Packed to the brim with scientists, explorers and high-tech gismos, Greenpeace’s ship the Arctic Sunrise has embarked on a three-month mission to chart the impacts of climate change in the Arctic.
So far the signs have been worrying. “The veneer of fractured ice over the Arctic Ocean is changing, disintegrating before my eyes,” explains Australian expedition leader Eric Philips. “Over the last twenty years more than 5000 kilometers of ice has passed beneath my skis during numerous expeditions to both poles. I have come to feel part of the polar landscape. I’ve developed somewhat of a polar sense, and I sense there is something afoot that I don’t much like.”
Of particular concern is the Nares Strait. Normally full of sea ice in early July, this year, it has remained almost entirely ice-free even during the winter, and ice charts show large areas where sea ice levels are 90 percent below average.
Stunning new footage from aboard the vessel also shows clear signs of an imminent break-up of the Petermann Glacier on the Northwest coast of Greenland. Five billion tonnes of ice are expected to break away from Petermann, which is the largest floating glacier in the northern hemisphere.
Expect to see more as the team progresses.
