Pen Hadow's exploration team
take off for Canada on ice mission
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| Ice Team |
Pen Hadow and his Ice Team left Heathrow Airport on the 11th February
bound for Canada where they will embark on a scientific survey of the
Arctic Ocean's floating sea ice.
Team leader Pen Hadow and his Ice Team, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels
will fly into Ottawa before spending ten days at Resolute where all
their expedition kit and survey equipment will be assembled. One of
the most important tasks ahead of their expedition is to make sure they
have everything required to survive in the harsh conditions of the Arctic
winter where temperatures can be as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius.
Speaking to well-wishers at the airport Pen said: "It's been a
huge effort to get ourselves here after five years of planning, but
right now I finally feel we are actually going to get the job done.
We know exactly what the scientists want us to collect, it's now up
to the three of us and our support team to get everything ready for
the expedition later in the month."
It is expected the Catlin Arctic Survey will start on February 27th
when the Ice Team will be flown onto the ice some 500 miles off the
coast of northern Canada.
Commenting about the preparations Ann Daniels said: "We've done
the hard training, I think we're all in great shape. What we do know
is that we'll need to be at peak fitness to survive the first gruelling
weeks in the total darkness of the high Arctic Ocean winter when the
temperatures will be at their lowest. Am I looking forward to it? Sure.
But it will be tough."
In what is an extreme physical challenge, the Catlin Arctic Survey
Ice Team will be trekking 1,000 kilometres to the North Geographic Pole
measuring the thickness of the ice and collecting other scientific data
to help scientists understand more about what is going on. The evidence
appears to be stacking up that the Arctic Ocean floating sea ice is
melting rapidly and according to one projection may vanish as early
as 2013, leaving the top of the world without a permanent expanse of
snow and ice for the first time during summer months.
The consequences include the warming of the Arctic Ocean as it absorbs
energy from the sun which has previously been reflected back into space
by the vast expanse of ice and snow, the opening of sea routes for shipping
through the North West and North-East Passages and huge changes to the
eco-system, including the habitat of its most iconic creature the polar
bear.
Back to Catlin Arctic Survey page...