Aiming to foster scientific collaboration between the research communities of Switzerland, France and the Canadian programme Transforming Climate Action (TCA), the CASCADES expedition will focus on the coastal region of West Greenland, Baffin Bay and Ellesmere Island. Both legs are foreseen to last 28 days, including working time and transit.
The first leg will be carried out during the peak of the melt season, from south to north along the coastal region of West Greenland.
The first leg (south to north along the West Greenland coast) will provide sampling opportunities along oceanographic transects and a latitudinal spread of glacier/fjord environments, including the possibility for land deployments.
Fjord systems / glaciers of interest include:
- Jakobshavn area (Disko)
- Kjer/Alison/Hayes group
- Melville/Tracy/Heilprin group
- Peterman
- Inglefield Land/ Humboldt
Fjords to be investigated will be selected from the list above based on the science projects selected for the expedition. The vessel will specifically target each fjord system on average for two to three days for scientific work. The exact duration of station work and organisation of the expedition will be based around the requested access within successful proposals.
Provisional timeframe
From 6 August 2026 to 3 September 2026 – leaving from Iqaluit (Canada) and arriving at Pituffik Space Base (near Qaanaq, Greenland)
