Press Releases
Scientists and Explorers Team Up to Examine Ocean Acidification During Catlin Arctic Survey 2010
| 25 February 2010 | Release 2010-4 |
LONDON – An international team of research scientists will investigate the potential effects of carbon dioxide on the Arctic Ocean as part of Catlin Arctic Survey 2010, officially announced today.
Polar explorer Pen Hadow, Director of the Catlin Arctic Survey, explained that the scientists will work from early March at a purpose-built 'Ice Base' located only 750 miles from the North Geographic Pole. The researchers will study the potential impact of increased ocean acidification in some of the coldest water on the planet.
Some scientists believe that, based on current projections, the pH of the world's oceans could reach levels by 2050 not seen on Earth for 20 million years. If this occurs, there could be serious consequences for marine life in the Arctic and elsewhere.
A second dimension of this year’s Catlin Arctic Survey will see a team of experienced polar explorers trek up to 500 kilometres across the floating Arctic sea ice to collect scientific data in a region in which it would be unsafe for scientists to work. The Explorer Team's programme will include taking ice thickness measurements for sea ice modellers and samples of water taken from beneath the ice for the CO2 and acidification programme.
Both teams will face the extreme conditions of the Arctic at this time of year which, with a wind-chill factor, could reach minus 75 degrees Celsius.
The Catlin Arctic Survey Ice Base will provide scientists with an opportunity to gain direct access to this unique but inhospitable environment. Research into environmental changes in the Arctic is hampered by the bitter conditions, especially in the winter and early spring. Whilst at the Ice Base, the participating scientists will carry out their research accompanied by veteran polar explorers and guides. The Ice Base will provide living, dining, research and communications facilities that scientists could not easily supply on their own.
Catlin Group Limited, ('CGL': London Stock Exchange) the international specialty insurer and reinsurer, is sponsoring the Catlin Arctic Survey to allow scientists to obtain vital data that can be used to forecast more accurately the risks posed by our changing environment.
Pen Hadow described the Survey as an example of modern exploration: "Our aim at the Catlin Arctic Survey is to make it possible for science work to be undertaken that would otherwise be exceptionally difficult to do. The scientists will be able to work safely thanks to the skills of our polar support team, who will be guiding them out onto the floating sea ice. Our Ice Base will have all the facilities they need to conduct research and to survive in the extreme conditions of an Arctic winter and spring."
One of the scientists who will work at the Ice Base, Dr Helen Findlay of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, said: "I've been to the Arctic before, although not in winter, and it's a challenging place to carry out science. But, it is worth the effort to get first-hand, unique and important data that will help us understand changes in Arctic seas and how they may link to global systems."
The main thrust of the research to be conducted at the Ice Base is the study of increasing ocean acidification in the Arctic Ocean.
Dr Carol Turley of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory said: "We understand from models projecting future ocean chemistry that the Arctic Ocean is particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification because cold water absorbs CO2 more effectively than warm oceans, so much so that it may become corrosive to some shelled organisms within a few decades."
Professor Jean-Pierre Gattuso of CNRS-Université Pierre et Marie Curie, whose researchers will work at Ice Base, said: "Ocean acidification is the 'other carbon dioxide problem'. The oceans absorb about a quarter of human-made CO2. This has been limiting the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and mitigating climate change. However, the massive amounts of CO2 absorbed considerably upsets the ocean chemistry by increasing the acidity of sea water. It is certain that it will impact marine ecosystems, although we do not fully understand how all marine species will cope at the levels of acidity projected later in this century."
The Explorer Team – consisting of leading Arctic explorers Ann Daniels, Martin Hartley and Charlie Paton – will capture additional scientific data along a 500-kilometre trek northwards across the floating sea ice.
In 2009 Hadow, Daniels and Hartley trekked nearly 450 kilometres during the first Catlin Arctic Survey, taking more than 6,000 measurements of the floating sea ice. The data collected by the explorers was subsequently cited by University of Cambridge researchers as further evidence to support an emerging consensus that the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free during summers in around 20 years.
Daniels, who has already begun final preparations in northern Canada, says the Explorer Team's Arctic skills enable them to operate in locations where it would be unsafe for scientists to work. "It is unimaginably tough surviving and travelling on the floating sea ice. But as experienced surface explorers, we know what to do. The drilling work will produce more measurements of the sea ice thickness, continuing the work we began last year. The ocean water samples we take will be stored and returned for analysis for the acidification programme."
The academic institutions participating in the Catlin Arctic Survey 2010 include CNRS-Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire Oceanographie (Villefranche); Plymouth Marine Laboratory; Institute of Ocean Science (Fisheries and Oceans Canada); University of Exeter; and Bangor University. An international group of scientists based in Europe, Canada and the USA will also be able to use the results of the field studies.
Stephen Catlin, chief executive of Catlin Group Limited, said:
"Catlin is extremely pleased to sponsor the Catlin Arctic Survey. It is clear that climate change and ocean change pose serious implications for the future of our planet. Our sole purpose in sponsoring the Survey is to ensure that researchers can obtain scientific facts about these changes so that they can make more reliable conclusions about our future."
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For more information contact:
| Media Relations: | ||
| James Burcke, Head of Communications, London |
Tel: Mobile : E-mail: |
+44 (0)20 7458 5710 +44 (0)7958 767 738 james.burcke@catlin.com |
| Rod Macrae Catlin Arctic Survey |
Mobile : E-mail: |
+44 (0)781 402 9819 rod@catlinarcticsurvey.com |
| Jackie Pedersen Catlin Arctic Survey |
Tel: |
+44 (0)798 076 7710 Jackie@catlinarcticsurvey.com |
| Investor Relations: | ||
| William Spurgin, Head of Investor Relations, London |
Tel: |
+44 (0)20 7458 5726 +44 (0)7710 314 365 william.spurgin@catlin.com |
Notes to editors
| 1. | Further information about the Catlin Arctic Survey is available at www.catlinarcticsurvey.com. A fact sheet is attached to this release.~ | |
| 2. | High-resolution photos are available from www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/press.aspx. Access passwords can be obtained by calling the media team. | |
| 3. | Catlin Group Limited, headquartered in Bermuda, is an international specialist property/casualty insurer and reinsurer writing more than 30 classes of business worldwide through six underwriting hubs. Gross premiums written in 2009 amounted to more than US$3.7 billion. | |
| 4. | Catlin shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: CGL). More information about Catlin can be found at www.catlin.com. | |
| 5. | Catlin has established operating hubs in London, Bermuda, the United States, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Canada. Through these hubs, Catlin works closely with policyholders and their brokers. The hubs also provide Catlin with product and geographic diversity. Altogether, Catlin operates 47 offices in 20 countries. | |
| 6. | Catlin's underwriting units are rated 'A' by A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's. |