The Arctic is warming very fast and as a result the sea ice minimums are shrinking each year. Watch this video to see a time-lapse of the changes that have...
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National Action Plan is Needed As I packed my bags to depart for Canada’s North, I was confronted with the front page of Huffington Post. A full screen banner read “Canada is Melting.” In his article, Michael Bolen, reviews a 259 page report form the federal government that describes how Canada is warming at roughly the global average over the last half century. With no national plan for addressing climate change, he wonders how long we can keep our heads in the sand. As Prime Minister Stephen Harper said recently: “No matter what they say, no country is going to take actions…
Some people wonder why it matters when the climate changes and sea ice melts. Travel with this family of polar bears as they search for sea ice that is central to their efforts to find food. This beautiful short from Arctic Bear Productions on the GoPro YouTube channel depicts a family of polar bears on their quest to find a place to rest: sea ice. While this footage is stunning, its message is quite somber. Eventually, the bears reach land, but do not find ice. There’s a reason for this. Polar bears need sea ice to hunt seals — but,…
Getting Packed for the Sedna EPIC Expedition In just over a week I’ll be leaving for my Arctic Odyssey with the other women from the Sedna Expedition. I’ve been digging out all my cold weather gear and discovering some gems that have been long sitting in cases. Snow anchors and ice axes from ice training trips to the Rockies. Crampons and boots used in Antarctica. My trusted Canada Goose parka. They are all saturated with memories from amazing life experiences and learning opportunities. The anticipation of a trip is as great as the experience itself. Packing, testing and developing new gear are all…
This is the first ever footage seen from the point of view of a polar bear. A camera was placed on the female bear's tracking collar allowing viewer's to see...
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Swimming the Northwest Passage In July 2016, a team of ten passionate women will embark upon an epic three-month journey, snorkeling 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, document and record the impacts of global warming on this fragile arctic ecosystem and on the aboriginal peoples’ traditional ways of life. Tried, tested and blue But before tackling the 100-day Northwest Passage Snorkel Relay in 2016, the Team will mount a 15-day, action-packed proof-of-concept expedition in July 2014. Traveling aboard the…
Recent Exploration of the Northwest Passage The extent of Arctic sea ice has declined by 50 percent since the late 1970s, hitting a record low, in September 2012, of 3.41...
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As the sea women snorkel the Northwest Passage, they’ll follow in the esteemed steps of Viking, European, American and Canadian explorers. Using state-of-the imaging technology to map the sea floor, Team Sedna may discover long-lost wooden ships that have been preserved in oxygen-poor arctic waters—perhaps a Viking merchant ship? Or Captain Sir John Franklin’s ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror? Franklin’s 1845 traverse of the Northwest Passage ended badly; his two ships were beset by ice and later sank. Franklin and his 128 men perished.
MV Cape Race to Support Team Sedna 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.