Researchers share lessons on science, friendship on the wild island of New Scotland
On the island of Sable, a subtle shabby sandbar in the shape of a wrath in the Atlantic Ocean, the changing landscapes make the experiences dazzling-and disconcerting.
The remote island houses about 450 wild horses, over 20,000 seals, countless marine birds and, at its peak, about 15 humans in summer.
Being so far away in the ocean – about 290 kilometers to the south -est of Halifax – Sable Island is hit by temporal and quick changes that can leave the inhabitants of its researchers in a state of shock. The waves that crash into sable can resume rapidly; The hot and clear days can be quickly overcome by a dense covered of fog.
Justine Amandolia, candidate for the Dalhousie University doctorate, has spent 10 weeks in the last two summers in search of microplastics on the island of Sable. The remarkable climate and the animals of the island led her and two other researchers to write a column for the scientific diary nature on what they learned – on the environment and themselves – working in this remote and unpredictable island.
Ammandolia said that it was amazed last August when, within a few hours, the relatively calm winds turned into a serious storm, with pounding waves and surfing that crashes on the beaches. “There were winds that were not hardly evident, but then during the night the island just turned. We woke up with the water that pushed against the sand dunes and the beaches were underwater.”
The island of Sandbar is about 40 kilometers long and a kilometer through its wider point. Ammandolia said that seeing the island reducing itself so substantially during the night was surreal.
She and her new friends of Sable Island – researchers from the University of Saskatchewan Victoria Crozier and Olivia Andres – spent the following day walking for the dunes, amazed by the merit of the landscape and flooded beaches.
“To see how quickly the ocean can move, to see that you are surrounded, he puts you all in a state of shock. You know a place after being there a few weeks, then there is this transformation of the landscape of an already small area that has been put in the middle of the ocean,” said Ammandolia.
After the initial floods, the planes could not land for several days and some works of researchers were temporarily interrupted because they could not travel around the island of water. Ammandolia said that it took more than a week for the water to retire enough that the island seemed before the storm.
“Sable is one of those places where you feel so vulnerable to nature. If you don’t feel insignificant to be there, something is not right,” he said.
At the mercy of time
Crozier, who spent 10 weeks in two summers on the island of Sable by seeking his population of wild horses with Andres, said one of the first things you learn on the sand band is that you are at the mercy of the time in constant evolution.
“A few days or you will be the winds. Other days you will be so grateful because it will be really hot and sunny and there is no shadow because there are no trees,” he said.
A website of the Government of New Scotland states that, with the exception of a small Scottish pine that “survived” after it was planted near the meteorological station about 40 years ago, there are no trees on the island.
“And then we have a lot of fog, which makes our job much more difficult,” added Crozier.
In order to avoid disturbing horses, researchers such as Crozier and Andres follow the animals from 500 meters to a kilometer away, often spending 16 hours of days to collect league feces samples who examine for parasites and microbiomas. The extreme wind, warmth or poor visibility make a few days much more difficult than others, said Crozier.
“The field work is unpredictable; for reasons from the disease to adverse weather conditions, it is not always possible to do everything you have initially planned,” says the trio in their article on nature.
The article also outlines how the three researchers linked themselves and supported each other in stressful moments on the remote island. “We discovered that our guards were falling during this vulnerable phase and it was easier to form significant connections that went beyond superficial knowledge.”
Passionate researchers
Andres said that the group of researchers passionate about the island had several interests and was happy to share knowledge, advice and chat in front of the coffee or a meal. “On the island we worked and lived with people who were so enthusiastic about different parts of that environment and often we were inspired with new ideas and research questions from random conversations during dinner,” he said.
The average of 15 summer inhabitants on the island of Sable is a combination of scientists, researchers and federal employees.
“The external work, we created routine, from drinking our morning coffees on the station picnic bench (also known as the city square) to look at the sunsets on the beach together surrounded by horses and seals. There were so few on the island that seemed inevitable that we became friends,” says the article.
The Atlantic Maritime Museum states that since 1583 there have been more than 250 shipwrecked shipwrecked on the island of Sable. While small remains of the ships, Andres said it was exciting to find old bottles and glass traps and crab that were washing on the ground.
“It is such a unique place, unlike anything I have ever seen before. I liked to see all the pieces of history washed on the beaches and explore new areas of the island with our group. Those small adventures made for some of the most special moments,” he said.
