The Arctic Arc: Stuck in their tent, they move backwards!
The Arctic Arc progression map
© International Polar Foundation
Alain Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer have been stuck in their tent for a few days because of an awful storm. Meanwhile, the ice on which they stand is moving away from the North Pole! Helpless, our explorers are moving backwards!
The storm arrived suddenly with an enormous cloud of snow dust : "All of a sudden, we were no longer able to see 30 metres away", explained Alain on the phone yesterday. "We even had a hard time seeing the ground 10 metres away from us. Furthermore, the wind picked up and was blowing 50 km/h in no time. As far as the barometer goes, atmospheric pressure had reached 975 hecto-Pascal's; we therefore decided to stay in our tent and to not go out for today."
Locked up in their tent, Alain and Dixie are carried away by the ice drift. This phenomenon is specific to the Arctic region. Indeed, even in the centre of the Arctic Ocean, where the ice almost never melts, the sea ice is not motionless, but in constant motion under the action of winds and currents. Just as winds and currents do, the ice drift has a main direction, even though is not always constant: its speed can increase or decrease and its direction can vary and even go backwards!
As of now, the ice drift is hindering our explorers' progress. As you can see on the map tracing their route, the ice drift has brought them backwards 21.5 km in a single day!
Nevertheless, this is only a small setback for the expedition: as a matter of fact, local weather reports predict good weather will back soon, which should allow Alain and Dixie to catch up their delay.
