Skip to content

Northwest Passage Project: Exploring a Changing Arctic

Arctic media, courtesy Adam Ravetch.

The consequences of climate change are dramatically observable in the Arctic region. From July 18 to August 4, US and Canadian scientists, supported by 25 post-secondary students, will study vital signs of a rapidly changing Arctic Ocean this summer, and offer the public a chance to share the experience in real time.

The innovative, 18-day Northwest Passage Project research expedition will depart from the U.S. Air Base in Thule, Greenland, aboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden, returning to Thule after a 2,000 nautical mile voyage through the Northwest Passage of the Canadian Arctic.

The team will update the public in real time en route via interactive sessions hosted by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Exploratorium, and the Alaska SeaLife Center. There will also be interactive Facebook Live sessions from the Northwest Passage on July 20 at 5 pm US EDT, July 25 at 7 pm EDT, and July 30 at 7 pm ED.T

Northwest Passage Project is a collaborative effort between the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center (ISC) and Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO), the film company David Clark, Inc., and several other collaborators. The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Science program supports the Northwest Passage Project through the University of Rhode Island Foundation, the charitable arm of the University of Rhode Island.

Swedish Icebreaker Oden

Science