhagen
I come from the University of Copenhagen (UCPH),
Denmark, where I have been associated professor at
the Department of Geophysics since 1972. In 1963 I
took my master degree in chemical engineering at theTechnical University of Denmark and started to workfor prof. Willi Dansgaard at UCPH to develop a new
dating technique for ice bergs based on the naturalradioactive isotope 32 Si.
In the last 37 years I have spent more than 5 years
in Greenland and half a year in Antarctica.
In the last part of the 1960'ies our group got contact
to prof. Chester Langway, (at that time at CRREL in
Hanover, USA) who was involved in the first deep
drilling of ice cores to bedrock at Camp Century in1966 in Greenland.
This was the beginning to an extremely fruitfulcollaboration on ice core studies, a collaboration,
which from the early 1970 also involved our Swisscolleagues from University of Bern.
Especially the ice core dating by stable andradioactive isotopes and content of chemical
impurities became the main road of my scientificwork.
During the first half of the 1970'ies the American
thermodrilling technique was used to obtain ice coresto intermediate depths (some 400 m) for theAmerican/Swiss/ Danish ice core study program with
the intension of drilling to bedrock in central
Greenland.
The years 1977-78 are important years in ice corestudies: It became clear that the existing deep drillingsystem used at Camp Century and the thermodrillingsystem could not be used for a future deep drilling.
At UCPH an electromechanical drill for obtaining
ice cores to some 100 m was developed as well as a
new deep drilling technique, prof. Langway (now at
SUNYat
Buffalo,USA)
introduced
ionchromatography in chemical analysis of ice cores,
dr. C.U. Hammer at UCPH developed and introduced
the Electrical Conductivity Method (ECM) for acidity
measurements of ice cores and personally I had myfirst contact to a Japanese scientist in glaciology, dr.
Hitoshi Shoji in Buffalo (now at New Energy

Resources
ResearchCenter, Kitami).
All this ended in the
US / Swiss / Danish
GISP program, a
successful deep drilling to bedrock at Dye3,
SE
Greenlandin
1979-81.
The main scientific outcome of this project was aclear confirmation of the abrupt climatic changes
during the last glacial period, abrupt changes that wereobserved in the lowest 100 m of the Camp Century ice
core. Dye3 was not the most perfect site to perform adeep drilling, it was however the only place possible
with the funding available at that time. The summit
position of the Greenland ice cap had always been our
first priority for a deep drilling site, and during theyears after the Dye3 drilling we continued in the
US/Swiss/Danish GISP program to survey central
Greenland for a suitable drilling site by making many
shallow ice cores in the region.
Unfortunately it was not possible to continue the
US/Swiss/Danish deep drilling program, so in the late1980'ies we succeeded to create an European drilling
project GRIP that at the summit of the Greenland ice
cap reached bedrock in 1992. It was in 1987 I first met
prof. Watanabe, and in the following years thecollaboration between NIPR and UCPH grew in thefields of science based on ice core studies and in thedevelopment of deep ice core drilling technique, andJapan joined the GRIP deep drilling program together
with 8 European countries. In the present deep drilling
program in Greenland, NorthGRIP, 6 European
countries, Japan and USA participate.
I am extremely thankful to director Watanabe forgiving me an opportunity to spend 3 months as avisiting professor at NIPR and for me it has been arewarding and an inspiring experience to work withprof. Fujii and the group at AERC. Also by all the
hospitality and friendship I met, I learned at lot about
the Japanese way of life. For all this I want to express
my sincere thanks.

4Vol. 7

Fiscal 2002 Research Plans◆ Dynamic Coupling of the Middle Atmosphere and Thermosphere in the Arctic
ASO Takehikovariability, wave mode, east-west wave number,in-situ excitation, penetration of non-migrating
modes, north-south symmetry or asymmetry andnonlinear coupling of pertinent tidal waves; theeffect of ele ctromagnetic disturbances on the lower
atmosphere via wave excitation. In addition, the data
will be closely compared with the results ofsimultaneous ESR radar (IS) and SSR radar (MST)
observations.
(3) HF radar ..... We will conduct HF-radarobservations of thermosphere and magnetosphere
dynamics, wind field in the lower thermosphere inmeteor mode and PMSE occurrence.
(4) Aurora and airglow spectrograph ..... The aurora
spectrograph will be used to study correlation ofoxygen ion-line emission with ionosphericdisturbances due to particle precipitation observed by
EISCAT radar. We will attempt to derive neutral
atmosphere temperature from the analysis of OH
airglow spectrum.
(5) ALIS ..... We will try again the artificial aurora
experiment through simultaneous ALIS, EISCAT
heating and EISCAT radar rums and study altitude
distribution by tomographic reconstruction andinvolved
excitation
processesbyplasmameasurement. In addition, we will try auroral
tomography observations with ALIS, FAST satellite
and EISCAT radar.
(6) Numerical modeling and comprehensive
analysis: We will go on with comprehensive analysisof acquired data set and compare with numericalmodelings.

During FY2002, we will continue to work on theobservations of the dynamics in the Arctic polar
middleatmosphere,
thermosphereandmagnetosphere, and on the comprehensive data
analysis. In addition, during the year we will
introduce a data archiving server system with the aimof securing various data on the polar upper
atmosphere dynamics. The specific topics to be taken
up are as follows.
(1) EISCAT radar ..... Observations of the polar
magnetosphere and the middle atmosphere dynamics
by EISCAT radar will be continued. In addition,
based on simultaneous EISCAT heating and ground
optical observations, and on long term continuous
EISCAT data, we will investigate a variety ofproblems in the polar upper atmosphere including
coupling between plasma and neutral particles andion dynamics. The EISCAT radar data on the plasma
dynamics and electric field will be used toinvestigate
dynamical
coupling
betweengeomagnetic disturbances and neutral wind field in
simultaneous meteor and EISCAT radar runs.
(2) Meteor radar ..... We will continue with themeteor radar observations of the polar mesosphereand lower thermosphere dynamics, and perform
global-scale analysis of long term radar data. The
analysis combines these data with other radar andoptical observations from Arctic sites which are in
the same circumpolar latitude band or form a
conjugate point of an Antarctic station and also withother data including TIMED satellite. The analysis
will attempt to determine climatology and seasonal◆ Variations of Atmospheric Constituents and Their Climatic Impact in the Arctic
YAMANOUCHI Takashi
The purposes of this research are to clarify theexchange of carbon dioxide between atmospherevariability of greenhouse gases, aerosols, ozone andand ocean, to clarify the material cycle including
clouds in the Arctic troposphere and stratosphere,
sources, sinks and transport mechanisms. We are
the causes of that variability, and the respective
also considering participating in the EU’s seaborne
sources, sinks and transport processes; to compare
CONVECTION project, in collaboration with thethese results with similar results in the Antarctic;
oceanography group.
and to evaluate the effect on climate through the(2) Regarding aerosols and clouds, to the extent
radiative effect. The fiscal 2002 research plan is as
possible we will conduct ground observations at thefollows.
Ny-Ålesund base and also remote sensing(1) With regard to the greenhouse gases, groundobservations. In particular, we will observe amountobservations at the Ny-Ålesund base will beof precipitation, cloud water content and snowfall
continued. These fulfill the role of monitoring
particles to determine the relation of aerosols tothrough accumulation of highly accurate
clouds and precipitation. Together with the Doppler
observations. At the same time we will analyze theradar observations being conducted at Bear Island
relation between concentration in the atmospherein the Greenland Sea, observations at the two points
and stable isotope ratio and observations of theare being used to track the time development (or5AERC Newsletter

decay) of disturbances which pass over first one ofthe points and then the other. We hope in this way
to clarify the processes of development and decayof disturbances.
(3) Regarding the results of the ASTAR2000,
Arctic Study of Tropospheric Aerosols andRadiation,
conducted jointly by Japan andGermany at the end of fiscal 1999 and in the springof 2000, we are proceeding with combined analysisof results obtained by many researchers. We willcontinue to incorporate the observational results
into the HIRHAM, Arctic regional climate model,
to determine the radiation forcing and the effect on
climate.
(4) We will proceed with analysis of observations
taken on a jet aircraft flight across the Arctic Ocean
in March 2002 (AAMP02). The cross - Arctic flight
was mainly in the stratosphere, but included local
airborne observations in Alaska and around
Svalbard. These observations aimed to measuregreenhouse gases and to clarify the transport ofaerosols, the aerosol radiative effect, and thestructure of clouds and turbulence. In particular, we
will concentrate on analysis of long range transportof substances in the atmosphere, exchanges
between the troposphere and stratosphere, optical
thickness in the upper troposphere and stratosphere,
and growth and decay of the Polar Low. We will
also analyze the concentrated observations thatwere conducted on the ground at Ny-Ålesund
simultaneously with the airborne observations.
Regarding optical thic kness in the upper
troposphere and lower stratosphere, we willcompare the airborne observations with SAGE-III
satellite observations, and will analyze theatmospheric circulation field and trajectories using
objectively analyzed meteorological data at the timeof the airborne observations. Since these wereinternational cooperative observations conductedjointly with Germany and other countries, we willhold workshop sessions in Japan and in othercountries including Norway and Germany, and will
participate in meetings at which results will beannounced.

◆ Research on Global and Local Environmental Variabilities Using Ice Cores Drilled Around the Arctic
GOTO-AZUMA Kumiko
The polar regions, as cold sources, play important
Paleoclimate(ICAPP) project being carried out
roles in the Earth’s climatic system, together with
under the International Arctic Scientific Committee
the tropics acting as a heat source. The transport(IASC), last year a preliminary survey was carriedprocesses that occur between the tropical heatout on the Mt. Logan Glacier in Canada. As a result
source and the polar cold sources transport
it became clear that the most suitable location for
substances from many sources toward the polar
drilling an ice core is King Col (4,200meters) on Mt.
regions where these transports converge, and theLogan. During the current fiscal year, we aresubstances are deposited on and preserved indrilling an ice core on King Col with the aim ofglaciers and ic ecaps. Substances in ice cores form
reproducing past climates and environments on thetime series of such deposits. The amounts andPacific side of the Arctic, and analyzing the core on
composition ratios of substances in the coressite. The ice core will also be brought back to Japan
become indices of climatic and environmental
and analysis started. We are also conducting ice
variability. In addition, the expansion andradar and GPS observations on King Col to observe
contraction of the polar cryospheres greatly affects
the ice thickness and glacier flow.
their roles as cold sources.
2) Under the ICAPP project, in Alaska, where until
There are great differences in climatic andnow there have been almost no records of pastenvironmental variability from one region toclimate and environment changes, ice core drilling
another. To clarify the mechanism of climatic andis planned. During the current fiscal year aenvironmental variability in the Arctic, it ispreliminary survey will be conducted. It will
necessary to clarify the climatic and environmental
include preliminary glacier observations includingchanges that occurred in the past in many regions.
observations of snow melt conditions and snow
In the present research, we are drilling ice cores ataccumulation.
many locations, and analyzing them to reproduce
3) In continuation of work done last year, we will
past climatic and environmental changes throughout
participate in North GRIP (North GReenland Icecap
the Arctic. At the same time, we are seeking tocore Project) and analyze a deep ice core that wasclarify the present motions of the Arctic cryosphere,
drilled last year. Through comparison of the results
mainly using observations.
that are obtained with results obtained from analysis
During the current fiscal year, we are emphasizingof the Dome Fuji deep ice core drilled in Antarctica,
the drilling and analysis of ice cores. Specifically,
we will compare ice age cycles in the Arctic and
we are doing the following research.
Antarctic, and research the mechanism of large
1) As one link in the International Circum-Arctic
scale climatic variability.

6Vol. 7

◆ Research on Arctic Ocean Dynamics and Ecosystem Variability
FUKUCHI Mitsuo
In addition to the CASES project, we are alsoplanning to participate in international cooperative
research in the Greenland Sea, the Barents Sea andthe Arctic Ocean around Svalbard. At the same time,
we will attempt to evaluate the effect of the ocean
ecosystem on the terrestrial ecosystem, and toparticipate in international research conferences held
to plan international cooperative observations
relevant to this research.
At the same time, we will be gathering
information about the Southern Ocean that is
indispensable to evaluate the relation of oceanic
motions and ecosystem variability in the Arctic toglobal scale environmental variability; and to theextent possible will take observations for the purposeof comparison.
During the current fiscal year we will hire
research assistants to process and analyze data andsamples obtained thus far and, to the extent possible,
to provide specialized support to the fieldobservations.

In April, 2002, an international conference washeld in the Netherlands to discuss plans forinternational oceanographic observations in the
Arctic Ocean region. We plan to participate actively
in these observations and to seek to fit the present
research topic into an international framework.
This year, the first cruise of CASES (Canadian
Arctic Shelf Exchange Study), centering on Laval
University, is planned. A workshop is to be held in
Rimouski, Quebec, to finalize plans for the firstyear’s cruise. We plan to attend the workshop andparticipate in discussing the division of labor for the
fiscal 2002 observations as well as planning for what
will follow. We plan to participate in the CASES
cruise to the polynya region in the eastern Beaufort
Sea, where mooring observations will be conducted,that is planned for September 2002.
A meeting is planned in California in March 2003
to report on the results of the current year’s cruise
and to make plans for the next year. We will attend to
the extent possible.

◆ Research on Environmental Change in the Arctic Tundra
KANDA Hiroshi
to evaluate the effect on colony formation indifferent environments. During the current fiscal year,
we plan to carefully examine the change in fungus
colonies accompanying warming after 1 year. We
plan to cooperate with Norwegian researchers in
deploying new chambers in a number of plantcolonies to study the effect of ultraviolet radiation onvegetation.
During the current fiscal year, for the purpose ofcomparison with ecosystem variability following
deglaciated area on Spitsbergen, we will start a fullscale biological and geological study of tundra
ecology on Ellesmere Island in Arctic Canada. In apreliminary survey conducted in July last year, we
conducted the following observations from a base at
Oobloyah Bay, a major observation point on
Ellesmere.
1) Research on the distributions and diversity ofplants, mosses, lichens, algae and soil
microorganisms around the base.
2) Research on the moisture physiology andphotosynthetic activity in Sanionia uncinata.
3) Research on breeding ecology, seen from themorphological and sexual characteristics of Cassiope
tetragona.
4) Surveys of glacial geomorphology and vegetation
after glacial retreat.

The Terrestrial Environment Research Group has
been researching the carbon cycle in the deglaciatedarea left by the receding Ostbr øgger Glacier nearNy-Ålesund, Spitsbergen. The principal research
topics are the amounts of carbon and nitrogen in thesoil, release of carbon dioxide from the groundsurface (rate of soil respiration), biomass and activityof soil microorganism, root biomass and respiration
activity, and primary production of vascular plants(Arctic willow) and mosses (Sanionia uncinata ).
During fiscal 2002, like last year, we plan to survey
the carbon environment on moraines nearNy-Ålesund in different stages of plant succession
following glacial retreat, from many study sites. We
believe that by obtaining more data to add to ourexisting data, we will be able to construct a
compartment model of the carbon cycle in theecosystem using measurements of pure primary
productivity in different areas.
In addition, we will conduct a phenology surveyof Polygonium vivitarum and continue our survey ofthe type of breeding that takes place. In particular,
we plan to take data on the meaning of preformationand the accumulation of stored substances. Since it is
known that the Pythium sp. fungus, which isparasitic on communities of Sanionia uncinata, plays
an important role in the process of decomposition oftundra vegetation, last year we deployed a chamber

7

AERC Newsletter

Research Reports

Radar Observations on Bear Island (report of stay at the Island)
ASUMA Yoshio (Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University)
Bear Island, or Bjørnøya in Norwegian, lies at(74°18’N, 19°06’E) in the Norwegian Sea, about
200km south of the southern tip of Spitsbergen andabout 500km south of the NIPR polar observation
station at Ny-Ålesund (Fig. 1). Bear Island is about
20km in the north-south direction and 15km in theeast-west direction, with an area of 176 square
kilometers. We set up a vertically pointing Doppler
radar here and collected data for about 8 month,from October 1999 to June 2000, to investigate
precipitation and storm activities in the Arctic. Bear
Island lies near the northernmost branching point of
the Gulf Stream; one branch flows northeastward
along the coast of the Norwegian Peninsula, while
the other flows directly northward. Since the sea
surface nearby Bear Island does not freeze overeven in the mid-winter, many storms pass overhead
the island. For this reason, the island receives agreat amount of precipitation even in the
mid-winter as well as in other seasons. Here is awell-known place where “the most beautiful polarlow” turns up in meteorological satellite images. On
the other hand, Ny-Ålesund is located in thenorthern Spitsbergen, where the surrounding ocean
surface is frozen over in the mid-winter. As a result,it receives very little precipitation. Almost the same
type of the radar system is installed at Ny-Ålesund;our objective was to compare the two sites by radar.

In Bear Island, radar echoes appeared almost every
day, and radar reflectivities were strong. Detailed
analysis is still in progress and the results will bepresented at a later opportunity; here I will report
the life of Bear Island Meteorological Station.
There is no regular air or ferry service to Bear
Island, so the Norwegian Coast Guard ships areused. It takes 3 days from Tromsø. As implied by
the island’s name, it is a small island which is aparadise for polar bears. There used to be many
residents on the island with a mine and a railroad,but nowadays it is a ghost town. All that is there
today is the Meteorological Station of Det Norske
Meteoroligiske Institutt (Fig. 2), at the northern tipof the island. The Meteorological Station issurrounded by 20m high cliffs from the sea, above
which is a broad wetland. The station is operated by
7 or 8 people; each crew is replaced after half a year
on duty. Half of the crew members work for themeteorological institute and the other half for theradio and telecommunication institute. Except for 2
cooks, all crew members take both meteorologicalobservations and have radio communication duties.
The station operates 24 hours, with 3 shifts each day.
This Meteorological Station provides both surface
and upper air observations in the middle of theNorwegian Sea, where is data sparse Arctic area tothe whole world. The station
also serves as an important basefor rescues at sea. The
Meteorological Station has an
excellent helicopter platform
and a huge hangar. I stayed
there for 1 week, during whichtime the helicopter came andwent frequently. Its crew
members had their meals at thestation and rested there briefly
between flights.
The Meteorological Stationbuilding was built in 1964; it
underwent major renovation in1994 and is well equipped withmodern facilities. It has a large
dinning room, drawing room,training gym and pool bar, andis quite a comfortable place to8Vol. 7

attacked my head. Since there was no place to run
and hide, it was frightening. It was like a Hitchcock
movie. Later the station director told me that if one
carries a long pole they will attack just the tip of thepole so it is safe for the person, and that if you
approach from below the cliff you can see them up
close without being attacked; but I did not feel likerisking another attack.
A bit removed from the cliffs, one is in the area
occupied by the wild ducks. They were also laying
eggs, but were more peaceful than the sea gulls.
They had nests on the rocks and the females
guarded the eggs closely. The female wild ducks arewell camouflaged so that it is hard to tell them apartfrom the surrounding rocks. In striking contrast, themale birds are large and stand out. When I
approached a female wild duck that was sitting on
her eggs, she did not move in the slightest, and sat
on her eggs. However, when I approached very
close, she suddenly flew away, startling me. Threelarge pale green eggs remained in the nest. I suspectthat the female wild duck was trying to attract
attention to herself in a desperate attempt to distract
the perceived enemy from the eggs. I had second
thoughts about interfering with egg laying.

Fig. 2come, and there is also a functioning post office).
Looking at photographs of past crew members on
the wall, I noticed that starting about 1980 thestation had female crew members; while I was there
3 of the crew members were female. Since there
where a total of 7 crew members, it was a goodratio.
In winter polar bears frequently come on sea ice,and have claimed a number of victims. For somereason the polar bears seem to like science andshow a great deal of interest in the meteorologicalinstruments (I remember hearing the same thingfrom a Canadian scientist). For this reason measures
are taken to protect all of the outdoor instrumentsfrom polar bears; they are surrounded by nets andcages. Of course, we also took measures to protect
our radar from polar bears (Fig. 3: Normally theladder is removed). All entrances to the station are
equipped with signal grenades, to warn of bears,
and with rifles. Today all of the station buildings
including the upper air station, the helicopter hangar
and living quarters are all connected by long indoor
hallways so it is possible to move among themwithout going outside, largely eliminating thedanger of being attacked by a bear. In addition,
there are 5 or 6 dogs in exposed locations; normallywhen approached they will happily greet a person,
but it seems that they will also gang up to drive abear away. I was shown a video of the dogs drivinga polar bear away; their vigor in attacking the bear
was impressive.

The work at the Meteorological Station waspleasant. Electricity was generated by the station’s
own generator, but the supply was very stable.
Breakfast was at 8 a.m., lunch at 12 noon anddinner at 6 p.m., but since work goes for 24 hours,
snacks and drinks are always left out in the dinning
room. The time difference between Bear Island andJapan is 7 hours in summer. Since there is no town
where one can go shopping, it is possible to live on
Japan time. After dinner I talked with crew
members for a while. Since wine was served withdinner, I felt sleepy and went to bed at 8 p.m. due toalcohol and jet lag, even though it was a bit early. I
woke up at 1 or 2 a.m. and start to work. Since it
was mid-night sun, and I did my work in the

In summer, Bear Island is a paradise for birds. In
June, when we removed our radar, it was thebreeding season for sea birds. The coastal cliffs
were monopolized by sea gulls; one could not evenapproach them. When I tried, at first many sea gulls
stood atop the cliff and posed menacingly. When I
failed to get the message and tried to takephotographs of their striking pose, they started tocircle overhead, made menacing sounds and thenFig. 39

AERC Newsletter

helicopter hangar and the upper air station, a longway from the living quarters, with no one normallyaround, I could work smoothly at my own pace
without worrying about the time. Of course when I
need something from the Meteorological Station, I
asked for it during daytime hours.
Supplies were transported from the Norwegian
mainland to the island by the Norwegian Coast
Guard. There is an agreement with theMeteorological Station according to which the
Coast Guard is fully responsible for the station’stransport. When I shipped our supplies to the island,
it was on board the Lance, which has appeared in
the pages of this Newsletter before; the return wason the Nordkapp. It was in June, when the island’s
barge was still frozen into the ice and could not be
used, so transport from the station to the ship wasby helicopter (Fig. 4). Considering the cost,transportation by helicopter would be inconceivable
in Japan. What was also surprising was the level ofactivity of the female crew members. The female

Fig. 4helicopter engineer expertly loaded the supplies
onto the helicopter. I could only marvel at thefemale crew member’s work.

Siberian Snow Accumulation Survey
FUKASAWA Tatsuya (Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University )This was my first Siberian snow accumulation
survey. It was also the first time that I went into thefield with primary responsibility for a survey. On
March 10, 2001, 3 of us -- Yoshiyuki Fujii, Directorof the Arctic Environment Research Center,
National Institute of Polar Research; Naoyuki
Kurita, a doctoral candidate at graduate school ofenvironmental
earth
science ,Hokkaido
University; and myself, took off from Narita
Airport in an Aeroflot plane. Our mission was toconduct a survey of snow accumulation. We took 6nights and 7 days to travel the 1,500km from
Yakutsk to Magadan. Our plan was to observe thelayer structure of the accumulated snow, measure
the snow density and take snow samples about
every 100km. After return to Japan, the snow

samples would be analyzed for chemicalcomposition, heavy metal composition, oxygenisotopes and so on to clarify the amount ofpollutants deposited and the origin of water vapor.
Another important objective was to take samples
at several locations removed from the road to study
the effect of the road. We were accompanied by V.N.
Makarov of the Yakutsk Permafrost ResearchInstitute, Russian Academy of Sc iences; our driver
Sasha; and our mechanic Misha. Prof. Fujii traveled
separately from Yakutsk to St. Petersburg to attend
a conference.
On the morning we left Yakutsk, as we waited in
front of our hotel the vehicle that appeared in frontof us was a truck, several years old and outfittedwith summer tires. The cabin was painted orange todistinguish it from a military truck.
That was the cabin in which Kurita
and I spent the next 6 days. We
loaded our supplies, bid farewell to
Fujii and finally got under way at
7a.m. on March 14, 2001, 1 day later
than planned.
Immediately after leaving the city
we crossed the frozen Lena River,then drove on a frozen tributary.
Occasionally the driver slammed on
the brakes to stop before a bit of thin
ice, then backed up to avoid it, but in10

Vol. 7any case we safely reached the first observation
point at 5p.m. Kurita and I prepared our equipment
and headed to take the first sample. The
temperature was -12.3 degrees C, and the sun was
low in the sky. The snow was 30cm deep, with 1cm
of fresh snow on the surface. Below it were layersof solid-type depth hoar and depth hoar, while thebottom layer, more than 10cm thick, has granularsnow crystals of grain size 5 to 10mm. I was very
excited to see granular snow crystals for the firsttime. Soon the sun started to set. We rushed to takeour samples and finished all of our work just as the
sun finished setting at 6:30.
I thought that we were through for the day andwas about to relax when the truck started off for the
next observation point. It was 11p.m. before wearrived at our camp site. By then the temperature
had dropped to almost -30 degrees C. In our little
cabin we had a welcoming party with a dinner ofsoup, bread and vodka. Since it was late at night,
we drank only a little bit of vodka and climbed into
our sleeping bags.
The next morning, although still a wee bit groggy
from the vodka, we started our activity with thesunrise. After taking the first samples of the day wereturned to the truck for breakfast. We drove to thenext point 100km away and took more samples,
then after lunch drove to the next point another100km away and took still more samples, thenrepeated the process yet another time, driving
another 100km and taking more samples. Naturally,
we arrived late at night and had only a light evening
meal. We went to sleep and got up to start sampling
early in the morning again, repeating the patternthat would be with us the rest of the trip.
The 4th day, to test the effect of the road we didsampling at points 200m (our normal sampling
point), 1km, 5km and 10km from the road along a
track perpendicular to the road. We conductedreconnaissance at a number of points but decided
that those points were not suitable, and wound up
doing it at a location which we had guessed would
be suitable from looking at a map. To confirm that
there were no sources of pollutant discharge awayfrom the road, we first drove to the farthest pointfrom the road, measured the distance to that pointwith the vehicle’s odometer, did our sampling there
and then returned. We completed our sampling at
10km, 5km and 1km, then started to drive towardthe 200m point. When we did, we suddenly cameupon the road. The distance was 200m. That would
seem to indicate that we had skipped the samplingat the 1km point. It seems that what I had been
confirming visually was distance at an angle to theroad. In addition, it seems that error had crept into
the trip meter, perhaps because of snow and thepoor road. In panic I asked Dr. Makarov to return,but he was not very understanding, and we started
to develop a mutual dislike for one another. Be thatas it may, unless we returned I could not do thesampling correctly. I persisted, and eventually Dr.
Makarov gave in and we were able to finish thesampling. After that, as if to make up for the losttime we drove straight to the next point, andcamped.
Along the way we had engine trouble when aspark plug became wet with fuel and would nolonger spark, ran out of drinking water and ran outof bread, but but in the end we made it to Magadansafely. For the first time in a while, we saw city
streets and the ocean again. We took our last
samples within the city to end the survey. The total
distance we had driven was about 2,000km. The lastnight we had a farewell party in the hotel. We
traveled from Magadan to Vladivostok the nextmorning, and arrived back in Japan March 22.

Every day we started sampling with the sunrise
and finished sampling when the sun set. The rest of
the time was devoted to moving from place to place,in what amounted to a death march. The
temperature plunged rapidly as soon as the sun set,
dipping below -30 degrees C. Considering age, I
expect that Dr. Makarov and the other Russians had
it a good deal rougher than we did. The number ofdays was less than originally planned, the distancecovered longer and the amount of snow greater. It is
primarily because of the support of Dr. Makarov
and the other Russians that we were neverthelessable to complete our work successfully. We
returned to Japan and to our normal researchroutines, but while analyzing the samples alongwith our students, we thought back to the field workand felt a sense of thanks for the help that we
received.
Finally, I wish to thank Prof. Fujii of the National
Institute of Polar Research, who suggested that I
take part in this research, and Mr. Kurita of the
Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science,
Hokkaido University, who shared the field workwith me.

11

AERC Newsletter

Superconducting Gravimeter Observations at Ny-Ålesund in the Arctic
FUKUDA Yoichi (Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University)
After leaving Amsterdam, I changed planes at
Oslo and Troms ø, and arrived at Longyearbyen at
1:30a.m., under the midnight sun. I was scheduled
to take a charter flight to Ny-Ålesund the nextmorning, but that day it was foggy and the flight
was canceled, so I arrived one day late. Looking
down on the base from the airstrip, which is on aplateau, the ground was completely covered withsnow except for roads which had been plowed,
forming a beautiful contrast with the blue ocean inwhich some sea ice was still present. This was in
May 2000, when I visited Ny-Ålesund to do
maintenance work on the superconducting
gravimeter and continue the observations.
The superconducting gravimeter observations are being conducted at Ny-Ålesund,which forms the 7th observation point of GGP(Global Geodynamics Projects)-Japan. Theseobservations were started in September 1999
by Tadahiro Sato of National Astronomical
Observatory, with assistance from the OHP(Ocean Hemisphere Project). A detailed explanation of the superconducting gravimeter
observations and the GGP appeared inJapanese in a special issue of Gekkan Chikyu(Earth Monthly), published by Kaiyo Shuppan,
titled “Superconducting Gravimeter Network”(Vol. 242, 1999), and a related paper appearedin EOS (Vol. 80, No. 11, 1999). Details of thesuperconducting gravimeter observations at
Ny-Ålesund were published by Nawa et al (Gekkan
Chikyu, Vol. 259, 33-39). These papers explain the
purpose of the superconducting gravimeter observations, recent results, and the process by which theobservations at Ny-Ålesund came to be undertaken
and their present status.
What most people think of when they hear theword “gravimeter” is a portable type gravimetersuch as the Lacoste gravimeter. These are usedmostly in outdoor surveys to determine theunderground density structures. There are also a
number of other reasons why one might want tomeasure gravity, and several types of gravimeters
for those different purposes. The superconducting
gravimeter introduced here is a permanently
installed type relative gravimeter which cannot be
moved easily and is used to study changes ofgravity over time at a single location.
There are several reasons why gravity varies withtime; the variations of largest amplitude are caused
by earth tides. “Earth tides” is a generic term forchanges in the earth’s gravitational potential andshape caused by the gravitational attraction of thesun and moon, similar to the ebb and flow of theocean tide. In particular, the variation of gravity iscalled the gravity tide. Since the motions ofheavenly bodies which cause the gravitational
attraction (input signals) are known very accurately,
tidal observations aim to observe the earth’s
response (output signals) in order to determine theelastic and viscous properties of the earth’s interior.
This is one of the most important purposes ofobservations using a permanently installed relative
gravimeter.

The spring type gravimeters which were used
before superconducting gravimeters came into
general use toward the end of the 1980s were barely
adequate to determine the δ-factor (ratio between
gravity variations of a rigid earth and an elastic
earth, an index of the earth’s elasticity) of the la rge
amplitude diurnal and semidiurnal tides (theprincipal tidal components). This situation changed
greatly with the introduction of the superconducting
gravimeter, which provides both high sensitivity(detection accuracy of 1ngal = 1x10-11 m/s2 or
better) and long term stability (mechanical drift on
the order of several microgals per year). Recent
gravitational tide observations encompass a greatly
expanded range of research objectives including
research on the latitudinal dependence of the δ-factor, determination of the earth’s interior
viscosity from phase displacement and research oncore - mantle coupling from fluid core resonancethat occurs in the diurnal tide.
From the point of view of acceleration
measurement, vertical accelerations due to gravity
12Vol. 7and to seismic movements differ only in frequency,
so the superconducting gravimeter, which canmeasure over a wide range of frequencies, can also
be used as a highly sensitive seismometer formeasuringlong
periodverticalseismic
accelerations. A well known example of recent
research using this possibility is the discovery of theincessant excitation of the Earth’s free oscillations(Nawa et al, PEPI, 120, 289-297, 2000). It now
appears the Earth’s free oscillations, which it had
been believed were only excited by large
earthquakes, are present constantly, probably
excited by atmospheric motions. This is considered
one of the most important discoveries of earthscience in the 1990s. The opportunity for this
discovery was created by observations with thesuperconducting gravimeter at Syowa Station in
Antarctica.

variations of gravity is the basic concept behindsatellite gravity missions that are expected to bringabout a revolution in earth science in the 21st
century, starting with the GRACE satellite that was
launched in March 2002. The significance of having
demonstrated that concept by ground based
observations is very great.
Thus, superconducting gravimeter observations
have added precision to Earth tide observations, and,at the same time, provided a number of other resultsthat could not have been foreseen until now. The
purpose of GGP is to promote further progress inthis research through international cooperation. In
addition, GGP-Japan maintains the observation
points that have been established by Japan andserves as a point of contact for Japanese researchers
for the purpose of data exchange. Ny-Ålesund is
GGP-Japan’s 7th observation point, after Syowa
Station, Canberra (Australia), Bandung (Indonesia),
Kyoto, Matsushiro and Esashi. In the past,superconducting gravimeter observation points
were concentrated in mid-latitudes of the Northern
Hemisphere, in Europe, Japan and North America,
but in research on global scale phenomena,
especially those that are latitude dependent, it isclear that it is indispensable to have a north-south
distribution of observation points. From this pointof view, researchers from Japanese institutions,principally the National Institute of Polar Research,
started observations at Syowa Station in 1992-1993.
Subsequently, observation points were establishedat Canberra and Bandung. With the establishmentof the observation point at Ny-Ålesund, thelatitudinal coverage of the network of points iscomplete. It is a pleasure to note that, stimulated bythis Japanese activity (GGP-Japan maintains 1/3 ofall of GGP’s observation points), other countries
have established or are planning new observation
points in South Africa and South America.
Thus, the superconducting gravity observations at
Ny-Ålesund form one link in a worldwide network,
and, at the same time, are coordinated withobservations at Syowa Station, in the opposite polar
region. It is hoped that data from the two stations
can be combined to detect translation movements ofthe Earth’s core and gravity changes that
accompany internal gravity waves in the fluid core.
If these attempts are successful, the result could be
one of the first great discoveries of the 21st century.
In addition, from the geographical location of
Ny-Ålesund, detection of secular gravity changes
that accompany post - glacial rebound can also be
expected. For this purpose, it is not sufficient toonly measure gravity; it is important to makecomprehensive observations, including accurate
observations of position changes using a spacesurveying technology such as VLBI or GPS, andPhoto:The superconducting gravimeter with
replenishment of liquid helium in progress.
From left are the gravimeter control unit, thesuperconducting gravimeter main unit, theliquid helium transport Dewar tank and thepersonal computer used for data logging.
Outside of the observation room there isadditional equipment including a freezer
compressor and a chiller used to cool thecompressor.
Meanwhile, the long term stability of thesuperconducting gravimeter is being exploited to doimportant research on long term gravity variations.
This includes not only the study of long period tides
with periods of 14 days (Mf) and more, but also
gravity variations accompanying polar motions (thevertical component of centrifugal force variationaccompanying instantaneous perturbations of theearth’s rotation axis), which had been previously
known theoretically but were virtually impossible toobserve. With the superconducting gravimeter they
are observed as a matter of course. In addition,although at present this involves only the annual
term, gravity variations caused by changes of massthat accompany oceanic motions are being observedby the superconducting gravimeters at Syowa
Station, in Australia and at Esashi in Japan (Sato etal, PEPI, 123, 45-63, 2001). This is the first time inhistory that gravity observations on the ground haveobserved long period oceanic variability other thantidal motions.
The concept of monitoring fluid motions on theearth’s surface, including motions in the atmosphere,
ocean, ground water and ice sheets, by monitoring
13

AERC Newslettersurface tide observations on - site. Syowa Station is
one of the observation points where all of theseobservations are being made, and the Ny-Ålesundbase also satisfies these conditions.
To detect secular gravity changes it is also
important to make absolute gravity observations. In
Ny-Ålesund, with the research cooperation of GGP,
in the summer of 2000 a French researcher madeabsolute gravity observations, which were followedby similar observations by a German researcher inAugust 2001. It is perhaps necessary for Japan toalso make efforts toward conducting continuing
absolute gravity observations both at Syowa Station
and Ny-Ålesund.
These are the dreams and expectations created bysuperconducting gravimeter observations. It is alsoa fact that continuing such observations can becometroublesome. One of the most important operations
in maintaining the superconducting gravimeter isreplenishing liquid helium to maintain the ultra lowtemperature (see Photo). Japanese scientists say thatthey are “feeding” the gravimeter. When done inJapan, this is normally done by a group of at least 2
people, but while I was in Ny-Ålesund I was the
only one from Japan there, so I first showed a videoof the operation to researchers from the Norwegiancartographic office who were to help me (there are
3 people in residence to conduct VLBI observations,etc.) so that they would know what to do. They
were very capable people, and immediately

understood the operation. Mr. Herge, the one who
actually helped me, was a fairly tall man (I am notexactly short for a Japanese) and was able to checkthe liquid helium level without using a stand,whereas I would need a stand. He was also able toremove a fairly heavy cooler called the cold headfrom the gravimeter main unit without difficulty. I
realized that being big can be an advantage in sucha situation, and my own job was made much easier
as a result. Thanks to Mr. Herge and his coworkers,
a series of operations starting with the liquid helium
replenishment and including the installation of a
new thermometer, moving of the cooler and otherplanned work went smoothly, leaving time for Mr.
Herge and his coworkers to invite me out for asnowmobile tour on Sunday afternoon.
The one week went by quickly. Monday morning,I secretly hoped that it would get foggy to delay thearrival of the plane that was to take me back tonoisy Japan, but unfortunately the plane wasalready waiting for me on the runway immediately
in front of the gravimeter laboratory.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to Dr.
Shinji Morimoto of the Arctic Environment
Research Center, National Institute of Polar
Research, who helped greatly with myarrangements for lodging in Ny-Ålesund andLongyearbyen, and reservations for the charter
aircraft.

Water relations of Sanionia uncinata moss
- Terrestrial Biology Research at Ny-Ålesund
UENO Takeshi(The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
In high latitudes of the Arctic, the most importantfactor determining the distribution of plants is thewater availability during the growing period. In the
deglaciated area of Austre Brøgger Glacier nearNy-Ålesund, topographical conditions create a variety
of moisture environments, and it is easy to observe theplant distribution pattern along water gradients.
Since mosses do not have roots to absorb moisturefrom the soil, they can live on severely dry, rocky soil
where other plants cannot put down roots. In
Ny-Ålesund, mosses are the terrestrial plants thatgrow in the driest ground.
Mosses can withstand desiccation by becoming
dormant. They are capable of restoring physiologicalactivity quickly once water is absorbed. This does notmean that all mosses grow in dry ground. There are
species that are only capable of growing in wetlands.
What causes this difference in distribution? It isbelieved that one factor is a difference in physiological

Photo 1:
Sanionia uncinata. On dry ground this moss
forms a dense colony, while on wet ground it
forms more spaced - out colonies. This photo isof a colony on dry ground.
14

Vol. 7

Photo 2:
Wet ground. This is at the base of a small
hill. For at least one month while snow melt
water is being supplied much of the groundsurface here is covered by water.
response to dehydration.
One method of discovering a difference inphysiological response to dehydration to compare
water relations. Water relations of mosses include therelationship between relative water content and water
potential, the water potential at which turgor pressure
is lost, and the osmotic potential when adequate water
has been absorbed (full turgor pressure). However, inthe high latitude Arctic there are no previous reports
on measurements of these characteristics. Therefore,
we decided to measure the water potentials of mosses
growing in different water environments aroundNy-Ålesund, and determine their water relations. The
measurements were performed on Sanionia uncinata(Photo 1). This moss grows in a wide variety of water
environments around Ny-Ålesund, from wetlands(Photo 2) to dry ground (Photo 3), so it is a very
convenient moss on which to compare the water
relations of mosses growing in different water
environments. Let us now discuss the water relationsof Sanionia uncinata growing in wet ground and in
dry ground.
First, let us discuss the relation between relative
water content and water potential. In the type of
Sanionia uncinata that grows in dry ground (referred
to as the D-type below), the water potential decreases
rapidly as the relative water content decreases. On theother hand, in the type of Sanionia uncinata thatgrows in wet ground (referred to as the W-type below),
the water potential decreases more gradually as therelative water content decreases. This difference
reflects a difference in the increase of absorption
capacity with loss of water. It is believed thatcompared to the W-type, the absorption capacity of

the D-type increases rapidly as water is lost.
Next, let us discuss the water potential when turgorpressure is lost, and the osmotic potential whenadequate water has been absorbed. In most plants, thelower the water potential when turgor pressure is lostthe easier it is to maintain turgor pressure when
dehydration occurs; this value is affected by theosmotic potential when adequate water has beenabsorbed. Compared to the W-type, the D-type has alower value of water potential when turgor pressure is
lost, and the osmotic potential when adequate water as
been absorbed is also lower. It is believed that theD-type is more resistant to drying than the W-type.
The 2000 field survey in Ny-Ålesund was
conducted in a stressful situation. There was no end ofreports of polar bear sightings in the center of town
and near the airstrip, and a polar bear warning wasissued. For this reason, it was necessary to assemble a
party to go out into the field. This was so that one
person could always be on watch (when observing
small plants one’s face is just above the ground and it
is impossible to watch what is going on around you).
We all carried rifles, but if you are attacked before you
can pull the trigger, it is all over. There is always
danger in field surveys conducted in nature, but when
you are in a place like Ny-Ålesund with all kinds offacilities, it is easy to forget about the danger.
Ny-Ålesund presents a peaceful ambience, where
grazing reindeer can be often sighted, this experiencereminded us that in Ny-Ålesund we are treading into
severe nature.

Photo 3:
Dry ground. This is on top of a small hill.
Since the principal source of water here israin, the ground is alternately wet and dry
depending on the weather. Patterned
ground is well developed here; Sanionia
uncinata grows in the spaces between
polygon and polygon.

15

AERC Newsletter

ALIS, Aurora and Artificial Airglow
Björn Gustavsson (National Institute of Polar Research)
The main topic in my PhD work in Kiruna Sweden
focused on multi-station imaging of aurora and artificial
airglow and this work is something that I continue as a
COE post doc here at NIPR.
The multi-station imaging data used is obtained fromthe Auroral Large Imaging System (ALIS) − aground-based optical system for measuring the aurora,high-altitude clouds, and other atmospheric opticalsignatures at high latitude. It is composed of a grid ofstations with approximately 50 km separation andconsists currently (summer 2000) of six stations
equipped with CCD-cameras with 60° field of view
and interference filters that make it possible to makeimages in narrow wavelength regions around the mostprominent emission lines from the upper atmosphere.
The main difference between the studies of aurora
and artificial airglow is that for the later we cause theemission. For studies with ALIS this is done with the
EISCAT Heating facility in Ramfjordmoen Tromsø,that transmits a radio wave with frequencies between
4.04 and 7 MHz. The transmitted energy (100-200 MW
effective radiative power) is absorbed in theionospheric F-region at 200-300 km of altitude, thisheats the electrons to temperatures as high as 3000 K,
compared to typical quiet night time temperatures of1000 K, and creates accelerated electrons. Some theenergetic electrons excite the ambient atomic oxygen to
the low-lying states (O( D),O(S)), that emits the“auroral red line” at 630.0 nm and the “auroral greenline” at 557.7nm respectively.
The multi-station imaging makes it possible todetermine the three dimensional distribution of thephoton emission which enables a distinction to be madebetween the hori- zontal distribution and the altitude
variation of emission.

During radio wave heating experiments the
combined measurements from the other instruments in
the region, e.g. electron concentration, electron and ion
temperature measurements with the EISCAT
incoherent scatter radars and the three dimensional
distributions of the O( D) 6300 Å emission with 10
second time resolution make it possible to test theionosphere-thermosphere models and the theories of
the radio wave plasma interaction. The figure shows avolume rendering, that is a “three-dimensional image”,
of airglow caused by the EISCAT Heating facility inTromsø. This is how you would see the airglow if you
had hundred times more sensitive eyes and were at 260
km of altitude 300 km west of Tromsø looking
eastward. The airglow cloud is at 240 km of altitude
and the two regions are approximately 30 km indiameter.

EDITOR'S NOTE
The Arctic En vironment Research Center of the National Institute of Polar Research,
Japan, has been distributing a newsletter (2 domestic editions in Japanese per year) to give
Japanese Scientists news of Japanese projects under way, news of important research abroadand news of domestic and international conferences. This volume, AERC NEWSLETTER,
Vol. 7, incorporates our Arctic research plan in 2002, and numbers 14 and 15 of the domestic
bulletin, which includes news of potential interest and/or novelty to international readers.
Contributions are welcome and should be addressed to:
AERC Newsletter Editor
Arctic Environment Research Center, National Institute of Polar Research
Address: 1-9-10 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo, 173-8515, Japan
Phone: +81-3-3962-5094 Fax: +81-3-3962-5701 E-mail: arctic@pmg.nipr.ac.jp

AERC Newsletter Vol. 7
Published in June, 2002
16