TORONTO — British explorers in northern Canada to measure the thickness of floating Arctic sea ice ended their expedition short of reaching the North Pole due to an early- summer ice melt, the team said Thursday.
Explorers Pen Hadow, Ann Daniel and photographer Martin Hartley had planned a three-month journey to the North Pole but ended their arduous trek Wednesday, approximately 304 miles from their destination, Hadow said.
The trio stopped after 73 days, during which they measured the thickness of floating sea ice to provide data to scientists studying the impact of global warming in the region.
“This year, the summer melt came a little early,” Hadow said during a webcast conference from Resolute Bay in northern Canada. “We would have rather reached the Pole if we could have, but we’ve always regarded (getting there) as the cherry on the cake.”
He said the group’s goal was to cover as much distance as possible and gather as much information as possible.
“Along the way we realized (getting to) the Pole was not achievable, so we sacrificed it very easily,” he said.
The data will be used to help scientists further understand climate change by getting a better picture of when sea ice in the North Pole will melt completely and not refreeze seasonally.
The Associated Press
