The Arctic Row team disembarks from Inuvik, Canada today, commencing a 30 day human-powered mission that will take them across the entire Arctic Ocean.
According to a post by Joy Ridley of the land team on the Arctic Row blog, the four-man row team was making final preparations in Inuvik before the launch.
“For now we’re all on standby, waiting for the launch, which should happen any time now. The team is sorting out the very last of the logistics, and unless they hit a snag they’ll be pushing off from Inuvik shortly!”
This route is about 1,300 miles long, through very cold, ice-strewn waters. They’ll pull out of the Arctic Ocean in 30 days in Provideniya, Russia if everything goes to plan. This will be the first time such a journey has been undertaken across the Arctic Ocean. It will require that two men are rowing at all times. To do this, they will row in rotation–two hours on, two hours off, for 24 hours a day, according to the Arctic Row website.
The team has planned the row in the spirit of adventure, but also intends to make important contributions to the study of the Arctic Ocean’s ecology. For example, they will collect samples of plankton, an important food source for Arctic Baleen whales, to help with studies at the Institute of Marine Science at The University of Alaska Fairbanks.”
For more information on the team and their research, see our previous post here.
