Water Odyssey
The closest university to the North Pole
Every year, almost 500 adventurous students go to study at the world’s most northerly university, a mere 1,200 km from the North Pole. Located on Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) is an ultra-modern teaching and research centre in an exceptionally isolated corner of the planet. Being so far north, Longyearbyen (Svalbard’s “capital”, population: 2,000) provides students and researchers with outstanding possibilities for carrying out scientific studies in extreme locations and conditions. A major research focus is the aurora borealis, as the long winter nights in this part of the world provide ideal conditions in which to observe and analyse this magnificent solar phenomenon.
This film was broadcasted on the largest European news channel, Euronews, since April 15, 2016 in the program "Learning World". The version on this website is Anglo-French (because only one video source) but on Euronews, it has been translated into 13 languages (voiceover in each language): Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian.
We wish you a good journey in images in this extraordinary territory, during the blue hours, with young researchers and professors passionate about their studies and fascinated by the charm of the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago.
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It is exactly 11:30
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Longyearbyen, the world’s most northerly city of the world, Svalbard’s “capital”, population: 2,000
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In February, it is the blue hours period
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UNIS, the world’s most northerly university of the world
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We catch up with 17 students, on their way to the Kjell Henriksen observatory
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Inside of the tracked machine
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First course in the observatory for the study of northern lights
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Lookouts are needed to warn of any approaching polar bears
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The students set up the equipment on the observatory’s roofs that will enable them to study and determine
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Aurora image realized with special equipment by Pål Ellingsen (KHO UNIS) Birkeland Center for Space
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I return to the observatory with Mikko Syrjäsuo, during the blue hours
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The KHO roof with the observation instruments
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Near KHO, the EISCAT radar antennas, second part of the film
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Nature around Longyearbyen...a weapon is necessary for walking
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Ready to go on a polar exploration
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The sign speaks for itself
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Longyearbyen's main street
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As spring approaches, the sun is once again peeking over the horizon: image of the first sunbeam, 16th of February.
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A very rare sight during my preparation trip two years ago in January, the ice crystals lights.
This image shows what we discover when we arrive above Svalbard, early February