On the 5 August 2021, at 17:00, the research vessel Akademik Tryoshnikov left Murmansk with 59 international scientists on board and hence officially starting the Arctic Century Expedition, organised jointly by the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI), the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), in Russia and the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) in Germany.
The expedition will study rarely accessible and remote areas in the Kara and Laptev Sea as well as on Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya in the western Arctic. The ambitious multidisciplinary research programme will focus on aspects of the atmosphere, cryosphere, marine and terrestrial environment in a rapidly changing Arctic climate.
The international team of researchers will collect data and samples along 3300 nautical miles. The expedition is expected to return to Murmansk around 8 September 2021.
The expedition was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the global health context. In 2021, a thorough protection plan could be established in order to mitigate risks and implement a safe expedition.
For more information and regular updates from the expedition, visit the expedition blog.
For any enquiries: Danièle Rod, Executive Director – Swiss Polar Institute