From August 1 to September 15, 2020, the Swedish icebreaker Oden was going to participate in the international research expedition Synoptic Arctic Survey. However, Odens participation in the expedition is now postponed due to covid-19. The reason is that the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat has not been able to find a solution to eliminate the risk of possible contagion spread on board.
The melting of the sea ice in the Arctic and the faster melting of Greenland’s ice cover are two prominent environmental changes that could accelerate sea level rise in the future. Researchers are therefore working on a broad front to better understand the mechanisms behind the melting ice and what consequences it will have.
The Ryder 2019 Expedition with Swedish icebreaker Oden took place from early August to mid-September 2019 and included marine as well as land-based research. The overall scientific goal was to gain a better understanding of how climate affects the sensitive high Arctic environment. Chief Scientists at the Ryder expedition were Martin Jakobsson and Larry Mayer. Both were more than pleased with the expedition, where they managed to get to previously unexplored areas.
Fredrik Dalerum, Docent in Ecology at the Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, leads a research group that participated in this summer’s expedition with the icebreaker Oden to the Ryder Glacier in northwestern Greenland. In addition to Fredrik, the group also consists of Karin Norén, Associate professor, and Johannes Måsviken, PhD student, all at the same department. In this research project, they study how Arctic species and ecosystems are affected by climate change.
