Physics adventures – on expedition in the Arctic

Alison McLure, the National Officer for the Institute of Physics (IOP) in Scotland, is an avid mountaineer and loves combining her knowledge of physics and meteorology with outdoor adventues.  She has recently returned from a research trip to Svalbard in the Arctic. Here we have caught up with her to find out more about her expedition.

How did you get involved in going on the expedition and who organised it?

Alison McLure: The British Schools Exploring Society organised the expedition. I had been to South Georgia and the Falklands with the chief leader of the Svalbard trip and he asked me to come along.
 
What was the aim of the expedition?

Alison McLure:  The aim of the Society is to advance the education of young people by providing inspirational and challenging scientific expeditions to remote, wild environments and so promote the development of their confidence, teamwork, leadership and spirit of adventure and exploration. We provided a mixture of scientific investigations with adventurous activities.
 
How did you prepare for your trip?

Alison McLure: Firstly I kept my fitness up by running most mornings and climbing hills. I should really have pulled tyres to increase my fitness, but I worked in my garden instead!  As chief scientist, I wrote proposals for the scientific projects we would undertake. I also contacted professional scientists to see if we could collect data which would be of use to us.
 
 

Alison on one of her many sailing trips

What were the highlights of your trip?

Alison McLure: The most exciting highlight was a five day journey to survey a fulmar colony. This involved crossing a large frozen river, which could have started melting at anytime. We made it across and back with one day to spare. The fulmar colony was amazing, with all these wonderful birds nesting in cliffs which were set out like a roman amphitheatre.

Another highlight was a 24 hour session in a goose hide where I spotted an Arctic Fox and had a first sighting that year of Brent geese and Red throated diver. A truly magical experience. Throughout the expedition, the enthusiasm of the young people for the science and the wildlife was inspiring.
 
Did you run into any difficulties?

Alison McLure: On the trek back to the town, we had to climb a gully which was pretty steep. The slope avalanched a bit as we approached it, but we had hidden behind some rocks, just in case, while I set up a safety rope. Everyone managed to get up the gully safely with full packs, but it was nerve racking for a while.
 
How did your knowledge of physics help throughout the expedition?

Alison McLure:  One of the projects was to monitor the weather, so my background in meteorology was invaluable. All of the projects needed to be based on good scientific method to be of worth. Physics gave me a good solid background in how to run experiments properly.

The young explorers were constantly asking questions in their enthusiasm to learn more about the Arctic. I didn’t know all of the answers, but my background in physics enabled me to help the young explorers to find out the answers themselves.
 
Will you go on another adventure soon?

Alison McLure:I am hoping to return to Svalbard next year to run an environmental studies course for scientists who would like to carry out polar studies. Also, living in Scotland means that I have adventures most weekends when I am climbing or kayaking.