Seals, Glaciers and Polar Bears

Perhaps the most striking thing about the landscape in Ny-Ålesund is its purity. The snow is pristine (or so it seems at first glance, although it is getting increasingly polluted by soot travelling upwards). The glaciers are like dazzling turquoise jewels.

A newborn seal cub in Ny-Ålesund, Norway -- if you look closely to the right, you can see its umbilical cord.

(Angus Hines/ABC News)
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Over the course of a week in this magical place, I saw and felt what it is that inspires people to devote their lives to science, and more specifically, to the study of the Arctic environment and climate change.

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A closing thought: there are only 25,000 to 27,000 thousand polar bears in the world, and the vast majority of people will never see one in their lives. But these incredible creatures are both beautiful and unique, and as Holmén so eloquently put it, "Without them, the world would be a poorer place."