EXPLORERS RELIEVED AS FLIGHT LANDS WITH SUPPLIES ON ARCTIC ICE
Three British Explorers were tonight finally resupplied with food, fuel and vital equipment after a Twin Otter plane landed on the Arctic Ocean floating sea ice where the team had been waiting for three days.
The plane had taken off in the early morning from Resolute in northern Canada on an eight and a three quarter hour flight, landing at 2115 hours GMT on a 400 metre long landing strip marked on the ice by the explorers at 81? 54′ 56″ N, 129? 40′ 19″ W.
Attempts to fly in the vital supplies had been forced to turn back on Sunday and could not take off on Monday and Tuesday because of bad weather in the region.
The three Britons, Pen Hadow, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels had been stranded whilst they waited and cut their food rations down by half to ensure they would not run out of food.
Speaking soon after the pilot made the safe landing, Hadow said:
“It’s been a pretty grim time waiting for the weather to lift enough to get the plane in. It’s no place to just hang around when it’s minus 40 degrees (Celsius), but we could not afford to move without our essential kit, food, fuel and batteries for our survey and communications gear.”
All of us are just wanting to get going quickly and have a high calorie meal to fuel ourselves up.”
At the Catlin Arctic Survey headquarters in London Director of Operations Simon Harris-Ward said:
“It’s a relief to have finally get the plane down. The longer we were forced to delay by the weather the worse we knew it would get for the team.”
Since they were dropped onto the ice on February 28th the survey team have experienced persistent storms which has hampered their progress. The resupply flight will be lifting scientific data they have collected as part of their programme to capture data for scientists interested in understanding more about the current state of the floating ice in the Arctic Ocean. It is known to be shrinking, and the team’s measurements of its thickness will help scientists determine in more detail what is happening to it.
The team’s route covers around 850 kilometres. They are undertaking a programme of ice penetrating radar measurements using equipment which is being towed behind one of their sledges as well as drilling through the ice to capture the data.
The team is aiming to reach the Pole by late May.
Click here for more information about the Catlin Arctic Survey
Tags: Ann Daniels, cas, Catlin Arctic Survey, Martin Hartley, Pen Hadow, Polar Exploration
