This is a video I’ve posted before but I thought with Churchill’s Arctic summer on the horizon I’d send it your way again. This should get everyone traveling to Churchill this summer excited for the amazing and curious belugas!
Lets not forget all the other natural wonders the summer season has to offer. Birds, bears, tundra wildflowers and the phenomenal geology of the region. Summer in Churchill truly is the most diverse season for taking in a comprehensive feel for the sub-Arctic region.
Enjoy this underwater look at snorkeling with thousands of beluga whales!
Diving on the site of the HMS Erebus shipwreck will resume this month in the high Arctic. Sir John Franklin’s ill fated voyage to find the northwest passage came to an end nearly 170 years ago as the Erebus was trapped in ice for two years off Prince William Island in Queen Maude Gulf near Nunavut.
A Parks Canada diver measures part of the Franklin expedition’s Erebus on Sept 18, 2014. Thierry Boyer/Parks Canada photo.
Franklin’s 1846 expedition had two ships; the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. No sign of either has been evident for nearly a century and a half. Seven months ago the Erebus was discovered by a group of private-public searchers lead by Parc’s Canada. Now the next chapter is unfolding.
HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, shown in the Illustrated London News published on May 24, 1845, left England that year under the command of Sir John Franklin and in the search of the Northwest Passage. Courtesy London News/Getty Images.
The irony of this continued expedition and salvage project is that the divers will be descending through two meters of ice to reach the bottom of the gulf. The same ice was responsible for crushing the wooden ship and sending it to the ocean floor a century and a half ago. The benefit here will be that the thick six foot layer of ice will eliminate surface waves and almost all water movement around the wreck therefore keeping any sediment and particulate from clouding the water. Clear visibility will enhance the efficiency of the divers time in the -2 C icy water.
These clear conditions will be most beneficial for the operation of the new 3D laser scanning apparatus archeologists will utilize to produce incredibly detailed images of the Erebus lying 11 meters below the surface. The main goal for this expedition is to create a comprehensive baseline recording or map of the wreck site before continuing on with possible salvage work.
Current dive site plans call for 14-hour dive days from 8 AM- 10 PM over a 10 day period. Divers outfitted with specialized dry suits will be able to dive for over an hour at a time. Two-person dive teams comprised of one Parcs Canada member and one navy member will be deployed in steady succession.
Aside from mapping the site, crews will also try to gain valuable insight by probing an extension camera into nooks and holes in the Erebus to get an inside look into the past.
Churchill has been the focus of countless exploratory expeditions from Europe over the centuries and now a discovery that has captivated the world has also touched this remote outpost on the Hudson Bay. The Anglican church in Churchill is home to a gift from Sir John Franklin’s widow in appreciation of all the efforts from countless men in searching for her husbands lost expedition throughout the north. It appears now that this ancient mystery has been solved.
Lady Franklin stained glass window. Karen Walker photo.
After over a year of planning, researching and coordinating in Churchill, Natural Habitat’s new Aurora Pod was put to the test in March. I made the journey north to assist with placement and set-up along the Hudson Bay coast.
Northern lights above the aurora pod. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.
The view out across the frozen bay and east over the snowy Precambrian shield was an immediate fit for what we were looking for. Boreal forest behind the pod shelters from wind while scattered krumholz white spruce in the foreground provide ultimate northern lights photography options. The setting allows for alternative photo experiences in daylight as well.
Inukshuk in the foreground with Precambrian shield in the distance. Courtesy natural Habitat Adventures.
The natural, sheltered nook in which the pod sits provides the ultimate location for taking in the incredible expanse of sea, land and sky of the sub – Arctic region. Overall the first test of the Aurora Pod was phenomenal. Travelers immediately experienced the perspective of viewing aurora borealis from the interior as well as using the ample open land surrounding the pod to set up tripods and capture the light show digitally. The effects were spectacular. Photographs of the pod lit subtly from within from the pellet stove also proved quite unique as well.
Aurora Pod with the northern lights in the distance. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.
Some inquisitive Churchill polar bears become frequent flyers on Hudson Bay Helicopters. There’s only one flight route, about 40 kilometers northwest, and chances are the bear will not remember a thing once they come back to consciousness on the tundra.
When bears show a pattern for testing the Churchill town limits and are recurring offenders, they are first incarcerated in the Polar Bear Compound just adjacent to the airport. Subsequent captures either by culvert trap or darting land them there again and they then are flown up along the northwestern coast and released. The hope is they will not return to Churchill during the season though some do. Most times they will be flown out again depending on the capacity of the “jail”, at the time.
This relatively new strategy of dealing with “problem” bears by Manitoba Conservation reflects the importance of eco-tourism in the region. In the old days polar bears would be put down if they were frequent visitors within town limits. These days extreme leniency is given unless the bears pose a critical threat to residents.
These photos show some of the process of airlifting polar bears from Churchill up north.
Conservation officers prepare for a bear lift. Brad Josephs photo.
Hudson Bay helicopter lifting off with a cargo of polar bears. Photo courtesy Natural Habitat Adventures.
A polar bear is airlifted up north from Churchill, Manitoba. Photo courtesy Natural Habitat Adventures.
Polar bear sow and cubs being transported north for relocation. Brad Josephs photo.
A polar bear trap being removed with cargo from Churchill. Photo courtesy Natural Habitat Adventures.
A polar bear is wheeled out from Polar Bear Compound and prepared for flight up north. Photo courtesy Natural Habitat Adventures.
Polar bear ready for lift – off in Churchill. Photo courtesy Natural Habitat Adventures.
The Arctic and sub-Arctic permafrost is frozen soil that for the most part stays that way all year round. Carbon is stored for thousands of years in the matter of dead plants in this frozen substrate. A carbon sink is how we used to refer to it in guiding amazing Churchill Summer trips back in the day. Nearly one quarter of the the land in the Northern Hemisphere is permafrost.
Permafrost contains tons of carbon. Ed Bouvier photo.
By some scientific reports, permafrost could contain over twice as much carbon then the atmosphere already holds. Scientists believe that some of that carbon, with the increased warming in the north, is already escaping into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide or methane gas. This is just the tip of the iceberg figuratively speaking.
The National Academy of Sciences estimates that the permafrost stores 1,800 billion tons of carbon which is double that which is currently held in our atmosphere. And with the warnings of global warming that we have now this statistic is of grave concern.
When plant life dies it’s carbon content is absorbed into the permafrost. Steve Selden photo.
There is no definitive way to measure exactly how much carbon will be released from the ground as temperatures rise though delaying regulation agreements in the world today. Choosing not to dramatically reduce global emissions now is a high risk gamble that seems oversimplified by many. Once the permafrost thaws and the carbon escapes in gaseous form to our atmosphere, we can’t put it back. We can’t just refreeze the ground and turn back the clock. It’s the proverbial unpredictable genie let out of the bottle…we need to be careful what we wish for.
Estimates from projected data charts show that an average of 160 billion tons of carbon could emerge from thawing permafrost by the end of this century. The National Academy of Sciences states we need to keep atmospheric carbon down below 1,100 billion tons in order to limit temperature warming increases to 2 degrees celsius.
Arctic ice coverage has shrunk by 35 per cent over the past several decades. We have seen a stabilization of sorts over recent years even though this past winter had a record low maximum ice coverage. This coupled with other natural warning signs give reason for heightened concern over the permafrost thawing.
A lone polar bear skirts a pond in Churchill on permafrost that holds immense carbon deposits. Eric Rock photo.
Other than the threat to human lifestyle on earth, 11 keystone Arctic mammal species are under threat as well due to melting sea ice and global warming. Polar bears are of course the most iconic of these species. Changes need to be addressed immediately in order to reverse the fate of all these living creatures.
