Kelsey Ray stands on a knife-edge ridge high above the town of Longyearbyen in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.. Photo by Tom Yulsman.
On each of the 10 nights I spent in Svalbard, I slept a little less.
The first morning, I attributed my giddy, wide-eyed sunrise grin to jet lag and bounded out to my Norwegian breakfast鈥攆resh bread, pickled herring and that fabled 鈥榖rown cheese鈥欌�攚ith coat unzipped and boots untied. But even as I adjusted to the time difference, it became clear that neither early morning glacial treks nor daylong boat journeys could keep me from grabbing my camera and recorder at day鈥檚 end, hoping to learn and see just a little more. Even long, cold nights spent seeking the Aurora Borealis couldn鈥檛 dampen my early-to-rise spirits. In Svalbard, I discovered, enchantment conquers sleep.
I visited Svalbard, an island chain in the Arctic Ocean, to take part in a pilot climate change journalism course organized by American and Norwegian professors听in September 2015. Next September, three more master鈥檚 students from the听听(CEJ)听will travel north with Tom Yulsman, the Center's director,听and Michael Kodas, the Center's associate director,听to explore the Arctic archipelago that scientists call 鈥済round zero鈥� of climate change.
As a participant in听a newly-awarded听$35,000 grant from the , the CEJ team听will be working with Norwegian colleagues听to implement a new climate change journalism program called Arctic Lenses.
The effects of a changing climate are most visible in the Arctic, where temperatures are rising at twice the global rate. New sea routes and rich oil reserves, exposed by melting ice, have made this historically harsh region more desirable to countries preparing for a warming world.
The de facto capitol of Svalbard,听Longyearbyen. The tower in the foreground听is part of a now derelict cable system that was used to convey coal from the mines to the town for transport out of Svalbard by boat.听Photo by Kelsey Ray.
Funded by the new program, students will spend a week exploring Svalbard鈥檚 de facto capital, Longyearbyen鈥攁 settlement home to more polar bears than people鈥攁nd then听fly even further north to visit an international atmospheric research station. Yulsman and a Norwegian professor will guide the program鈥檚 participants as they study and report on the complexities and contradictions of a warming Arctic.
Students will also hike nearby glaciers, eat the local cuisine鈥攚hale, seal and reindeer are often on the menu鈥攁nd interview residents who hail from countries around the world. They鈥檒l hear from renowned scientists, tour abandoned coal mines and try to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
In all likelihood, they won鈥檛 sleep much.
Kelsey Ray will complete her master鈥檚 degree in journalism at CU-Boulder this summer. She covers immigration and the environment as an intern at the Colorado Independent. Her work has also appeared in High Country News and on .