B.I.G. Expedition hits Canada for Arctic ice research, Before It’s Gone
A UK-led, international study, which is co-sponsored by Environment Journal, are preparing to ski over the oldest sea ice in the world’s most northerly ocean.
Departing 9th April 2024, The B.I.G. Expedition is heading to Nanavut, Canada, for the next phase of the Before It’s Gone Arctic ice research project.
Set to be dropped by plane somewhere close to tiny uninhabited Borden Island, participants will then ski east over the Prince Gustav Adolf Sea – where the oldest sea ice in the Arctic Ocean accumulates – before making landfall on the remote Ellef Rignes Island.
The journey is fraught with challenges, including constantly shifting terrain under foot, the formation of ice rubble known as pressure ridges which can suddenly part to reveal perishing water below, and temperatures bottoming out at -40C. Extreme weather has already delayed plans, with the crew’s initial flight unable to land at the deployment point.
What began as a team of six British women, led by famed meteorologist Felicity Aston MBE, who spent three years stationed at the British Antarctic Survey research station at the Antarctic Peninsula, today the B.I.G. Expedition has grown into an international network of like-minded and daring individuals.
While most do not have a formal background in climate science, after being selected they have undergone training, which is then put into practice out in the field. In Nanavut, for example, samples of snow, ice and water will be taken, giving researchers a better insight into this remote environment, and the changes underway due to issues such as carbon absorption and plastic pollution.
We’ll be keeping up to date with the B.I.G. Expedition, and you can track progress in real time here.
V. frustrating day failing to get to Resolute Bay. After 3hrs+ of flying we were turned around by bad weather and flew the 3hrs back to Iqaluit. @CanadianNorth have been no help, leaving us stranded and saying 9 days until they can get us on another flight to Resolute! pic.twitter.com/znculbbH4X
— felicity_aston (@felicity_aston) April 9, 2024
Long day travelling with a LOT of luggage from UK to Resolute Bay in the Nunavut region of Canada for the final ski journey of The B.I.G (Before It’s Gone) Arctic Research Expedition, starting 10th April. pic.twitter.com/NLn1zWaimS
— felicity_aston (@felicity_aston) April 9, 2024
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Image: Matt Palmer