Second Catlin Arctic Survey underway

After nine months of planning, two teams have set off on the Catlin Arctic Survey 2010. Both the Explorer Team and the first of the Ice Base personnel left Resolute, Nunavut on a flight out to the floating ice sea of the Arctic Ocean. The researchers are investigating the effects of carbon dioxide on the Ocean. The group will be 750 miles from the North Geographic Pole for 45 days to study the potential of rising levels of acidity in some of the coldest water on the planet. The explorer team will head northwards, hauling sledges over pressure ridges, rubble fields and swimming across leads of open water, to collect data and samples for the survey. Their expedition focus, in the most inhospitable region on earth, will focus on ocean acidification.