Ocean Science Expedition

Introducing Rakel Thorell - a seasoned crew member of the Abel Tasman. Rakel has sailed for countless nautical miles onboard alongside Isak, and her partner Alex. A passionate adventurer and lover of the outdoors, Rakel is loves skiing down slopes ⛷️ and climbing up rock faces 🧗🏼♀️ as much as she loves sailing on the open sea. Currently studying Economics at Lund University, she has a keen interest in 'blue economics' - how economic tools can be used to drive sustainable management of our ocean and marine resources. For Rakel, this expedition represents a unique opportunity to collect ocean data in the Arctic, and contribute to understanding of the influence and importance of the ocean for the entire planet. ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! 📸 Pages 1, 3 & 5 Alex Rockström // Pages 2 & 4 Keith Tuffley #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #Sailing #Arctic #Ocean #OceanData #DataCollection #Fieldwork #MarineScience #BlueEconomics #BlueEconomy

Alex Rockström is capturing the Arctic through his lens 📸. "There are many things that make photographing the Arctic really enjoyable for me. The majestic landscapes, along with the constant light from the midnight sun and the ice in all its different forms, create scenes unlike anywhere else on the planet. Every picture feels unique." - Alex Rockström Alex Rockström is our First Mate on our Northwest Passage Expedition! A seasoned northern-latitude sailor, skier, and all-around adventurer, Alex has crewed on the Abel Tasman for many of her previous voyages. Following in the footsteps of his brother, Alex began his maritime journey exploring the Baltic Sea, and has since turned a childhood dream into a shared mission to sail the world. Alex is deeply committed to understanding the ocean’s complexities, and recently graduated from the University of Bergen where he was studying climate science. With a camera in hand, Alex is dedicated to showcasing the Arctic’s stunning scenery - from the ethereal glow of the midnight sun, to the intricate patterns of ice - revealing the raw, untamed beauty of this remote, but rapidly changing wilderness. ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! 📸 Alex Rockström (photos of Alex by Rakel Thorell) #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #Photography #Arctic #WildlifePhoto #Wildlife #ArcticPhotography

⛵️ North West Passage Expedition - Week 10 update ⛵️ Since our last highlight, Keith Tuffley and his crew have been busy taking eDNA samples from water in some of the Arctic's most remote locations to map its unique ecosystems and wildlife.⛵️ Where are they now? 🌍 After sailing through Nuuk, Disko Bay, Ilulissat and the UNESCO-listed ‘Ilulissat Icefjord’, their final Greenland stop was Upernavik. Now in Canada, they’re navigating the challenging Arctic Archipelago. Armed with NatureMetrics eDNA kits, the team is filling critical biodiversity data gaps across the Arctic. By sampling waters for environmental DNA, they're detecting traces of wildlife that may not be visible at the surface, revealing a hidden world of species diversity beneath the icy waters. Curious about what they will be doing with all the collected data? Make sure to tune in to Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) upcoming webinar, "Diving into Oceans Data: New Technologies and Their Impact on Corporate Reporting”. Expedition leader Keith Tuffley and our Founder Kat Bruce will be talking about the data results and their implications in detail. 🗓️ Sign up:  https://ow.ly/Lbi350T1WzG Follow the crew for all the latest action: Ocean Science Expedition 📸 Keith Tuffley, Alex Rockström, and Rakel Thorell

✨ HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 12 ✨ During our stay in Cambridge Bay 🇨🇦, we connected with the locals - including the kind-hearted Jim & Rosalyn, who invited us to their cabin outside of town. The rugged beauty of the tundra landscape here was stunning. Sylvestre and Kester even took to the skies, flying over endless lakes. At the start of the week, we set sail ⛵️ - first through Dease Strait and onto Dolphin & Union Strait. We had perfect weather and sunsets that brought Sebastian out on deck to play his guitar 🎸. A large gale rolled in 💨, so we sought shelter in Lady Richardson Bay, a remote yet beautiful spot on Victoria Island, where we hiked 🥾 and flew again. Towards the end of the week, we set sail under clear skies and witnessed our first sighting of the Northern Lights 😍 as we entered Amundsen Gulf. What a week! We now have two weeks of sailing ahead of us to Alaska. ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! 📸 Ramon Gonçalves, Sylvestre Campe, MEDIA.etc, Keith Tuffley #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #ArcticVoyage #NorthernLights #Arctic #Sailing #AuroraBorealis #Alaska #Canada

Meet Kester Haynes, our Paramotor Adventurer onboard the Abel Tasman. With over 20 years of experience, Kester is the world’s most accomplished paraglider and paramotor pilot. His adventures have taken him over deserts, forests, mountains, and islands around the globe. Always combining exploration with innovation, on this expedition Kester has taken on a new challenge - experiencing the Arctic's remote seascapes and landscapes from above. Together, Kester and Sylvestre have flown above ice caps and glaciers, and taken off from rocky outcrops and even a small iceberg - adding an additional dose of adrenaline whilst taking to the skies. As one of the UK’s most experienced pilots, Kester is leading on equipment and flight safety - with ground support from the rest of the crew. ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! PARAJET INTERNATIONAL LTD Vittorazi Motors Ozone Paramotor Shackleton Keith Tuffley Isak Rockström Alex Rockström Rakel Thorell Sylvestre Campe Cléo Campe Sebastian Sánchez, Ramon Gonçalves, MEDIA.etc #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #ParamotorPilot #ArcticExploration #Paramotoring #Paraglider #Paragliding #Arctic #ArcticOcean

From the perilous quests ⛵️ of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin to Roald Amundsen’s triumphant passage, the Northwest Passage 🗺️ has long been a siren’s call for explorers braving the unforgiving Arctic. The S/V Abel Tasman is continuing this legacy on its Northwest Passage Ocean Science Expedition. Following in the footsteps of these legendary Arctic explorers ❄️, our crew is not just retracing their historic route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but also bearing witness to the profound changes unfolding in this region. Throughout our route from Norway 🇳🇴 to Alaska 🇺🇸, we will cross 6 of the Global Tipping Points - key indicators of a warming climate. This voyage is a journey through time 🕰️ - merging the daring spirit of adventurers past, with the urgent need to tackle climate change and protect our planet's future 🌎. ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! 📸 1, 2, 4 & 6 Alex Rockström // 3, 5 & 7 Ramon Gonçalves, MEDIA.etc #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #ArcticExploration #ClimateChange #Arctic #Explorers #Adventurers

Exploring the Edge of Our World: The Arctic holds some of our planet's most crucial and fragile ecosystems, and the Northwest Passage remains one of its most formidable challenges. Polar explorer and ecopreneur Keith Tuffley, and member of the The Villars Institute Board, is leading an intergenerational crew on the "Abel Tasman" yacht to capture breakthrough data that could revolutionize our understanding of climate change and biodiversity loss. The journey is not just about the destination but the vital scientific discoveries along the way. From navigating treacherous icebergs to battling fierce Arctic winds, the team's dedication and resilience is inspiring. The Villars Institute is proud to support this groundbreaking expedition as we continue to advance our mission of understanding and protecting our planet. Follow Ocean Science Expedition to stay up to date with all the action.⛵ Read more in this compelling article by the BBC: https://lnkd.in/eimrp4a5

I'm looking forward to speaking on this Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) webinar on Tuesday 3rd Sept, with Kat Bruce the founder of NatureMetrics and Kimberly Mathisen the CEO of HUB Ocean, to discuss how is data transforming our understanding of marine ecosystems. On our Ocean Science Expedition it has been an honour (and a lot of fun) partnering with Kat and NatureMetrics to collect samples from the ocean every day of our 4-month journey across the Northwest Passage from Norway to Iceland to Greenland to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and to Alaska. Our samples will be from 3 of the world's 5 oceans - the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific. The #NorthwestPassage and #ArcticOcean are rich in sealife and wildlife, and the #eDNA technology pioneered by NatureMetrics enables us to gain a better understanding of its unique ecosystems. It's also been great working with Hub Ocean as Kimberly and her team continue to develop their Ocean Data Platform. Thanks also to Richard Brisius and Stefan Raimund of The Ocean Race with whom we are partnering to collect water samples along the whole journey to test for #microplastics, water temperature, salinity and CO2 concentration. For the webinar I'll be dialling in from S/V Abel Tasman at about N70° W126° at 5am as we sail across the Amundsen Gulf, and I'm hoping for calm seas at the time! I wish to thank Tony Goldner, David Craig and the team at TNFD for organising and hosting this webinar. I also want to thank the whole crew of our expedition, all of whom have contributed to our data collection with enthusiasm, especially Alex Rockström. Isak Rockström, Karina Oliani, Rakel Thorell, Sylvestre Campe, Cléo Campe, Meg O'Hara, Kester Haynes, Sebastian Sanchez, Ramon Gonçalves. Mercuria, The Villars Institute, Houdini Sportswear, Shackleton, Thesus, SailProof, Ocean Bottle, ZeroSixZero, ... & MSQ/Sustain 🗓️ 3 September 2024 🕛 12 - 1pm BST ➡️ Sign up for the webinar: https://ow.ly/Lbi350T1WzG #TNFD #NatureReporting #OceansData #Oceans

Meet Karina Oliani Karina Oliani - Mountaineer ⛰️ and Expedition Doctor. Karina came onboard the Abel Tasman during our journey up the west Greenland coast, along with her partner and 2-year old daughter Kora. Being able to share this adventure with Kora was extremely special. And Kora, who has already visited more than 25 countries, fully embraced her first sailing adventure and felt right at home. Karina has several passions - from environmental activism to professional sport and humanitarianism. This expedition was a unique opportunty to be involved in both exploration and marine conservation efforts. She contributed to the eDNA and microplastic sampling onboard, and always chasing a thrill, Karina took Arctic exploration to a new level - scaling icebergs and wakeboarding in the icey waters of Disko Bay. We were thrilled to have Karina's expertise and adventurous spirit onboard! ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! 📸 Karina Oliani #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #ExpeditionDoctor #WomenInAdventure #MarineConservation #Expedition #Arctic #Wakeboarding #PaddleBoarding #Mountaineering #Icebergs #MarineConservation

✨Week 11 Highlights✨ From Willis Bay, we enjoyed a great sail down Franklin Strait towards the west side of King William Island. Here’s a glimpse into the highlights of our past week in the Arctic: 🧊 We have been forced to change our original intended route to the east side of the island, as sea ice is currently blocking our way. 🗺 We followed the route that the Erebus and Terror made on the Franklin expedition in 1845-48 🧭 There was sea ice on our route, but quite dispersed. We had to actively search for it, and changed our route to head east ⚓️ Finally we found a more dense cover of sea ice, and selected a large sea-ice berg where we anchored. 🪂 We then spent the next several hours exploring in the air, on the ice, and in the water. Kester went flying with his paramotor … but above the low-level fog, he could smell the smoke from the recent wildfires in northern Canada. 🤿 Cleo and Sebasatian went diving in the cold waters (0.9C) and recorded the sounds of the ice with highly sensitive sound equipment. 🐻❄️ Others explored the ice, keeping our eyes open for any polar bears. ⛵ We then set sail for Cambridge Bay - a 2 day sail through the Queen Maud Sound, location of the Migratory Bird Sanctuary that is home to the largest variety of geese in North America … over 2 million white geese nest within the sanctuary. We saw plenty of these geese in their V-formation. It was recognised under the Ramsar Convention in 1982 as the world’s 2nd largest Wetland of International Importance. 🚶♂️We have now stayed at Cambridge Bay for a few days some for some land-based exploration and adventures, and meeting some of the wonderful locals. ➡️ Follow Ocean Science Expedition for more! #OceanScienceExpedition #AbelTasmanYacht #NorthwestPassage #TippingPoints #PlanetaryTippingPoints #PlanetaryBoundaries #ArcticExpedition #Walruses #Exploration #CambridgeBay #Adventure #Sailing #Arctic #MigratoryBirdSanctuary #ErebusandTerror #WillisBay #KingWilliamIsland #seaiceberg #paramotor