Henry Patton

Lieut. Robert E. Peary, Arctic Explorer, Discoverer of the North Pole, April 6 1909. Source: Bowdoin College

The Sunday illustrated supplement of the Paris newspaper Le Petit Journal, for September 19, 1909, shows Robert E. Peary and Frederick Cook battling at the North Pole, observed by penguins: "The Conquest of the North Pole / Dr. Cook and Commander Peary argue over glory." Source: Bowdoin College

Dr Frederick Cook c.1906, Arctic Explorer, Discoverer of the North Pole, April 21, 1908. Source: Bowdoin College

🧵 MURDER AT THE NORTH POLE

The debate over who really first reached the North Pole became a bitter public dispute in the early 1900s.

Crocker Land was perhaps the key: sighted by Robert E. Peary but undetected by his rival Frederick Cook, could its discovery prove who really traversed the Arctic?

Polar bears getting "fatter and healthier" amid ice loss Scientists think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey.

"Walruses have been officially protected in Norway since the 1950s, after they were hunted to near extinction. That protection has boosted their numbers, and apparently provided a new source of fatty food for polar bears."

In 1916, before the American entry into the World War, Arctic explorer Peary, discoverer of the North Pole, strongly urged that the United States purchase Greenland from Denmark. "Greenland in our hands," he wrote then, "may be a valuable piece of our defensive armor. In the hands of a hostile interest it could be a serious menace." Source: Geographic News Bulletins 1941

Robert Peary on the main deck of steamship Roosevelt c.1909. Source: Wikimedia

American interests in controlling Greenland are nothing new.

A century ago the famous American Arctic explorer Robert E Peary fully supported the purchase of Greenland from Denmark, citing national security concerns. A 🧵

Home - Panimoravintola Koulu Brewery Restaurant Koulu Welcome to the relaxed atmosphere of a brewery restaurant and our unique restaurant facilities! We are Finland’s largest brewery restaurant and have been making quality beers ...

Our latest newsletter went out just before Christmas...here's what you need to know:

Are you heading to NGWM 2026 in Turku next week?

🍺🍔 Join us for a social after the NGWM icebreaker (Jan 13th) at Panimoravintola Koulu pub from 20.00 in the "History classroom".

Northern Norway will feel the consequences - Tromsø's ski season is projected to last only one month by the end of the century, down from 3.5 months currently.

This is cool, 6 million year old ice from Antartica with inferred temperature ~12°C warmer than the late Pleistocene. No CO2 level yet! (That will be highly anticipated!)

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Record levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Actions needed now, Greenpeace says “Our leaders must start doing their job: cutting emissions, fast,” the head of Greenpeace Norway told the Barents Observer.

Half of the CO₂ released by human activities, such as through burning fossil fuels, enters the atmosphere... This impacts the climate all over the planet, including the Arctic.

🌨🎉 Snow has arrived back in #Tromsø! The last time any snow was recorded was 146 days ago on May 24th.

🌨 Following ~2 cm of fresh snowfall in the last ~24hrs, the snow in #Tromsø is currently 1.1 cm deep. It has snowed once on this date since 2015, with 1 cm falling in 2020.

Bas glacier d'Arolla in September 2006

Wow, that didn't take long to disappear!

This was one of the glaciers I visited as an MSc student in 2006.

Secrets of the North Pole unravelled YouTube video by Map Myths

While en route to the North Pole on a modern ice-going vessel, glaciologist Henry Patton reveals some of the crazy mapping mistakes and theories of what people used to believe lay hidden in this icy kingdom.

📽️ Editing by @media.elizaveta.no

Before and after images show glaciers vanishing before our eyes They are melting like never seen before, changing landscapes around the world beyond recognition.

How Switzerland's glaciers have shrunk

NORDQUA - The Nordic Union for Quaternary Research Welcome to Nordqua - The Nordic Union for Quaternary Research - an organization of professional scientists from the Nordic countries.

Hello BlueSky! 👋

We are thrilled to be here and connect with everyone on this new platform!

Interested in Quaternary science in the Nordics? Then follow us for news/opportunities/jobs, and more.

Our network is also free to join at nordqua.org

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

After 35 unforgettable days at sea, the i2B expedition has come to an end. The team retrieved nearly 250 meters of sediment cores from key sites across the #Arctic Ocean — records that will help unravel the story of past warm climates. 🔗 Read chief scientist Jochen Knies’ reflection: arcg.is/0favaf0

Press article by @media.elizaveta.no

Re-freezing the Arctic is costly and dangerous Researchers warn against geoengineering in the polar regions.

On polar geoengineering...⚒️🧊

"None of these geoengineering ideas pass scrutiny regarding their use in the coming decades. Instead, we find that the proposed concepts would be environmentally dangerous."

The study: www.frontiersin.org/journals/sci...

Did the midnight ☀️ bleach into the sub-surface of rocks in the Arctic? Following our OSL dating of cobbles from moraines in the Tibetan Plateau (doi.org/10.1016/j.qu...) we are applying this technique to moraines in the Lyngen Alps (Lyngsfjellan / Ittuvárit), Troms, Arctic Norway @rhewlif.xyz
🏔️❄️🌈🌞

🚢 4 weeks at sea, 6,400 samples, and a record-breaking 22 m core ❄️🌊
The i2B team is piecing together the Arctic’s climate history, sample by sample — day and night.
🔗 Read co-chief scientist Stijn De Schepper’s update: arcg.is/0favaf0
📸 Tim Kalvelage
@bjerknes.uib.no

🚨 A small break from cruise updates to say that: We’re hiring! i2B is looking for a Postdoc in Arctic Marine Geology and Marine Geophysics. Find out more about the position here: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Please share with your networks 😊

When was that moraine created??

Luminescence ages from the sub-surface of cobbles, collected from moraines in the Konglongluo Valley, Tibetan Plateau, agree with external age control!

Do get in touch if interested in this new moraine-dating technique!!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🚢🔎 From hidden channels to towering seamounts, the i2B expedition is uncovering the Arctic seafloor in remarkable new detail.
Read more about our findings in our latest blog written by @rhewlif.xyz :
🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

“I didn’t hear the usual grinding of ice” When a Norwegian vessel reached the North Pole this week, the scientific team made an alarming discovery.

As mentioned in this interview with our cruise leader, Jochen Knies, the ease with which we reached the pole was unthinkable 30 years ago when he last visited.

"Reading about it is one thing - witnessing it firsthand is something entirely different" @i2b-erc.bsky.social

Santa Claus and crew member on an ice floe at the north pole

Henry Patton in front of the ship Kronprins Haakon

Crew having a BBQ on Kronprins Haakon

Playing football on ice at the north pole

We dropped in on Santa Claus at the north pole this week to get our wish lists in early!

To celebrate reaching 90N - the first time unaided for the Kronprins Haakon - we had ourselves a BBQ followed by a football match on the ice.

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

Keep track of our @i2b-erc.bsky.social expedition updates below as we continue our journey towards northeast Greenland.

“I didn’t hear the usual grinding of ice” When a Norwegian vessel reached the North Pole this week, the scientific team made an alarming discovery.

Straight from the North Pole! See the great pics by @rhewlif.xyz, who is now sailing on board the icebreaker vessel Kronprins Haakon. The story of how researchers grappled with 'unsettling' feelings three decades after their first visit to the northernmost point on Earth. Plus 📷 of a polar bear.

'Polhavet 2050' was announced this week by the Norwegian government.

1 billion NOK (€85m) and 18 institutions to focus on Arctic Ocean research over 10 years.

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

❄️ One week at sea, and life aboard R/V Kronprins Haakon has settled into a rhythm of 24/7 science. Six long sediment cores, countless samples — and our first real test in the Arctic sea ice. 🚢
🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0
@paleodyn.bsky.social

🦇 Ping… ping… ping… just like a bat in the night, our ship uses sound to “see” beneath the Arctic seafloor. These echoes guide us to the best coring sites and help us avoid hidden obstacles — each profile a map to sediments laid down during ancient ice ages. ❄️🌊

🔗 arcg.is/0favaf0

@rhewlif.xyz

Group photo just before deparature in front of RV Kronprins Haakon

Scientists carrying a section of core from the ship deck.

Myself and Peter at our workstations, processing the incoming acoustic data

Example of a sub-bottom profile along our ship track showing many sediment layers.

One week into the @i2b-erc.bsky.social cruise and sediment cores are coming in thick and fast, guided by some fantastic sub-bottom profiler data.

The question is, how old are these sediment layers?

i2B Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025 Collecting new geological archives that will reveal past Arctic climate secrets

What were the impacts of an ice free Arctic Ocean in the past?

Follow our progress and updates via the @i2b-erc.bsky.social cruise blog below

Kronprins Haakon research vessel docked in Longyearbyen

An exciting expedition awaits! Our home for the next 5 weeks as we head into the frozen Arctic Ocean to collect new palaeo archives.