Following up on Brian’s post on ice diving, I thought I’d talk a little bit about what distinguishes Arctic Kingdom’s ice dive training and expeditions from all the other diving services out there. I’ve mentioned this before (in the context of this video), but it bears repeating: on the ice, the Airboat changes everything.

AK expedition members ice diving in Arctic Bay 2004

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A satellite image generated by Noetix showing the location of the pack ice in Navy Board

Last week, I mentioned Arctic Kingdom’s collaboration with Noetix, a company that provides real-time maps of the Arctic’s ever-shifting floe edge. Expedition manager Thomas Lennartz was on the ice, following Noetix-generated maps and reporting back with conditions in the field. The purpose of this collaboration was to provide Noetix with feedback on the information their satellite images provide, allowing them to provide more nuanced information about conditions on the ice.

Today, I was able to get my hands on some images from that collaboration. What follows are Satellite images of Navy Board in late May provided by Noetix, along with some notes about conditions on and off the ice from Thomas.

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View Larger Map

This morning, Graham sent me coordinates for the team members Thomas Lennartz and Michael Robertson’s current location. The two are working on the ice near Baffin Island with a Spanish filmaking crew and a private photographer, respectively.

This sort of piggybacking (two separate expeditions sharing one location in or around the same time frame) is one of the strategies Arctic Kingdom employs to minimize expedition costs while keeping the highest standards for safety and comfort in the field.

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So, here it is: Friday, and Narwhal Week draws to a close. For those of you just tuning in, I’ve spent the past week looking at narwhals in honor Arctic Kingdom’s upcoming expedition to Lancaster Sound. We’ve explored research being done on narwhals and climate change through Smithsonian Magazine, watched some great footage of the narwhal migration shot in Lancaster Sound by the BBC, looked into recent research on narwhal song, and finally, explored the history and purpose of the narwhal’s distinctive tusk.

The Inspiration Evolution Rebreather

But there’s one final aspect of the narwhal we have yet to explore, and it happens to be one near and dear to us here at Arctic Kingdom: the unique challenges and rewards of diving with the narwhal.

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