International Climate Expedition

West Greenland, 15 - 21 September 2010

     

In September 2010 Expedition Factory, together with Dutch TV weather anchor and climatologist Reinier van den Berg, organized a climate expedition to West Greenland. The expedition allowed participants to experience firsthand what global warming is doing to one of the most vulnerable regions of the world. They were able to witness the condition and changes to the icesheet, and experience and discuss the situation with TV and media weather and climate specialists.

A true Polar Expedition

This was a real expedition. We experienced the Arctic climate at and around the icesheet by making a trekking on foot and camping in tents – on the ice. This means that we didn't only see what is going on, but also feel, hear and smell. It also means that we carried all our own equipment, fuel and food for a few days. The emphasis of the trek was on experiencing the landscape, nature and climate. The timing of the expedition was after the short Arctic summer in September. Nature was getting back into winter mode, but without extreme low temperatures yet. We also saw the ice at its smallest, after the ‘normal’ summer melt. We met some of the local fauna, changing from summer to winter dress (arctic foxes, hares, musk ox). Although this was a relatively short expedition there was plenty of time for filming and photography, and we got a lot of attention in international media.

Climate neutral

This expedition went to one of the most vulnerable and unspoilt regions in the world. Therefore the expedition has been be carried out 100% climate neutral. Our full carbon footprint has been compensated, and we refrained from using unnecessary polluting transport like snowmobiles. Ultimately we left nothing but our own footprints.

New: Click here to download the extended expedition reader as pdf (6MB - full res)

New: Click here to download the extended expedition reader as pdf (2MB - low res)

 

Expedition program

15 September: Travel to Copenhagen (Denmark) and dinner at the Copenhagen Crowne Plaza Hotel, one of the first fully carbon neutral hotels in the world. In the evening all participants met for introductions and a presentation about the Greenland icecap by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).

16 September. Early flight to Kangerlussuaq, just above the Arctic Circle in Western Greenland. Morning presentation about the expedition logistics and meetup with our local guide. Lunch at the airport restaurant, followed by a 4 wheel drive transfer to the inland icecap. On the edge of land and ice we continued on foot for a few kilometers and then built our expedition basecamp for 2 nights. We enjoyed an expedition meal and slept in tents and bivy bags on the ice, enjoying a perfect view of the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) directly over our camp.

17 September. We made a walking tour over the icesheet, with plenty of time for photography and filming. Our guides took us by some of the most characteristic and spectacular features of the edge of the icesheet, using all necessary safety equipment. We spent a second night in our basecamp on the ice.

18 September. After breakfast we broke up our camp to walk back towards solid ground. We traversed along the edge of ice, along small iceberg-filled lakes and the mountains. We then made our final expedition camp on land, right underneath one of the most spectacular glacier tongues of Western Greenland, at Russell's Glacier. During our overnight stay and subsequent day many cubic meters of ice broke off the glacier rim and fell into the river some 40 meters lower.

19 September. We spent the morning exploring Russell's Glacier and surroundings, after which we broke up camp and followed the flood beds of the melt-water rivers back towards town. On the main road we were picked up by 4 wheel drives and taken back to the local hotel for a shower and dinner. After dinner we once more enjoyed a perfect view on the northern lights over the village of Kangerlussuaq.

20 September. In the morning we visited the Sondrestrom Research Facility, a few kilometers outside the village. At this facility several US and Danish institutes research the polar upper atmosphere and space weather. After lunch we flew back to Copenhagen, from where we all went back home again.