WITH GRATITUDE

Team Sedna is incredibly grateful to Santi for acting as the anchor sponsor of this expedition, providing the group with heated drysuits, expedition wear and continuous support.

TEAM MEMBERS

Susan R. Eaton - Expedition Leader

Susan R. Eaton, founder and leader of the 2014-2016 SEDNA Epic Expedition, is a Calgary-based geologist, geophysicist, conservationist and journalist. Eight years ago, Susan suffered a scuba diving trauma that landed her in a hyperbaric chamber and ended her diving career. Undaunted, her life-long relationship with the ocean (which had included teaching diving) didn’t end in the hyperbaric chamber.

Today, Susan explores the world’s oceans—from Antarctica to the Arctic—in the snorkel zone, a dynamic land-sea-air-ice interface where large animals approach snorkelers and where the exhalations of marine mammals and snorkelers often comingle. A member of the Explorers Club, she will lead Team Narwhal.

Dr. Caroline Bain

Dr. Caroline Bain is a dive instructor and physician with a family practice in Calgary. Trained in hyperbaric (diving) medicine, Caroline also treats patients with scuba diving traumas. As the Sedna Expedition’s physician, Caroline will monitor the safety of the snorkelers and divers in waters that can approach minus two degrees Celsius. She’ll also conduct hyperbaric research—including administering WIFI pills to the snorkelers to transmit vital core body temperature data—ensuring that they are medically fit to snorkel and scuba dive in unforgiving arctic waters.

Ruby Banwait

Ruby Banwait is an aquarium biologist at the Vancouver Aquarium who specializes in fishes and invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest and the Arctic. In 2013, Ruby assisted in opening the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium, one of the world’s few catch-and-release style facilities. As the mini-aquarium’s curator and dive safety officer, Ruby introduced some 17,000 visitors to the flora and fauna of the North Atlantic, during the first six months of the mini aquarium’s operations, discussing sustainable fisheries and the coastal culture of Newfoundland.

Charlene Barker

Charlene Barker is a Calgary-based master dive instructor and cave diver with a passion for ice diving in mountain lakes and exploring cenotes (sink holes and their associated cave systems) in the Yucatan Peninsula. A member of the 2013 Royal Canadian Geographic Society-sponsored Raspberry Rising Expedition, Charlene has dived beneath British Columbia’s mountains which host some of the most unexplored and deepest cave systems in the world. The founder of two of Canada’s most successful scuba stores—in the land-locked prairies—Charlene has introduced more than 12,000 adults and youths to the joys of scuba diving and snorkeling.

Erika Bergman

Erika Bergman is a Seattle-based chemical oceanographer, educator and submersible pilot who ‘flies’ a five-man submarine, exploring the ocean down to 300 meters. Erika has three years of experience, as a manned submersible pilot and technician, for submersibles including Antipodes, Suds, Curasub, and Idabel. Named a 2013 National Geographic Young Explorer, Erika recently conducted a National Geographic expedition to study the deep coral reefs of the islands of Curaçao and Roatan. An engaging story teller, she uses her submersible as a vehicle to inspire students to explore the oceans and to pursue marine careers.

Emily Dowding-Smith

Emily Dowding-Smith is based in Auckland. Called to the bar in New Zealand, Emily is a lawyer with a masters degree in environmental science, policy and management. An avid scuba diver, she seeks creative solutions to environmental challenges, effecting positive change through awareness and education. During the past six years, she has worked in Germany on climate change issues. Emily convened the program and sessions of the 3rd and 4th Global Forums on Urban Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change for ICLEI, in Bonn, Germany.

Francoise Gervais

Françoise Gervais is a deep-sea explorer, environmental conservation specialist, educator, photographer and cold-water diver based in Victoria. Employed with Ocean Networks Canada, Françoise has participated in a number of oceanographic expeditions, surveying and cataloging the ocean’s deep sea organisms. She has conducted bird surveys for Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy, and has contributed to the creation of several natural reserves. A native of Québec, la belle province, extreme environments are in her blood and she feels at home when most challenged by them.

Jill Heinerth

Jill Heinerth is an underwater explorer, dive instructor, filmmaker and cave diver based in Gainesville, Florida. In 2013, Jill and her husband cycled 7,000 kilometres across Canada to raise awareness of water conservation issues. The recipient of numerous international awards, including the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s 2013 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration, she led a National Geographic expedition to Antarctica, being the first person to explore the inside of an iceberg. A fellow of the Explorers Club and an inductee in the inaugural class of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, Jill will lead Team Beluga and assist in filming the July 2014 Expedition.

Becky Kagan Schott

Becky Kagan Schott is an Emmy award-winning underwater videographer, journalist and dive instructor from Philadelphia. Her work can be seen on National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. Becky has worked closely with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory using the latest in high-definition and 3D technology, both above and below the surface. A fellow of the Explorers Club and an inductee in the Women Divers Hall of Fame, Becky believes in advancing marine conservation through using her compelling imagery. Becky will film the July 2014 Expedition.

Renata Rojas

Renata Rojas is a Mexican master diver based in New York. Renata has world-wide experience which includes cage diving with the great white sharks of Guadalupe. Born in Mexico City, Renata started diving in Cozumel, at the age of twelve. Her childhood fascination with the RMS Titanic culminated with Renata joining the 2012 Titanic Expedition to dive (in a submersible) more than 12,000 feet to the ship’s final resting place. Renata’ dive was cancelled twice but she still dreams of diving on the RMS Titanic one day. Out of the water, she works for a large European bank, as a director of loan syndications and trading, with a focus on Latin America.

WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT SEA ICE?

Most scientists agree that the Arctic Ocean will be mostly free of ice in the summer in the near future. Whether it happens in the next ten or thirty years, the future is clear.

A warmer planet

Sea ice is reflective, bouncing the sun’s rays back into space. When it melts, the dark blue ocean absorbs heat. Later on, the heat is released back into the atmosphere, heating up the rest of the planet. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than anywhere else on earth – about three times faster.

Higher sea levels

As the Arctic ice melts, it adds freshwater to the oceans. The melting of the massive ice sheet covering Greenland may eventually contribute to a rise of up to 9 millimeters. That might not seem like much, but it is enough to dramatically change life in coastal communities around the world.3. Thawing permafrost amplifies warming.

Loss of permafrost

Scientists are concerned about materials that are currently locked up in permanently frozen regions of the north. As they thaw, they will release carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that contribute to the overall greenhouse gases that can further accelerate warming.

Changing ocean currents

As freshwater runs into the sea, it produces a different overall map of water temperatures on earth. Ocean currents act as conveyor belts delivering waters that either warm or cool a particular region. The Gulf Stream brings water up from the south to create a relatively warm British climate. Precipitation follows these currents too. If they shift or slow down, these regional climates could be very different in the future. A changing regional climate affects food supply, water distribution and everything about a known way of life.

Stormy weather

Many North Americans would scoff at the suggestion of global warming after experiencing the harsh North American winter of 2013-2014. However, this is indeed a symptom of global climate change. As temperatures rise quickly in the Arctic, they eclipse the changes further south. There is a greater temperate and pressure gradient that results in the right conditions for severe weather. With the Jet Stream meandering further south in less predictable ways, the very cold Arctic air reaches much lower latitudes in North America. Where the cold and warm air meet, extreme weather erupts.

Did You Know?

Sea ice is declining in the Arctic, but that loss is not directly responsible for rising sea level. Think about a cold drink filled with ice cubes. When the cubes melt, the glass will not overflow.
When a glacier or ice sheet on land melts, it directly contributes to more water in the ocean and rising sea level.
The problem with melting sea ice is that the open ocean is dark and absorbs sunlight and heat, causing more ice to melt. This relationship is known as a feedback loop.

Women Divers Hall of Fame 2015 Scholarships and Grants

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DEADLINE FOR 2015 WOMEN DIVERS HALL OF FAME SCHOLARSHIPS AND TRAINING GRANTS IS NOVEMBER 28, 2014   The Women Divers Hall of Fame™ (WDHOF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and raising awareness of the contributions of outstanding women divers. WDHOF provides educational, mentorship, financial, and career opportunities to the diving community throughout the world. Each year, WDHOF awards scholarships and training grants that provide financial and educational support to individuals of all ages, particularly those who are preparing for professional careers that involve diving.    Scholarships are offered in conservation, marine biology, underwater archaeology, and journalism, graphic arts,…

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Greenland

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Greenland’s Ice Cap The Greenland ice cap has an estimated volume of 1.7 million km3 with numerous glaciers that extend from the ice cap out to the Davis Strait. The most well-known of these is the Ilulissat Glacier. It is one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world, creating dramatic and breath-taking scenery of ice and sea. Producing 10% of all Greenland’s ice fields, this glacier represents roughly 35 billion tons of ice a year. The ice fields of Greenland’s glaciers are products of the ice cap, formed form fresh water which has fallen as snow over the…

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Changing Salinity in Arctic Waters

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Immense ‘dome’ of fresh water bulging atop Arctic Ocean off Alaska Doug O’Harra CPOM scientists have discovered that the freshwater stored in the western Arctic Ocean has increased by 8000 km3 between the mid 1990s and 2010. Credit: UCL – ESA – PVL Enough extra fresh water to just about fill lakes Michigan and Huron to the brim has collected in the top layers of the Arctic Ocean northeast of Alaska during the past decade, according to new research published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Driven largely by strong winds and an immense circular current, some 8,000 cubic kilometers of fresh water have…

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Suunto Provides Computers for Team Sedna

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Diving the D4i Novo Computer I’ve been a Suunto Brand Ambassador for many years and have been using their products for more than two decades. I’ve always been a fan of quality and reliability for documenting my expeditions to extreme environments. Suunto has provided team divers with their flagship D4i Novo computer. This popular design offers lightweight functionality with optional air integration, all in the size of a wrist watch. At the heart of every Suunto dive computer is a mathematical algorithm that keeps track of the diver’s decompression status. The reduced gradient bubble model (RGBM) algorithm was developed by…

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Suunto Gives Direction to Team Sedna

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The Ambit 2S Sport Watch Suunto has provided Team Sedna with Ambit 2S GPS fitness watches to track our journey through the Arctic. These advanced devices are used by athletes around the world to track their fitness, journeys and adventures. This particular version of the Ambit is specially designed to fit women’s narrower wrists yet provides full features of the watch. The Ambit has become an open source craze among computer savvy athletes. The data can be repurpose using community shared apps. Clever programmers have created apps such as a cupcake counter, letting a runner know how many cupcakes they…

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The Expedition

In July 2016, a team of ten passionate women will embark on an epic three-month journey, snorkeling over 3,000 kilometers through frigid Arctic seas from Pond Inlet, Nunavut, to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Supported by a mother ship equipped with two rigid hull boats, the snorkelers will scout and document the impacts of global warming on this fragile arctic ecosystem and on the aboriginal peoples’ traditional ways of life.

Through cross-cultural dialogue and educational outreach, the 2014-2016 Sedna Epic Expedition will record on-the-ground climate change observations of Inuit and Inuvialuit Elders. Providing educational and life role models, Team Sedna will reach out to Inuit and Inuvialuit women and girls, empowering them to build resilient communities to combat the impacts of climate change.

Immersing itself in the issue of disappearing sea ice, Team Sedna will translate its findings into educational and awareness programs on climate change and disappearing sea ice. The Expedition will serve as a “call to action” for citizens of the world, including youth, providing aboriginal and scientific knowledge to inform governments on implementing science-based policies to mitigate global warming. The Expedition will also serve to inspire women and girls to think “big,” and to follow their dreams, no matter how out of the box they may appear…

Before tackling the 100-day Northwest Passage Snorkel Relay during the summer of 2016, Team Sedna will mount an 15-day, action-packed expedition in July 2014. Traveling aboard the 116-foot MV Cape Race, along the Labrador coast to Baffin Island and across the Davis Strait to Western Greenland, the sea women will conduct team-building exercises, perform oceanographic studies, deliver educational outreach in Inuit communities and broadcast their findings to the world. Further, they’ll demonstrate that snorkelers—using diver propulsion vehicles—can successfully ‘go the distance’ through ice-infested arctic waters.

The Mythology of Sedna

Sedna is an ancient Inuit goddess of the sea. Her mythology has been retold by storytellers from the indigenous peoples of the North. Inuit peoples describe a teenage girl who refused to marry a man prescribed by her father. She ran away with a mysterious masked figure who turned out to be a Fulmar seabird. Her father rescued her from the sea bird colony, but when they attacked him in his kayak, he threw his daughter overboard. As she clung to the edge of the boat, he cut off her fingers one by one. Sedna slipped below the waves and as her fingers dropped below the surface they each took the form of a marine mammal. Sometimes angry with mankind, Sedna releases violent storms and waves. For millennia, Inuit Shamans have entered the sea to soothe her and comb her long black hair. Once calmed, Sedna releases the seals and whales for a bountiful hunt.

Sedna’s Reach

Illustration by Jill Heinerth