Exploring earth’s fragility and adventuring with purpose
May 2024, five explorers and scientists from the Adventure and Research Collective (ARC) skied 580km across Greenland’s East Coast on an unsupported, human-powered adventure, driven with the goal of advancing climate science and collecting key data that could shape the way we perceive the future of our planet, we call Earth.
Led by Dr. Adrian McCallum, The Greenland Project merged polar exploration with climate research. Together, the team pulled heavy pulks, braving whiteouts, high winds, sub-zero temps and knee-deep snow - measuring surface snow density variation, ice thickness, and elevation changes. They garnered data essential to accurately assess the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet - a crucial aspect of monitoring changes in polar ice sheets, and their impact on sea levels worldwide.
It was a journey with a mission to prove that small-scale expeditions can produce world-class climate data with minimal environmental impact: gear was chosen for function and weight, trash was packed out, and flights were optimized for lower emissions.
Looking ahead, Arctic and Patagonian projects await, and the team hopes their journeys will inspire others to blend exploration with purpose. “Give science a platform, and adventure a purpose.”
Follow their journey @adventureandresearch
