Happy New Year, Galathea!

Newsletter 20: VÆDDEREN fired three cannon shots to salute the New Year. There was a barbecue meal on deck. After some days at anchor off the Solomon island of Gizo, the expedition continues southwards.

Dato 3.1.2007

Galathea 3 members celebrated Christmas and New Year on the Solomon Sea north east of Australia. The temperature was 35 degrees, but the menu was traditional and so was the accompanying partying. HM Queen Margrethe sent VÆDDEREN special greetings in her New Year’s Eve speech on television and radio, broadcast from Amalienborg. A video clip is available at dr.dk and there are articles in the Danish newspaper Politiken about both celebrations.

3 January 2007 VÆDDEREN in Gizo

Foto: Anne Sofie Berendt
December 2006: at anchor off Gizo, Solomon Islands

An island community under threat

Between Christmas and New Year VÆDDEREN, lying at anchor off Gizo, was joined by some land based Galathea voyagers, including researchers from the Geographical Institute of Copenhagen. During recent weeks research on four of the Solomon Islands has focussed on the local population’s living conditions. What are the effects of factors such as climate change, global market forces and overuse of natural resources on their way of life? Will island communities dissolve, as was predicted many decades back, or will they survive despite the odds? Associate professor Kjeld Rasmussen reported on the outlying island of Tikopia, which three years ago was hit by Zoë, one of the most violent cyclones on record. The log at Jyllands-Posten for 3 January 2007 details the geographers’ experiences on the island.

Women from the Ontong Java atol explain the cultivation of Taro. Taro is a root vegetable which is used in the islanders' diet.

Foto: Thomas Birk
Copenhagen University geography researchers interviewed these women from the Ontong Java atoll on the subject of Taro cultivation. Taro is a root vegetable which is used in the islanders' diet.

A trip into the woods with the professor

Jon Fjeldså of the Zoological Museum, leader of the project on avian diversification, also made contact with the ship’s delegation.  This was an opportunity to show the islands dwindling original forest to the newly enrolled representative from the Ministry of Education, Jørn Madsen. Only a few hectares remain, as most of the Solomon Island forests have been cleared to make way for agriculture. The forest is home to a beautiful little bird of the Zosteropidae family (white eyes), which is not found anywhere else in the world.  This bird is not easy to catch – let alone to see. Læs mere om Jørns skovtur med professoren på Undervisningsministeriets Galathea-site.

Next stop: Christchurch

On New Year ’s Day, the expedition weighed anchor and set sail for New Zealand. The new leader of this leg of the cruise is Carsten U. Larsen, director of the National Museum. Læs hans logbog fra de første dage ombord, på Nationalmuseets Galathea-site her.

Professor Katherine Richardson, leader from Sydney to Gizo, remained on board in her role heading the ongoing and important project on the marine carbon cycle. Understanding this cycle is of crucial importance for experts’ ability to predict the weather. Read more on this project.

On Monday 8 January VÆDDEREN is scheduled to dock at Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island. This will be the last port of call before VÆDDEREN embarks on one of the longest legs of the expedition: the voyage round Antarctica. This will begin on 11 January and end four weeks later when the vessel arrives in Valparaiso in Chile on 8 February.