From July 18 to August 4, 2019, a research expedition was conducted to the Northwest Passage with the icebreaker Oden. The research expedition was funded by the National Science Foundation (USA) and was a collaboration between Rhode Island University, Inner Space Center and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. The purpose of the expedition was to map how seawater currents and circulation have been affected by climate change and to link knowledge to how the local population and marine mammals and the ecosystem are affected in general.

On board the icebreaker Oden were both researchers, research students and filmmakers. During the research expedition, a large number of communication activities were carried out. Inner Space Center reported extensively from the expedition and on northwestpassageproject.org there are both films and blog posts from Oden. Fun reading if you are interested in life on board and the research that is conducted!

The Northwest Passage Project was carried out before the expedition to northwest Greenland and the Ryder Glacier, where Swedish researchers participated.

Selection of news articles

Tiny pieces of plastic found in Arctic snow, National Geographic, 15 August 2019
‘Punch in the gut’ as scientists find microplastic in Arctic ice, Reuters, 14 August 2019
An Arctic miracle: Icebreaker salvages lost records of Beluga whales, Reuters, 1 August 2019
Big Changes, Tale Environment 360, 27 August 2019

Podcast about the expedition

Science Friday: Breaking Through The Northwest Passage For Arctic Science