In a bit of an ironic twist, Canada has decided to abandon their scientific mapping expedition this year because the ice flow that they set up camp on has begun to break up. The breaking and shifting ice flow was deemed too dangerous for the May mission that planned to field 25 scientists to conduct mapping work 400 kilometres offshore.
The irony is that the mapping work is being conducted to claim more Arctic seabed, with the promise that global warming will make this area more accessible to natural resource exploitation. The planned joint mapping expedition between Canada and the United States will still take place in August, using ice breaking vessels and automated underwater vehicles (AUVs). The seaborne mission won’t be affected by the same conditions as camping directly on the ice and it will cover some of the same territory.
Read more in this story from the CBC.
