 A renowned Arctic explorer is leading a maiden expedition where an intrepid team including 'citizen scientists' will venture to within 500 miles of the North Pole. Jim McNeill, a consultant for natural history programmes including the BBC's Frozen Planet, is setting out to discover the 'ground truth' of climate change on the first journey in a decade-long programme. The 18-strong research team departed from the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard this afternoon onboard Europe's largest wooden schooner. the Linden. They will sail around the frozen wilderness, about half-way between Norway and the North Pole, while taking critical scientific readings from the marine environment. The voyage is the first 'foundation mission' in the Ocean Warrior project, intended to use the remote High Arctic as a barometer for the planet at a time when climate change is widely considered a global emergency. Speaking onboard the deck of the Linden this morning, McNeill told Metro.co.uk: 'This is the culmination of about 19 months' worth of work. 'Ocean Warrior comes out of Ice Warrior, which has been going for 19 years now and has collected vital data for all our scientific partners. Arctic explorer Jim McNeill (left) and Professor Icarus Allen of Plymouth Marine Laboratory aim to take the pulse of the planet (Picture: Jim McNeill/Global Warrior) 'It's wonderful to be able to continue that work in another extreme environment with the rationale being that all these extreme environments are the barometers or indicators of change globally and what happens there is translated more slowly into our own conurbations and situations. It's fantastic to start Ocean Warrior, it's a long, 10-year project to find out exactly what's happening to our oceans.' The project is intended to cover 10,000 nautical miles a){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A renowned Arctic explorer is leading a maiden expedition where an intrepid team including ‘citizen scientists’ will venture to within 500 miles of the North Pole.
Jim McNeill, a consultant for natural history programmes including the BBC’s Frozen Planet, is setting out to discover the ‘ground truth’ of climate change on the first journey in a decade-long programme.
The 18-strong research team departed from the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard this afternoon onboard Europe’s largest wooden schooner. the Linden.
They will sail around the frozen wilderness, about half-way between Norway and the North Pole, while taking critical scientific readings from the marine environment.