Continuing on our series of plogs on cultures in the Arctic (see previously Evenki and Inuit), this time we will be taking a look at the Saami, the Indigenous peoples of Northern Europe. As always, a disclaimer that I am not Saami and so not an expert on their culture, but just sharing a brief … Continue reading 68: The Saami, Indigenous Inhabitants of the European Arctic
Most of us have probably heard of palaeontology, palaeo- derived from the Greek for ‘ancient’, -on- (from ontos) meaning ‘creature’, and -ology being the study of something, so the study of ancient creatures. We might know this best as the study of dinosaur fossils, though it also includes the study of plant fossils, bug fossils … Continue reading 67: Palaeoecology, and trees on ice
Time for another creature spotlight! Many of our spotlights so far have been on slightly obvious animals- reindeer, Arctic foxes, lynx, and Arctic terns, to name but a few. We’ve dipped out toes into the water with narwhals and phytoplankton too, but this week we are going to jump right in with an Arctic giant … Continue reading 66: The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish
Science is a heavily vetted and reviewed field- it has to be to make sure it's accurate and trustworthy. When dodgy research does appear, the scientific community are often quick to question it, perhaps point out its inaccuracies, and replace it with better research. This whole process involves a lot of questioning and debate- is … Continue reading 65: The Philosophy of Science
As we approach the winter season, many of our thoughts with be on food. Festive food, comfort food, cosy food. Food is an important thing- not only does it keep us alive, but it can bring us together, make us smile, connect us to our cultures, traditions and to the landscape around us. This week … Continue reading 64: Food in the Arctic
Welcome back to another leaf out of the pages of Notebook from the North. This week we will be looking at the nature/science side of things, reminding ourselves that animals can be a lot more complex than we give them credit for, and that sometimes they are not so different from us as we may … Continue reading 63: The Complexity of Animals
Notebook from the North is having another little break from publishing the weekly plogs, but in the meantime feel free to read/listen to some of the older posts, covering everything from politics to wolverines, volcanoes to plankton. Enjoy!
Ever wondered what is scientifically the fluffiest animal? It’s this week’s animal spotlight, the sea otter! These balls of fluff are known best for being, quite frankly, adorable, but they are also pretty clever, and have had to show a lot of resilience. In this plog we will be looking at their clever behaviours, their … Continue reading 62: Sea Otters
A few times in our Notebook wanderings of the Arctic so far, we have come across the creatures that live under water, but when we talk about narwhals, bowhead whales, salmon and chad, what really is the difference between these animals? Well, that’s what we’ll be finding out this week, when we look at what … Continue reading 61: Whale vs Fish, what’s the difference?
The news seems to be full of scientists lately. Scientists developing vaccines and trying to understand how COVID 19 is spread, scientists commenting on the extent and issues related to climate change, scientists finding gases on mars and discovering new species in the Amazon. What really is a scientific researcher though, and how do you … Continue reading 60: How to become a scientific researcher
Notebook from the North 