While one heatwave follows another in Graz during the summer, a team from the university is working with craftsmen in the far north, just south of the Arctic Circle, at temperatures of six to ten degrees Celsius. Experts in the fields of electrical, gas, and water installation, as well as carpenters, are working around the clock at the university's northernmost location at the Sermilik Research Station in East Greenland.
The station has been in test operation for two years. Now the final technical work on the building is underway; up to26 researchers will find space to live and work there. The University of Graz has moved a lot to make this happen – literally: nine shipping containers full of equipment were transported from Styria to Tasiilaq. The largest town in East Greenland is a day's march from the Sermilik station.
The proximity to the site is not only for practical reasons. The University of Graz is keen to ensure that its research activities offer added value for the local population in East Greenland. Scientific projects in the settlement area are therefore supported. “At the University of Graz, we see science as a partnership between equals,” explains Rector Peter Riedler. A job has therefore been created locally through cooperation with a local company. The employee is responsible for safety and technology at the station. He was born and raised in Tasiilaq and still lives there.
He is also assisting with the work at the station, as there is still a lot to do. This ranges from assembling the bunk beds and kitchen equipment to installing the photovoltaic panels, storage batteries, and diesel generators. The latter serve as an emergency power supply, as almost all of the energy comes directly from the Arctic sun, except for a few days in January.
Short summer
This is a construction project with a tight schedule. The reason for this is that the summer in Greenland is short and transporting equipment from Tasiilaq to the station is very difficult. There are no roads, and delivery by ship is risky due to the many icebergs. Helicopter flights are only possible in good weather.
The station turns the University of Graz into the gateway to the Arctic for polar researchers from Austria and abroad. From biology, chemistry, glacier and climate research to history and linguistics, the Sermilik Station is open to scientists from all disciplines. And indeed, the first research successes are already emerging from the test phase. An old Greenlandic settlement has been discovered near the station, and a previously unknown species of lichen is growing in the vicinity.
Sustainable for the region
“What we definitely want to avoid is the impression that our researchers just come to East Greenland, take a few measurements, and then disappear again,” says Peter Riedler, Rector of the University of Graz. During the test operation, there was therefore only one small excursion from the University of Graz to the station.
The first junior scientists after technical completion will therefore be students from the FH Joanneum. “The Sermilik research station is also an important building block in the training of young researchers,” emphasizes Riedler. “But we are not a tourist operation; we do science that should also bring real benefits to the people of Greenland.” Each participant in this excursion therefore comes to the station with a specific research project.
Current photos of the work: Here
During the winter semester, students at the University of Graz can apply for the next excursion or write a master's thesis focusing on life in the Arctic Circle. Are you interested in climate change and sustainability? Are you interested in climate change and sustainability? Find the right degree program for you at the University of Graz.