University of Calgary - Field Notes

Peshawar links

Tahir Khan — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:34:44 -0600

September 4, 2008

My Visiting Fellowship at UET Peshawar is coming to an end and it has been an enlightening experience to work with Pakistani colleagues and to help supervise graduate students within the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Dam problems

Tahir Khan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:08:23 -0600

August 22, 2008

Over the last few months Pakistan has suffered from regular power outages and this has beenColorful bus particularly severe in the rural areas of the country. Therefore, an invitation to see the largest Hydro-power station in the world, the Tarbela Dam close to Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute in district Swabi came as a welcome.

Zen in Bolivia

Brendan — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:41:44 -0600

August 12, 2008

It seems I’ve been a bad blogger for the past little while… so I’ll try to review everything that’s happened since my last entry and update this thing more regularly in the coming weeks and months! Where to even begin?

Premier sugar mills

Tahir Khan — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:24:46 -0600

July 23, 2008

The last few days have been busy but “sweet”. With a group of researchers from Peshawar University I went to the Premier sugar mills located just on the out skirts of Mardan town. Our visit was just at the right time because maintenance of the mill was under way and Mr Sarwar Jan, the mill engineer, explained the challenges on keeping a sugar mill running throughout the season without break down.

Arrival in Peshawar

Tahir Khan — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:26:47 -0600

July 7, 2008

I arrived in Peshawar the capital city of the Frontier Province of Pakistan a few days ago. The city is a wonderful mixture of faces representing Afghans, Pushtoons (the word Pathan was used by the British) and central Asians and others from different places that connect with the ancient silk road that passes through this part of the world.

End of semester in Bolivia

Brendan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:57:54 -0600

June 12, 2008

Though it’s hard to believe, our first semester is quickly coming to a close. In fact, I’ve finished lecturing my first course in Bolivia: physical hydrogeology! As I write this, our 12 students are busy taking their second module on GIS (Geographical Information Systems) applied to water resources. They’ve also been studying introductory geology, applied hydrology, and research methods. Next semester, we’ll take them out of the classroom and do our first field school at the site I visited in Oruro a few months ago.

Painting the town white

Brendan — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:37:36 -0600

May 28, 2008

Last week my sister, Kate, said farewell to Sucre after a long and great visit! She was in the city for about a month learning Spanish before setting off on a grand backpacking adventure (to Potosí, the Salar de Uyuni, La Paz, Rurrenabaque, Copacabana, Puno, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Lima – to name a few places!) with her boyfriend, Kevin. Kate’s currently in Cochabamba volunteering with an NGO called “Water for the People” (see www.waterforpeople.org/canada) for a few weeks before she returns to Canada.

The research challenge

Randy and Chris — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:49:55 -0600

May 27, 2008

Understanding the rate at which the sun’s energy is transferred from the atmosphere – through the sea ice – to the ocean in a particular summer is important to understanding the reduction of sea ice during summer we’ve seen over the last 30 years (see figure from last blog entry) and for making projections of the fate of the sea ice and its effect on global climate into the future using models. It will also help us understand why, in the summer of 2007, we witnessed the lowest extent of sea ice observed during its summer minimum since we’ve been able to measure it with satellites.

Randy arrives for "summer"

Randy and Chris — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:45:53 -0600

May 28, 2008

On May 15 I joined up with Chris on the Amundsen as part of a small crew change over. I and about 10 other newcomers were flown from Inuvik, in a fairly small plane, to a makeshift landing strip on the ice near the location of the Amundsen in Franklin Bay, NWT. Franklin Bay is located roughly 300km directly east of Inuvik, at the southeastern extreme of the mighty Beaufort Sea.

Breaking the fourth wall

Randy and Chris — Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 -0600

May 10, 2008

Photojournalist Christian Morel making me look scientific: Photo by Chris FullerOne of the things that didn’t occur to was that the interest of Canadians about the Arctic required science journalists, documentarians, and photographers to pass along what we are doing up here. A bit naïve on my part…I mean, where did I think all of the pictures and T.V. series about the Arctic came from? Being up here and giving interviews, being filmed, and having your picture taken in the midst of doing science feels a bit strange. I walk around Calgary, going about my business, and nobody stops and asks me about my work.