Kitinen iced over

This is the Kitinen River. It flows past the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO). When we last wrote about the SGO, we mentioned that it was on the banks of the river. Of course, back then in the dead of the polar night it was impossible to get a photograph. Well... we're putting that to rights today.


Here it is, as seen from the shore. The tracks that go out and then to the right are from a reindeer. Of course, the river is completely iced over at this time of year. But the image does give one a nice sense of the beautiful landscape at the observatory. In summer, we'll try to take another photograph of the Kitinen from the same location to compare the seasons. (Click of the image for a larger version.)

Photo: Derek McKay-Bukowski