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Latest insights into our latest mission to the Arctic.

  • Canada’s Arctic ice shelves have almost halved in size over the last six years.

  • Summer 2011 marks the second lowest sea ice extent on record

Highlights 2011

September 7, 2011

It’s been a few months now since the Catlin Ice Base was dismantled and the explorers were picked up. Here are some of the highlights from this years Survey;

1.  Actually making it onto the ice

2011 wasn’t a vintage year for Arctic expeditions. Long periods of bad weather meant that most expeditions didn’t even manage to get beyond the confines of the hotel in Resolute Bay. Weather played havoc with the scheduled flights for the Explorer Team, journalists, Ice Base resupplies and the final flight to collect the explorers off the ice. Ultimately though the Catlin Arctic Survey teams made it safely on and off the frozen ocean and were able to collect the data they’d spent the best part of a year training and preparing for.

2.  Bigger and better

Each year the Survey develops further as we learn from past experiences. This year marked a record number of scientific samples gathered, processed and analysed. More than 2000 biochemical samples and data points were returned. For some scientists this expedition was their second trip to the Catlin Ice Base so they’d had time to review and refine their methods. Scientific devices were deployed into the seawater for a much longer period of continuous sampling and the amount of ice cores gathered was eight times higher than in 2010.

3.  Most northerly broadcast

There were months spent testing, tinkering, and then re-testing the communications equipment we planned to use for the broadcast. The hard work paid off when, on the 4 April 2011, expedition scientist Adrian McCallum called CNN International for the most northerly TV broadcast in history. It was no mean feat and all the HQ team felt palpable sense of relief when Adrian’s familiar face and Aussie drawl could be seen and heard on screen. Wired UK covered the story here

4. Teamwork

The Catlin Arctic Survey wouldn’t be possible without a commitment to working together as a team. Whether it’s by lending a hand to help flatten the runway at the Catlin Ice Base or pulling your fellow explorers across an open stretch of water on a raft of sledges. The teamwork and camaraderie, often in extreme and hostile circumstances was definitely a highlight of this years Survey.

5. Tuk

Tuk, a blue-eyed husky from Resolute Bay, won the hearts of everyone who visited the Catlin Ice Base during the expedition. He not only faithfully kept watch for polar bears, but also took turns visiting the scientists at their sampling sites or popping by to say hello in the tents each morning. This natural inquisitiveness saw him feature in two of the three documentaries made on the Catlin Arctic Survey.

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