Culture and the climate challenge

12 September 2008

This month (September 2008) a 40-strong crew of artists and scientists embark on a scientific and cultural expedition to Disko Bay on the west coast of Greenland.

Whilst the scientists monitor the sensitive and rapidly changing Arctic environment, the artistic team will endeavour to translate the effects and impacts of climate change into a human story.

The voyage, aboard the science research vessel Grigory Mikheev, begins on 25 September. It was organised by Cape Farewell and sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council.

The scientific team are oceanographers Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, and Emily Venables from the Scottish Association for Marine Science, and marine geoscientist Carol Cotterill from the British Geological Survey. They will map ocean currents using an ARGO float and investigate the submarine landscape with sound waves to gain further insight into past climates, changes in sea level and the speed in which these changes can occur.

Dr Cotterill said, "This will be an important preliminary investigation of this area for BGS, as we hope that the data collected during this expedition will help to guide and underpin an ongoing Arctic Geoscience programme."

This will be the first time such measurements have been possible in this Arctic region due to ice cover, but with the recent reduction in sea ice levels the scientists hope to get a first glimpse of the ocean circulation conditions at the head of Baffin Bay. The research ship will also travel across the front of the fast-moving Jakobshavn Glacier, one the largest glaciers in the world. The glacier loses 20 million tons of ice a day, often in the form of huge icebergs.

Dr Boxall said, "Greenland and the Arctic are a pivotal point on the Earth when it comes to monitoring the progress of climate change. It is these regions that the impact will be, and is being, felt. Climate change also impacts the ocean's circulation, which has a cascading effect across the whole planet. By monitoring flows as part of the global ARGO programme, Cape Farewell is contributing to the scientific evidence."

The scientists will be joined by musicians Laurie Anderson, Vanessa Carlton, Jarvis Cocker, Feist, Robyn Hitchcock, Ryuichi Sakamoto, KT Tunstall, Martha Wainwright, Luke Bullen, beatboxer Shlomo, composer Jonathan Dove, comedian Marcus Brigstocke, theatre makers Mojisola Adebayo, Suzan-Lori Parks, artists Kathy Barber, David Buckland, Sophie Calle, Jude Kelly, Michèle Noach, Tracey Rowledge, Julian Stair, Chris Wainwright, architects Francesca Galeazzi, Sunand Prasad, poet Lemn Sissay, photographer Nathan Gallagher, BBC presenter Quentin Cooper, Open University lecturer Joe Smith, activist David Noble, media executive Lori Majewski, and film director Peter Gilbert who will document the journey for TV.

The aim of the expedition is to inspire the team to respond to climate change in a creative cultural manner. It will be possible to follow the team's adventures via their blogs and diaries at and on the BGS website.

Further information

Aoife O'Mongain
British Geological Survey
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3LA
Tel: 0131 6500230
Mob: 07887 992651

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1.The Natural Environment Research Council is providing sponsorship of £17,500 to Cape Farewell for the expedition, and scientific support through the British Geological Survey, the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science.

2. Cape Farewell pioneers the cultural response to climate change. The organisation was founded by artist David Buckland in 2001 and has led a series of expeditions into the Arctic, exploring the seas that hold the key to understanding climate.

3. ARGO is a network of 3,000 ocean floats used to record the state of the world' oceans. Instruments on the floats measure temperature, salinity and ocean currents. The floats in the ARGO array provide coverage of the oceans at approximately every three degrees latitude and longitude around the globe. Data from the Argo array help scientists understand the oceans and their effects on global climate. The float being deployed on this expedition will transmit data back to the UK on a regular basis for around three years.

Culture and the climate challenge

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