Heidi
THE (VERY BUBBLY) GLACIOLOGIST
WhenwevisitedUNIS, theworld’snorthernmost
university,wewereexpecting tomeeta fewdry
research types. Instead,wemetHeidi Sevestre, a
bubblyFrenchPhDcandidate.Heidi fell for the
Arcticarchipelagoduringauniversityexchange
in2008. “I came foronesemesterandcouldn’tget
myself to leave– itbrokemyheart,”shesays. “I just
wanted to livesomethingextremeanddifferent.”
She returned toLongyearbyen in2011 to
completeherPhDonaphenomenonknownas
surgingglaciers.And,withover60percentof
the landmasscomprisedofglaciers, Svalbard isa
glaciologist’sparadise. “We’re right in theheartof a
clusterof these funkyglaciers,”saysHeidi. “It’s the
bestplace in theworld tostudy them.”
Typicalfieldexpeditions involvesnowmobiles,
helicopters, settingupcamponaglacier forup
to twoweeks, and, of course, theoccasionalpolar
bearencounter.Aswithmost things inSvalbard,
fieldwork follows the light. “During the light
seasonwedo thefieldworkand it’s literallynon-
stopuntil thedarkseason,”saysHeidi. “When the
darkcomes,wecanbreatheand relax.Evennature
relaxes.”
unis.no
Oneof themore
surprising aspects
of Longyearbyen is
that Thais are the
second-biggest
ethnic group (after
Norwegians).What
startedwith Thai
brides coming over
tomarryminers
hasmatured into
a real community.
They oversee a Thai
supermarket and a
Thai restaurant, and
many of themeals at
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg
are Thai. Every
year inNovember,
Svalbard’s Thai
community comes
together tohold a
festival showcasing
their customs, with
money raised from
ticket sales going to
a children’s charity.
Apidej Prinkandoesn’t seem toknowhow
to stop smiling. Known around town asAh,
the sous-chef at Kroa (it’smorewhale and
reindeer than Thai)moved to Longyearbyen
fromBangkok 14 years agowithhiswife. “I
like the snow and lifestyle,”he says. “There
are good jobs here, too. Life inBangkok is
moreup anddown–we are veryhappy.”
kroa-svalbard.no
Ah
THE THAI CHEF
Halvard
THE RADAR MAN
For 15 years, HalvardBoholmhas
been the site leader at EISCAT, oneof
10 incoherent scatter radars onEarth.
eiscat.se
Norwegians (1,660)
Russians (497)
Thai (112)
Swedish (111)
In theNorwegian
settlements, 57
per cent of the
population aremale,
and66per cent are
aged25-59.
Ethno-graph
Thai town
500
1,000
1,500
Svalbard
⁄
People—
n
n
/063
