S2 Partnership Ltd

Supporting the Catlin Arctic Survey

The S₂ Partnership is proud to announce our sponsorship of the Catlin Arctic Survey. This sponsorship demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the environment in a practical and scientific way.

The Catlin Arctic Survey is a pioneering scientific endeavour that will capture, for the first time, detailed information about the thickness of the Arctic sea ice cap and subsequently determine, with unprecedented accuracy, when it will disappear. It aims to measure the thickness of the ice cap along a complete transverse from Point Barrow, Alaska to the North Pole.

Using state-of-the-art impulse radar technology, weighing just 4kg, the thickness of ice floes that make up the ice cap will be measured to produce over 5 million individual thickness measurements. This will directly determine the actual thickness of the ice cap through solid results and factual analysis.

The environmental implications of this project are huge; the data collected will be analysed by scientists from NASA, Cambridge University, the US Navy and the European Space Agency. They will evaluate how many years are left until the polar ice cap becomes a seasonal feature. This data is of global importance as the ice cap's disappearance could accelerate climate change, sea level rise and habitat loss. Through media coverage and the publication of results in November 2009, the Catlin Arctic Survey will expose the issues surrounding climate change and the importance of acting now before the Arctic sea ice ceases to exist.

Pen Hadow

The expedition will be carried out between February and June 2009, by a small team of experienced polar explorers. The team will be led by Britain's foremost Polar explorer, Pen Hadow, who was the S₂ Partnership's keynote speaker at the recent launch of their Health & Safety and Environmental web-based product RiskWise₂. S₂ are inspired by the determination of Pen and his team and their dedication to undertake such an ambitious task. S₂ recognises its responsibility towards the environment and provides advice and assistance to our clients to help secure environmental improvements through practical solutions. We believe our commitment to the Catlin Arctic Survey will raise awareness of global environmental issues within our client base in the commercial property sector. It also reinforces our own ISO 14001 policy to operate our business in an environmentally responsible way.

What is the Catlin Arctic Survey?
The Catlin Arctic Survey combines a pioneering feat of human endurance with a major scientific project to measure the thickness and density of the permanent North Pole ice which is floating in the Arctic Ocean. This ice is more commonly known as an ice cap but, strictly speaking, a cap of ice needs to be on land and there is only sea near the North Pole. The aim of the project is to determine, with a much greater degree of accuracy, when it could disappear.

Who will be conducting the Survey?
The survey team consists of three experienced polar explorers - Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and photographer Martin Hartley, known as the Ice Team. The Ice Team will be supported by scientists and operations experts.

How will the Survey be conducted?
The Ice Team will be travelling, on foot, from mid-February 2009, hauling sledges from the edge of the permanent sea ice off the Canadian coast (Beaufort Sea) across 1,300 kilometres of disintegrating and shifting polar pack ice, to reach the North Geographic Pole in late May/early June. During the Survey, the team will experience temperatures as low as -50C (with wind-chill -90ºC) in the early stages.

The team aim to cover about 18 kilometres a day pulling sledges weighing up to 100 kilograms (15.5 stone). They will be swimming for about 100 hours during the journey in water as cold as -1.8ºC (28ºF).

Hazards include: polar bear attacks, thin ice, open water, ice ridges, rubble-fields, fog, blizzards and carbon monoxide poisoning from cooking inside the tent. They will be re-supplied by helicopter/fixed wing aircraft up to four times.

Why is it important to measure the thickness of the ice cap?
The North Pole floating sea ice is melting, but a significantly greater amount of data is currently needed for us to predict what is going on in this remote region and when it will totally disappear as a year-round surface feature.

The 'meltdown' will be of global significance and estimates vary from as little as five years up to 100 years. Without more accurate information, there is a danger that appropriate planning for this eventuality will not take place.

What will be the effects of a complete meltdown?
There would be a number of significant effects:

The white of the snow and ice reflects the heat of the sun, but the darkness of the exposed ocean absorbs incoming solar energy, leading to thermal expansion and the possibility of catastrophically rising sea levels;
The disappearance of the ice cap would lead to easier access to up to 25% of the Earth's known oil and gas reserves with the potential to cause geo-political tensions;
New shipping routes and new, presently unregulated, fishing grounds would be opened; and
There would be negative impact on the indigenous Arctic population and animals, including the polar bear.

How will the ice thickness be measured?
A specially developed ice-penetrating radar will be dragged across the ice, taking detailed cross-profiles through the snow and ice layers approximately every 10 centimetres. A water column survey will also be undertaken using a SeaCat CDT Profiler, as well as visual recording of over 40 other features of the ice.

Why can these measurements not be achieved by other means (such as satellite surveillance)?
Satellite measurement can not accurately distinguish between snow and ice, and there is limited coverage of the polar region. Furthermore, as the majority of satellites are commercial in nature, they do not have the capability to carry out such an investigation.

Is there support from those with a recognised interest in environmental matters?
Yes, very much so. The Catlin Arctic Survey has been fully endorsed by various leaders in this field, including:

WWF International, which believes the Survey "has the potential to make a lasting difference to policy related science";
The United Nations Environment Programme, which believes the Survey is being undertaken "at a critically important juncture"; and
HRH The Price of Wales, who believes that "good science is essential as we grapple with the consequences of climate change"

Arctic Survey Expedition Team Leave the Ice

Arctic Survey Team Leaving the Ice

On the 13th May 2009, two Twin Otter planes took to the landing strip on the floating Arctic Ocean sea ice to collect the Arctic Survey Ice Team at the end of their 73 day scientific survey. The scientific expedition - in which the team measured the thickness of the floating sea ice to help scientists studying the impacts of global warming in the region - ended slightly ahead of schedule to ensure a safe pick up. Speaking from the Arctic Pen Hadow said:

"It was a gruelling but successful expedition. In our time here we have captured around 16,000 observations and taken 1500 measurements of the thickness of the ice and snow as well as its density. That's a valuable set of data we've collected for scientists. So we're handing it over to them now."

S₂ congratulates Pen and the team.

S₂ Partnership takes Arctic Expedition into Local Schools

The S₂ Partnership was pleased to present our sponsorship of the Arctic Survey to a local school based in the Cambridgeshire area. As part of the Monkfield Primary School's Science Week, Mike Ketley, Environmental Consultant of the S₂ Partnership, delivered a presentation based on the expedition and the effects of climate change.

Around 120 children attended the presentation, which included a wide range of expedition information and up-to-date images from the ice. Using educational footage, the effects of global warming on our current world was highlighted and the importance of the Catlin Arctic Survey was reinforced. Sue Haji, Science Coordinator at the Monkfield Primary School expressed her thanks and said, "The children really enjoyed your talk about the Arctic and climate change. We really appreciate your time taken to share your expertise with us".

The S₂ Partnership was proud to show the Monkfield Primary School our commitment to the environment through our support of this fundamental expedition, which reinforces our Corporate Social Responsibility within the local area.

Pen Hadow's exploration team take off for Canada on ice mission

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.


Pen Hadow	Ann Daniels	Martin Hartley

The Ice Team	Pen Hadow and Ann Daniels	Camp

S₂ Partnership Mug	S₂ Partnership Snowbrush	Polar Bear Prints

Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley	Data Uplink System	Data Uplink System

Ice coring	Michael Gorman and Joao Rodrigues	Ice Team

Polar bears	Polar bears	Polar wolf
Credit Martin Hartley/Catlin Arctic Survey