Conference and film
at the Cerle de la voile de Grandson (March 4, 2022)
Non-contact Floristic
Inventory (August 20, 2021)
In this short explanatory video, Gianluca Casagrande explains
the flora inventories. These snapshots will serve as a reference
for future observations to describe climate change in the
Arctic...
Presentation ba Prof.
Gianluca Gasagrande, expedition geograph (film by Dorothée
Adam)
20,000
miles in the Arctic (August 16, 2021)
After 20,000 nautical miles in the waters of the Great North,
equivalent in distance to a circumnavigation of the globe,
Nanuq is back on the old continent for some maintenance work:
painting of the deck and the hull, renovation of the jib and
the saddlery in the saloon, overhaul of the engine, some interior
painting, difficult, if not impossible to carry out in the
Arctic...
... 'in fine' very little measured against the conditions
encountered between 60 and 80° North latitude: winters
with temperatures below -40°, winds of over 70 knots (hurricane
force), countless gales, record speeds on the water of up
to 20 knots, daily averages sometimes over 200 miles (400
km), voluntary and involuntary groundings, pack ice up to
2m thick, pack up to 9/10 ... and more than 5,000 person-days
on board!
Since her launch in 2014, Nanuq has also been a floating
laboratory, the tool for numerous scientific projects and
collaborations, explorations in areas that have not yet been
mapped, exceptional encounters with nature as well as with
people, on board, on land, off the beaten track and at conferences,
a human adventure and a book of memories without equal!
With these pages we would like to share a few selected moments,
allow you to ‘come on board for a coffee break’
and give an overview of Nanuq's explorations throughout the
past years projects : 2021 (Methane and CO2 mapping), Nanuq
2020 (The Blosseville coast inventory), News
2019... (no2no), News
2018... (Polarquest 2018), News
2017... (Greenland East Coast), News
2016... (Greenland West Coast), News
winter 2016... (The passive igloo project II),
News winter 2015...
(The passive igloo project I), News
2015... (The voyage to Greenland), News
2014... (Depature and Scandinavia)
Have a good discovery and see you soon for new adventures!
Temperature
and greenhouse gases (August 6, 2021)
In this 60 second video Daniel explains the link between
temperature and Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The observations
started in 2020 are completed during this season's expedition.
Results will be available in the autumn. To be continued!
Presentation by Prof. Daniel McGinnis, aquatic
physicist of the expedition (directed by Dorothée Adam)
Dublin,
the great (August 4, 2021)
... or the return to civilisation.
Nanuq in Dublin, at the quay of the Irish capital's
busy port (photo Mathilde Gallinelli)
After leaving Copenhagen and leaving the big cities in our
wake in 2015 to explore and experience the vast uninhabited
expanses of the Arctic regions for seven seasons, the return
to civilisation is striking. Dublin, a major European city,
is a reflection of economic opportunity and poverty at the
same time.
While there are differences in the more remote areas, they
are less striking, probably because these places naturally
satisfy at least three basic needs: proximity to nature and
water, which are sources of inspiration and life, and the
possibility of a quality visual environment which satisfies
the basic need for beauty, because even the simplest dwelling
has a magnificent view...
While economic opportunities are certainly greater in the
city, the inhabitants of small towns tell us straight out
that their way of life is little affected by the crises of
the big cities, whether social, economic or health-related.
Today, one out of every two people lives in a city and this
proportion is set to increase; at the current rate, the urban
population is expected to grow by 50% over the next 20 years,
an immeasurable challenge in the light of the social, environmental
and health challenges...
If the city is the key to economic and technological development,
or at least its historical role, this model of cohabitation
is perhaps reaching its limits; a model to be reviewed?
We are now waiting for the wind to shift to the west, under
the passage of an Atlantic low. Departure is planned for the
end of the day for a 300 mile crossing, heading for Brittany.
See you soon!
Peter Gallinelli, Dublin 2021
Photogrammetric
surveys on board Nanuq (July 30, 2021)
Here you will find the latest video explaining photogrammetric
surveys carried out during the expedition 2020. Results are
available on request as 3D models with a 5cm resolution...
Presentation ba Prof.
Gianluca Gasagrande, expedition geograph (film by Dorothée
Adam)
From
Isafjordur to Torshavn (July 29, 2021)
The weather forecast makes us choose the route around the
north of Iceland, along the Arctic Circle. This is also the
most interesting route in terms of the daily methane and CO2
measurements made by our on-board scientist. But a scientific
navigation is also a navigation in itself...
A persistent low-pressure system, to the SW of Iceland,
gives us weather that is sometimes calm and sometimes windy
with gale force winds. The crew is busy adjusting the sails.
Nanuq is going full speed ahead!
Nanuq in the NW fjords of Iceland (photo Dolores
Gonzalez)
After the Horn, a cape that marks the NW corner of Iceland,
known for its breaking seas in case of gale, poor visibility
and winter ice, we stop at Siglufjordur where we immerse ourselves
in the history of herring, well presented in the excellent
museum dedicated to this epoch. From the height of our 2021s,
the living conditions of that not so distant era seem unthinkable.
The navigation is also punctuated by encounters with marine
mammals and pelagic birds of all kinds, but also by charming
human encounters such as our friends from Gaïa (https://sy-gaia.ch)
or the Örkin. We could stay here for weeks... but our
sailing agenda is behind schedule due to quarantines and we
have to catch up time to be in the Faroes in due time for
the next crew change.
After a final stop in Siglufjordur to complete customs formalities,
we set off on the 250 mile crossing to the Faroe Islands.
No suitable weather is forecast for the next 5 days. So we
set off with a strong southerly breeze which gradually turns
SW and eases off, not too bad ... and finally gives way to
a flat calm about 2/3 of the way. We finish our crossing with
the engine. Somewhat frustrating!
Nanuq in Torshavn (photo Dolores Gonzalez)
The welcome in the Faroes, after a negative PCR test, is
all the more warm. The last available place in the harbour
is reserved for Nanuq who finds 20m of industrial dock at
the shipyard, wedged between large trawlers. Our arrival coincides
with the archipelago's national holidays. Colourful festivities
bring together a population in their best traditional clothes,
foot and oar races, specialities and magnificent local handicrafts.
National party in Torshavn (photos Dolores
Gonzalez)
After a change of crew, we cast off. The route ahead is
still long and full of uncertainties, not so much meteorological
as related to the individual way of managing the COVID crisis
of each government... our route passes through 5 different
countries!
Story to follow... see you soon!
Nanuq
CTD probe (July 24,2021)
During the voyage around Iceland and the crossing to the
Faroe Islands, we are taking temperature and salinity profiles
in the first 30 metres of the sea water column twice a day.
These measurements complement the methane and CO2 samples.
They are carried out using a CTD probe (meaning Conductivity,
Temperature and Depth).
This probe was developed by Jonathan Selz and Peter Gallinelli
on board Nanuq in the form of a DIY project built around a
Raspberry PI microcomputer and Yoctopuce interfaces. Initially
installed in an inconclusive sewer pipe, the current successful
version is housed in a transparent polymer tube that is waterproof
to 150m.
This base is upgradeable and allows the probe to be completed
by adding other sensors: turbidity, photosynthesis, oxygen
... or even an on-board camera for underwater observation.
Temperature and salinity profile in Nansen
Fjord, Greenland (credits Jonathan Selz)
If you are interested in this project, contact us here...
Tracking
CH4 on board Nanuq (July 23, 2021)
60 seconds on the clock to explain mathane sampling carried
out as part of the Nanuq2020 project...
Presented by Prof. Daniel McGinnis, aquatic
physicist of the expédition (by Dorothée Adam)
CH4
- a powerful greenhouse gas (July 21, 2021)
Sampling in mountain lakes and glacier outlets, a team effort
on land trips in the NW Iceland region. As methane and CO2
are dissolved gases in water and atmosphere, two samples are
taken at the same time. The weather conditions at the time
of sampling are also documented as well as the pH and alkalinity
of the water. All these data are used to complete and explain
the physical and biological phenomena related to methane and
CO2 concentrations in the Arctic.
Caroline Guenat and Peter Gallinelli in the
field, Iceland 2021 (photos P. Gallinelli and S. Longo)
Explorations
and observations (July 18, 2021)
Precisely one year ago, despite a highly uncertain health
context, Nanuq approached the coast of Iceland with a packed
scientific agenda. Five illustrated video clips were made
on this occasion. They report on the scientific activities
during the expedition. Here is the first one; we will share
the following ones in the coming weeks...
Presentation Nanuq2020 by Peter Gallinelli,
expedition leader (clip arranged byDorothée Adam)
Getting
ready for season 2021 (July 15, 2021)
That's it: we are on board Nanuq! The list of preparations
is still long, between careening, sewing, re-commissioning
and refuelling... days without night near the Arctic Circle
which keep us busy during the compulsory confinement at the
arrival in Iceland.
Isafjordur welcomes us with the necessary distance of confinement,
but helps us to find solutions in all the problems of preparation
of a sailing boat, or nearly.
A final PCR test finally frees us and we are off to the NW
fjords. Once again the landscape is stunning and wild. It
is an ideal environment to launch our boat, which has been
sleeping for months, to test the equipment and to remind us
of the basic manoeuvring and safety procedures. We are also
setting up the sampling protocols that will accompany Nanuq
during its crossing to Europe.
It doesn't take long to find our marks on board. After a week
of overcast, windy and rainy weather, the sun welcomes us
to our wild anchorage at the foot of the mountains still covered
in snow that reach down to sea level.
Anchorage at the head of Hrafnsfjordur. The
weather is not bad. During our last visit in 2020, violent
gusts made any attempt to anchor pointless (photo Caroline
Guenat)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) are the two most important
carbon (C) based greenhouse gases. Monitoring these gas emissions
and refining global budgets are key to predicting the development
of global climate warming, especially in the sensitive Arctic
region.
The Arctic oceans are both an important CO2 uptake region
and an important source of atmospheric CH4. These critical
data are lacking, however, which is why programs like Nanuq2021
are essential. These sailboats are green “floating laboritories”
and allow scientists to collect key atmospheric and water
quality data in areas that are hard to reach.
Monitoring CH4 and CO2 data and temperatures in the water
column and atmospheric allow us to better understand the role
of the Arctic in regulating the global environment, and how
global warming will in-turn effect the Arctic regions.
Greenland, Blosseville coast (photo Ophelie
Selz)
The ice and snow covering of polar regions reflect the sun’s
heat. With rising temperatures, this ice and snow melts, allowing
much more heat to be absorbed in the oceans and land. This
is why the Arctic regions are the most sensitive to these
climates changes. Indeed, global climatic perturbations contribute
to accelerating the melting of the arctic ice and warming
up the water. The warming in the Arctic region will likely
release more trapped CH4 gas in the future, accelerating global
warming. At the same time, changes in the ocean currents due
to warming and meltwater will alter the ocean’s capacity
to uptake CO2.
Despite the importance of this region, studies and in situ
samplings are lacking. The peculiarity of the route of the
Nanuq 2021 expedition is not only to make the Arctic zones
accessible to scientists.
To observe this evolution and collect these data, Nanuq2021
joins forces with the Dept Forel, Faculty of Science at the
University of Geneva in collaboration with Prof. Daniel McGinnis.
Together, this team of sailors, explorers and scientists will
collect water and air samples on GHG and complement them with
O2 and temperature profiles and a collection of pH and Alkalinity
data. This data will contribute to the scientific mapping
of GHG in order to build decennial or multidecadal models
of climate projection allowing scientists and politicians
to make decisions on measures to understand and mitigate climate
change and climate impacts.
By Caroline Guena, on-board scientist. / have a look at the
planned route here...
Clean
Mont Blanc (June 8, 2021)
As an extension of the Arctic plastic sampling initiated
on board Nanuq in 2016, AQUALTI with a consortium of partners
has just completed a tour of Mont Blanc, culminating in a
summit ascent, to collect unique samples from 18 Alpine glaciers.
While the transport of plastics through the oceans is beginning
to be well documented, their laboratory analysis, currently
in progress, will provide a better understanding of atmospheric
transport. As these are microscopic particles, their presence
is practically invisible to the naked eye. Results are expected
in a few months...
Deployment of a collection net in a glacier
outlet, Mont Blanc massif (c) Nicolas Zimmermann | Frederic
Gillet collecting microplastics at Mt. Blanc summit
CLEAN MONT BLANC is the result of a collaboration between
AQUALTI, the University of Savoie Mont Blanc and the Summit
Foundation, a project made possible thanks to the invaluable
support of Scott Sports SA, Dolomite 1897, PICTURE ORGANIC
CLOTHING, the Sauvain-Petitpierre Foundation, the Fondation
Eau Neige et Glace, Gaznat SA and Petzl.
Low cost, low impact science for extreme environments
Curiosity has driven mankind to the highest peaks, the deepest
ocean rifts and even into space. This attraction to go beyond
the boundaries of the known has opened up opportunities to
settle and prosper on every continent and to make human life
possible where only wildlife exists.
If the high latitudes and more generally the polar regions
have long resisted exploration, their discovery is due to
the courage and determination of explorers, but is also closely
linked to technological progress.
Historically, "the goal justifies the means" and
all these expeditions have one point in common: they mobilise
considerable amounts of resources and consequently have a
non-negligible environmental impact.
In this respect, the first ascent of Mount Everest by Hillary
and Norgay in 1953, with a team of 20 people and hundreds
of porters, making intensive use of equipment and oxygen,
is emblematic. It has become known as the "Himalayan
style". Half a century later, mountaineers successfully
climb the same peak in one day with ultra-light equipment
and without oxygen, in the "Alpine style".
Technological progress is not slow in developing either.
Whereas in the past scientific equipment was bulky and consumed
a significant amounts of energy and resources, recent developments
often allow for lightweight, robust, autonomous and smart
solutions that can fit in a backpack or even a wristwatch.
These developments indicate that we are witnessing a real
paradigm shift: quality science on board small ships is now
not only possible but also complementary to traditional expeditions.
It could provide innovative approaches to accessing new knowledge
that conventional expeditions cannot, as such small budgets
allow for more and longer campaigns.
On the same scale, the Astrolabe and Nanuq
Small sailing vessels [*] are now robust, safe, comfortable
and self-reliant, and moreover, they are very agile. They
are an efficient alternative or at least a very complementary
means to conventional logistics in the field of polar sciences
and, more generally, in exploration of remote or isolated
ocean regions...
Extract from P. Gallinelli[a], F. Gillet[b], Low-cost and
low-disturbance science in extreme environments, GREAL reports,
2021
a Association Acapela (Geneva, Switzerland)
b NGO Aqualti (Chambery, France)
Agenda
NANUQ 2021 (May 01, 2021)
The 2021 agenda is taking shape. Need to get away? Looking
for adventure? The NANUQ 2021 project sets out to discover
the islands of the North Atlantic. See the agenda here...
GREALtechnical
report (April 23, 2021)
Publication of the GREAL technical report, a collection
of articles from the Polarquest 2018 expedition on
board NANUQ:
V. DI ZENZO
La Spedizione Polare di Salomon August Andrée
e i suoi resoconti in Italia fra il 1896 e il 1930
P. GALLINELLI E F. GILLET
Low-cost and low-disturbance science in extreme environments
O. PINAZZA ET AL.
The PolarquEEEst Experiment: Measurements of the Cosmic
Muon Flux from 350 to 820 Latitude North
R. DEMONTIS
Generazione e analisi dell'indice di vegetazione normalizzato
(NDVI) ricavato dai dati acquisiti tramite rilievo
fotogrammetrico speditivo con UAV durante la
spedizione Polarquest2018 in prossimità di
Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard
E. FALQUI
Arte e divulgazione della scienza. Curatela e progetto
espositivo di una mostra per Polarquest2018
E. LICITRA
Comunicazione - Il racconto di un viaggio
Happy 2021 (December 24, 2020)
Alpine winter camp - testing a prototype wood
stove (photo Kalle Schmidt)
The whole Nanuq team wishes you an excellent and adventurous
year 2021 !!
The sound
of ice (December 20, 2020)
A sound sample of the ice noise. Far from being silent and
motionless, the world of ice is very much alive.
Make yourself comfortable, put on a headphone and relax....
Recording and photo : Kevin Monneron
NANUQ
: documentary (December 16, 2020)
NANUQ, An Arctic Journey From Past to Future
90 years later in the Svalbarb archipelago, Nanuq,
a special sailboat designed to be sustainable and
passive, fueled by an unconditional love for knowledge,
for progress, and for scientific research, crosses
stretches of sea free of ice for the first time in
decades following the journey of the Italia airship.
About the film
Length: 55 min
Director: Emanuele Licitra
Co-director: Paola Catapano
Production: Guia Invernizzi Cuminetti for Addictive
Ideas
Involved TV Channel: Mediaset (RTI SpA)
Announcement
: conference (Monday December 14, 2020)
The Nanuq 2020 Blosseville, Greenland costal inventory :
A sailing expedition mapping Arctic regions, climate change
and greenhouse gases.
Peter will present their team’s preliminary 2020 expedition
report, and introduce their boat, the various interesting
projects and activities, and life onboard Nanuq. I will show
some (very) preliminary results from measurements Peter’s
team collected for us. The Aquatic Physics group began a collaboration
with Peter and his organization exploring the Arctic region
performing mapping and measurements of the Arctic seas as
well as exploring small coastal arctic ponds/and lakes. Some
of these lakes are newly accessible due to increasingly ice-free
waters. Among the many measurements performed by Peter’s
team, we will add methane/CO2 measurements as well as temperature/salinity/oxygen
monitoring.
Hope to see you there for a picturesque presentation and
relaxing discussion. Please forward if I forgot someone.
Best regards, Daniel McGinnis
A geographical report
- book (November 16, 2020
The Polarquest2018 Arctic expedition
A geographical report
"As any other good journey report, this
one too begins by presenting the scientific rationale
of the expedition in its geographical context, clearly
stating the reasons for the presence of a geographer
in the crew. Then comes the account, derived from
the expedition logbook and from other texts written
during the operations. Several scientific
activities – full-blown research work and methodological
tests – are then presented and discussed, putting
forth some relevant results of surveys and visits
conducted in various
«points of interests» of the Svalbard
Islands."
Gianluca Casagrande, Associate Professor of Geography
at the European University of Rome and Scientific
Director of the Geographic Research and Application
Laboratory (GREAL), retraces the historical, scientific
and georgraphical context of the Plarquest2018 expedition
beyond Svalbard on board Nanuq.
Mare
Plasticum - The Plastic Sea (November 11, 2020)
Presented at the Genoa Science Festival 2020, this
newly published book covers plenty of fascinating
science, such as insights into the impacts of plastics
and microplastics.
Mare Plasticum - a multidisciplinary approach to
plastic pollution of the oceans, seas, and rivers
and to potential sustainable solutions
"This book, written by a multidisciplinary
team of authors comprising scientists, artists and
communicators, explores one of the most pressing issues
of our time – the menace plastics pose to marine
environments and organisms. It takes readers on a
journey that begins on the beaches of Galicia..."
up to 82° of latitude north on board Nanuq
during the Polarquest2018 expedition...
Announcement
: Seminar - Master in Digital Earth and Smart Governance
(October 26, 2020)
Blosseville coast as seen from Nanuq, waiting
in the pack ice. Photo Kevin Monneron
NANUQ2020 Arctic Expedition - First comments and results
PROGRAMME
Institutional greetings by Carla Masetti, Director, Laboratorio
Geocartografico “G. Caraci”, Università
Roma Tre
Expedition’s geographical overview by Gianluca
Casagrande, Scientific Director, GREAL, Università
Europea di Roma
NANUQ2020 – A preliminary report by Peter Gallinelli,
Expedition and Project Leader, NANUQ2020
An innovative probe for oceanographic research by Jonathan
Selz, Onboard Scientist, NANUQ2020
Comments from the lab: a word on vascular plants observed
by NANUQ2020 by Daniele Angeloni, Master in Digital Earth
e Smart Governance, Università Roma Tre
Memorial
flag at the italian geographic society (October 19,
2020)
IGS flag at the Italian Geographical Society
at Palazzetto Mattei, Rome, Italy, photo Gianluca Casagrande
2020
Polarquest2018-borne IGS flag in an illuminated display box
at the headquarters of the Italian Geographical Society at
Palazzetto Mattei, Rome, Italy. The flag is with the accompanying
text and surrounded by historical navigational instruments
from the Society's heritage. As you may recall, the flag was
with us during the expedition and we signed it on the quay
at Ny-Alesund. It has been on display since our return in
September 2018 and it is still there.
"Ninety years after the polar flights of airship
ITALIA, conducted under the aegis of the Italian Geographical
Society in 1928, the Society institutionally and operationally
participated in the Polarquest2018 Arctic research and communication
expedition, onboard high-sustainability sailboat S/Y NANUQ.
Equipped as a floating laboratory, the small yacht
-displacing 23 tonnes - travelled about 3500 nautical miles
from Iceland to continental Norway reaching Greenland and
circumnavigating Svalbard Islands between July 22nd and September
4th, 2018.
The international crew of 10 members developed a complex
set of scientific activities and documentation on the geographical
and environmental status of the visited sites. During the
entire voyage this flag, signed by NANUQ's crew and by descendants
of the crew of airship ITALIA, was onboard with the scientific
equipment. It symbolically testified the Society's enduring
mission and will to accompany and support scientific research
and geographical culture, towards a better protection of our
planet for future generations"
All the best!
Gianluca
Plastics
at the end of the world (October 10, 2020)
Plastics (10cm debris) on the beach of Nansen
Fjord on the east coast of Greenland 2020 ... terrible! Photos
Kevin Monneron
Plastics visible to the naked eye are present
in the remotest parts of the planet, transported by ocean
currents. This is a terrible observation and it is no longer
a novelty, alas ... but what about plastics transported by
atmospheric currents? FLYING PLASTICS will try to answer this
question. In collaboration with the NGO AQUALTI and the University
of Mont-Blanc Savoie, the Nanuq team has taken part in the
development of an innovative sampling protocol, to be followed...
Mantamaran 2.0, by AQUALTI 2020, photo Marie
Raison 2020
Source: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/
. showing a typical depression off the coast of Ireland!
Scentific projects
Photogrammetry and digital terrain models
Botanical inventory (exploration)
Temperature and salinity profiles
3D digital model of rib sections
Methane abstraction from fresh water
Continuous monitoring of surface water temperatures
Surveys of the thermal sites could not be carried out due
to the impossibility of visiting the areas of interest in
2020.
The crew
Peter Gallinelli: expedition leader and skipper
Thierry Selz: co-skipper, doctor
Gaël Frochaux: engineer, DST probe operator and paraglider
pilot
Lisa Gallinelli Gonzalez: logistics, navigator and drone operator,
psychologist
Dolores Gonzalez: logistics and navigation
Claudio Limacher: engineer, photo survey and instrument operator
Kevin Monneron: engineer, freediver, underwater recovery
Sophie Ruch: flora survey, drone and paraglider co-operator
Jonathan Selz: engineer, DST probe developer
Ophelie Selz: official expedition photographer and artist
Tamara Strasser: mountaineer, photographic survey and instrument
operator
Ground team
Gianluca Casagrande: associate professor, geographer, European
University of Rome and Geographical Society of Italy
Frederic Gillet: environmental engineer, scientific coordinator,
Aqualti
Daniel F. McGinnis: Associate Professor, Aquatic Physics,
F.A. Forel, University of Geneva
Dorothée Adam-Mazard: director, audiovisual productions
of the expedition
Alessandro Prunesti: Senior Lecturer, European University
of Rome, web developer
Born from the collaboration of two non-profit associations,
Nanuq 2020 is a scientific mission on the coast of Blosseville,
on the east coast of Greenland, scheduled for the end of July
2020.
The objective of this expedition will be to collect and
document samples of micro- and nano-plastics near the Greenland
coast.
At the same time, and in anticipation of future climate
change, we are taking advantage of our presence in the field
to take a 'snapshot' of the coastline by creating a 3D digital
model using innovative technology and a biological inventory.
The documentation of terrestrial and marine thermal springs
in the sector will open up new perspectives for research projects
in the future.
Based on a sailing boat with a low ecological impact, the
means implemented for this mission will be as respectful as
possible of the places visited and will be part of a 'solutions
for sustainable development' approach.
This unmapped territory that we cross reminds us that we
always need plans B and C ... when all goes well we tend to
forget it. We navigate by sight and this way of progressing
is reminiscent of glacial navigation: from a distance it looks
blocked and it is only when we get closer that we eventually
see a free passage; it can open at the last moment and even
close in again for good.
To describe this reality, the Greenlandic language has the
word 'imaqa' ... it is not our 'maybe' but rather 'it will
happen when conditions permit', a state of mind whose wisdom
we have long since forgotten.
If initially we were to convoy Nanuq to Iceland in early
spring, travel to Norway is interrupted until further notice
and the future remains uncertain. In any case, ship and crew
are ready and eagerly await the deconfinement and the best
opportunity to cast off for Nanuq2020.
2020 is also an exceptional year in terms of ice; the extent
around Svalbard this year is significantly higher than the
average of 1981-2010 and has even approached a maximum over
the same period. It is at this stage very difficult to predict
what the implications will be for the Nanuq 2020 season, except
that the East Greenland Current will be affected. However,
this does not detract from the overall trend towards a continued
decrease in the Arctic ice cap, as the following graph reminds
us.
to come ...