Research in Greenland

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A bird's eye view of the University of Graz building in good weather.

(Bild: Universität Graz)

Donald Trump wants to grab Greenland for the USA, but the Arctic island is fighting back. Austria has already planted its flag there - with a research station at the University of Graz, which feels like it is at the end of the world. In April, they will move in again. The journey is adventurous.

According to Inuit tradition, there are exactly one hundred words for the word snow in the Greenlandic language. When Line Kristiansen sets off at this time of year in the Eskimo enclave of Tasiilaq in the remote east of the island and, unlike most of the locals, does not use a dog sled but a motorized ski doo, the term "apu" is used.

With temperatures hovering around zero degrees, the fresh snow is damp and the ice underneath is as smooth as glass. The crunching under the sealskin boots is now particularly noticeable.

Floes float through the frosty water, the mountains are full of snow. This is what it looks like at this time of year in Sermilik Fjord in the east of Greenland.

(Bild: Andreas Truegler)

A red-white-red flag flies on a wooden house
The Danish woman (44) has a goal: there is a wooden house below the Mittivakkat glacier in Sermilik Fjord. And the red-white-red flag usually flies on it, unless a blizzard is raging, as is currently the case. In 2023, after a lengthy search for a location, the University of Graz began building Austria's only polar station here. The official opening will take place in summer.

Following in the historical footsteps of the North Pole adventurers Carl Weyprecht and Julius Payer - who discovered the legendary Franz Josef Land and, according to history books, once had to leave their expedition ship "Admiral Tegetthoff" behind - a researcher is now walking in Styria, so to speak.

Carinthian-born Andreas Trügler is the head of the polar station. He is 43 years old.

(Bild: Andreas Truegler)

Andreas Trügler was born in Klein Sankt Paul in the Görtschitztal valley in Carinthia and recently became the head of the base. At the moment he is still busy with lectures in Graz due to the weather, but the 43-year-old physicist is already counting the minutes until he can return to his beloved Arctic "My enthusiasm for the polar region," says the family man in an interview with Krone, "comes from mountaineering." After the Alps, he ended up on Spitsbergen - and then on Greenland. "I would never have dreamed that I would one day be able to run a station here," he enthuses.

Arriving by helicopter and snowmobile
The flights to the capital Nuuk have already been booked for April, then it's back to the Austro base by helicopter and snowmobile. Dr. Trügler is focusing on interdisciplinarity and climate change.

In the meantime, the sunset is peeking through the clouds in Tasiilaq. It is the time when the days north of the Arctic Circle are getting longer again. The northern lights are rare, and soon the midnight sun will rob us of our sleep. In the village, Inuit unharness their dogs from their sleds and pay a visit to the dried fish in the store. Line takes care of her snowmobile in the garage. The inspection trip was successful.

Final touches to our Arctic station
In the past, Line would probably have been called a janitor, but now logistics manager is probably more appropriate. In any case, the likeable power woman looks after our polar station even in the inhospitable season. Before Andreas Trügler and his students set off north again. They then want to put the finishing touches to our Arctic station - on Donald Trump's dream island.