Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Has Reached the North Pole
The UiT expedition participants gathered at the North Pole. (Photo: Henry Patton)
On Tuesday, the Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 reached the North Pole. The UiT-led expedition is to provide new knowledge about the Arctic's climate history with the help of the research vessel Kronprins Haakon.
The research vessel Kronprins Haakon set sail for the Arctic Ocean on August 16th for the Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025.
The expedition will take place from August 16th to September 19th 2025, and is organized and funded through the prestigious Synergy Grant "i2B - Into the Blue" from the European Research Council.
The aim of the expedition is to gather geological samples from the past to better understand what the future of the Arctic could look like. More specifically, it will look at periods in which the Arctic climate was warmer than it is today, so-called interglacial periods.
Reached the North Pole
On Tuesday, his expedition reached the North Pole with an international team of researchers, led by UiT the Arctic University of Norway, the University of Bergen and the research institute NORCE.
The expedition leader says the conditions on the North Pole have dramatically changed in a short amount of time.
"Reaching the North Pole with Kronprins Haakon is a historic milestone for UiT and for the i2B project. Thirty years ago, I stood here for the first time under completely different conditions. This time, we sailed through areas of open water where the ice previously lay thick and unbroken. The dramatic change shows why our work is so important," says expedition leader Jochen Knies at the Department of Geosciences, UiT.
He is leading the expedition together with Stijn De Schepper from the University of Bergen and the research institute NORCE.
Arctic Ocean 2050
This is the first time a UiT-led expedition has reached the North Pole, but UiT researchers still have a long tradition of work in the Arctic Ocean.
"We are happy about the expedition because it will give us an insight into what the Arctic Ocean has looked like during previous warm periods. This way, we can better understand what is happening today and what can await us in the future. The project “i2B – Into The Blue” will be an important contribution to “Arctic Ocean 2050”, says Professor Matthias Forwick, Head of Department at the Department of Geosciences, UiT.
Arctic Ocean 2050 is Norway’s largest research project and recently received one billion kroner through the government’s new High North Strategy.
In a few decades, the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in the summer, and the consequences of this will be studied through the project. Arctic Ocean 2050 is led by UiT and involves polar researchers from 18 Norwegian universities and institutes.
