The Sun Sets in Iceland

First summer sunset overlooking Reykjavik, just
outside the lab - we raced out to catch this photo.

Amazing how time flies!  When we arrived in Iceland at the beginning of July the sun was up most of the time, only setting for a few hours and the sunlight shined brightly through our windows in the late night hours.   It was exciting to see the activity in the city at night as Icelanders fully embraced the summer with outdoor concerts, festivals, gardening, and lots of spirit.  Our sleep cycles were certainly affected and it took some time to get used to sleeping when you should with the sunshine peeking through the blinds. We embraced the summer sun as well, appreciating the long days that allowed us to complete many field incubations in a single day, as they also depend on available light.  But, we learned too that the sun does set in Iceland and that you can’t readily incubate 20 chambers in a single day!  We did manage to do this once, but late into our overly ambitious day Bayley had to race the incubating chambers upstream to escape the growing shadow and shade that covered the lower portion of the stream as the sun began to duck behind the hillside.   The famous quote from that day was “twenty is too many”, and while we did it successfully, we all agreed that we shouldn’t embrace the illusion of a never ending day again. 

The group in Stokkseyri on the south coast of Iceland.  (right to left) Jim Hood,
Jon Olafsson, Jim Junker, Dan Nelson, Delor Sander,  Jill Welter,
Bayley Lawrence, (in front) Ryan McClure and Amanda Keasberry.

As the summer began to wind down, the days shortened quickly, almost as if overnight, with some of the most brilliant sunsets I have ever seen.  Maybe they were more spectacular because we hadn’t seen a full sunset in many weeks, or maybe the dramatic angle of the setting sun at our latitude made them more brilliant.  In either case, it was clear that summer was coming to an end and to the Icelanders that “winter is coming”, with short days, little sun, and still, lots of spirit and energy, and pride in the spectacular place that they live.    As the sun began to set, we also prepared to come home with a final celebration with our collaborators including students from Montana State University and the University of Alabama, Dr. Jim Hood (the project postdoc) and Dr. Jón Ólafsson from the Veiðimálastofnun (Iceland’s Institute for Freshwater Fisheries) and his family at Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri on the South Coast of Iceland.  Fjöruborðið is renowned for its locally-sourced and homemade lobster soup, and it did not disappoint.  It was amazing and it was a wonderful time to celebrate the summer research accomplishments with our group.  We experienced the most beautiful drive down to the south coast, a wonderful exploration of the exposed tide pools, and yes, an amazing sunset.  

Our last sunset in Iceland - on the trip back from Stokkseyri.
A great end to a great summer!  photo by D. Sander.

The following day, the group began to head home, first with Dan and Amanda returning to Alabama, followed shortly by our group’s return to Minnesota, and finally the last group to Montana.   Amazingly, many in the group have connections to Minnesota, and we will see our collaborators here (likely at the Minnesota State Fair) and over the coming year at meetings and conferences.   I know that I have certainly developed a strong connection to Iceland, the people, the ecology, and the Hengill watershed, and it is hard to leave knowing that we have so much more to do and experience here.  It is a wonderful place!  But, while the sun is setting in Iceland and on our time in the Hengill streams for now, our work is really just beginning.  We have much sample processing and data analysis to complete in the coming year to finish our story and we are excited to see where this research will take us!  So, keep checking the blog for future updates.  Many thanks to all who helped to make this trip possible – it was all we imagined it would be and more!  And, we look forward to our future work on this project and hope to see more sunsets in Iceland as our research and collaboration develops!