SCIENCE!

Science is of course the whole reason we're here!  Last Friday, we went out to a smaller lake neighboring Myvatn that has no midges.  It's name is difficult to pronounce so it is commonly referred to as Hel (which results in some interesting sentences - "hey, who wants to go to Hel today?")   This is the midge addition experiment.  Midges were brought in from Myvatn and spread over plots of land at Hel.

See those tufts of grass?  That's where midges have been added.
Normally this area looks like heathland, with lots of dwarf birch and willow, so the grass is a big change:

Besides labeling the plots, our other task was to fix the fence, so the sheep don't come munching on the tasty grass.


On Saturday, we did maintenance work around the research station, including setting up the new water distiller (a machine that makes ultra-pure water).  We didn't have the greatest equipment to work with, resulting lots of leaks, a wet floor, and the occasional splash of water on your head.  But, mostly thanks to Patrick and duct tape, it is functional and ready for use.