ScAN’s Caroline Haas picks up Arctic prize in Reykjavík
Caroline Haas, a co-tutelle student at University of St Andrews and University of Iceland, recently headed to the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík. We caught up with Caroline, to hear about the Assembly and a science popularization competition, co-organised by the University of the Arctic (UArctic) and the Institut nordique du Québec.
“Each year, the UArctic network, which St Andrews is a member of, gives PhD students conducting research in the Arctic the unique opportunity to present their research as part of a science popularization contest at the Arctic Circle Assembly. This year, I was among the selected finalists and got to travel to Reykjavík, Iceland, in October to present part of my research on northern bottlenose whales in the Icelandic and Norwegian Sea.
The Arctic Circle Assembly is an annual event bringing together a broad audience of government officials, scientists, business leaders, and Indigenous representatives to discuss current topics concerning the Arctic. Since I study marine mammals in Arctic offshore waters, I focused on attending sessions concerned with the future of shipping in the Arctic, offshore oil and gas exploration, deep-sea mining, or the establishment of marine protected areas. I further attended a few sessions on current security concerns in the Arctic, infrastructural difficulties such as health care or education in remote areas, and indigenous knowledge and how this can and should be incorporated in scientific work at these high latitudes. Needless to say that I learned a lot and gained valuable new insights through attending the Arctic Circle Assembly.
On Friday afternoon, it was time for me to present my own work alongside eight other PhD candidates in a dedicated UArctic session. Each of us had 5 minutes and a maximum of ten slides (with no animations) to present our research. I chose to speak about one of my PhD chapters in a talk titled “Eavesdropping on northern bottlenose whales: Acoustic insights into their occurrence across space and time”. Northern bottlenose whales are deep-diving beaked whales found in arctic and subarctic waters of the North Atlantic. They regularly produce sounds to orientate and search for prey through echolocation, which makes it possible to study them through “eavesdropping”. In my project, I identified sounds produced by northern bottlenose whales in long-term underwater recordings to study the species’ whereabouts across space and time, and further discussed how this information can be used to reduce the impact of anthropogenic activities (e.g. navy exercises, oil and gas exploration) on this noise sensitive whale species. I was very excited to be announced one of two winners of the jury price, and particularly thrilled that my talk was also voted the audience favourite as to me this meant that I got people interested in northern bottlenose whales, a species that is not very widely known.
Images from the Arcic Circle Assembly
Besides attending the Arctic Circle Assembly, I was able to stay a few extra days in Reykjavík. My PhD project is actually a co-tutelle, meaning that I am equally a student at the University of St Andrews and University of Iceland, and I spent the first year of my PhD living in Iceland. Thus, it was a great opportunity for me to revisit some of my favourite bakeries around town (which sell the most delicious cinnamon rolls) and catch up with friends while staying up late to watch the northern lights. It truly was a wonderful trip, and I am very grateful to UArctic for giving me this amazing opportunity.”
The Mon Projet Nordique/My Northern Project jury selected two winning entries: Caroline’s presentation and Michaël Thibault’s presentation “Hotter Than It Looks: A Geothermal Story from Canada’s Northwest Territories.” Michaël is a PhD Candidate in Earth Sciences at National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), Québec. The competition was also featured in the UArctic Newsletter.
