The Arctic: Exploration to Exploitation

Vast swathes of frozen sea ice have been replaced by stretches of open water in the summer months as rising temperatures speed up the rate of melting.

A new age - the Polar Silk Road - has arrived. As the sea ice retreats, ships passing through the region are starting to take more direct routes, exposing the Arctic to more travel, research and exploitation. Intrepid photographer Gregor Sailer set out to capture this. His stunning photographs, which can be seen at our exhibition The Polar Silk Road, focus on the structures and buildings now occupying the region’s landscapes. From research centres and geothermal power stations to military structures and compounds - this is just the tip of the iceberg of what could be to come.

But it wasn’t always this way. In the past, the Arctic’s base of thick sea ice was covered by a deep blanket of snow and remained frozen all year round. A barren, frozen expanse with towering glaciers, floating icebergs and fierce storms, it was a formidable place and not a destination for the faint hearted. Explorers looking to push the limits were drawn to the region, but their voyages were filled with jeopardy, and triumph and tragedy awaited those that entered in equal measure.

But who were these explorers, how different were the conditions they experienced and how did their expeditions shape the Arctic we see today in Gregor’s images?

1. Sir John Franklin  

Now, just as in the fifteenth century, our desire to navigate through the Arctic all comes down to trade. Back then the spread of the Ottoman Empire disrupted Britain’s ability to trade with Asia using the Silk Road - a series of land-based routes stretching across the Eurasian continent. In response, British explorers set out across the waves, believing they could reach Asia by sailing west - that was before they ran into the Americas. Not knowing how far these landmasses extended, they spent centuries exploring the coastlines before realising there was no way through. Deciding the ferocious seas at the bottom of South America were too perilous, they set off north in search of a passage through to the Pacific Ocean.

Many had tried and failed by the time Sir John Franklin set off in 1845 in search of a route between Canada and the Arctic known as the Northwest Passage. Like those before him, John also failed, but this time the consequences were fatal. Both his ships, HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, went missing, and all 129 men died, with evidence suggesting they resorted to eating each other before they perished.

For years afterwards rescue missions were sent to find the ships. In 1850, one led by Robert McClure actually ended up successfully navigating the passage, though thick summer sea ice meant he had to complete the route on sleds, as his ship was trapped in the ice. The Northwest Passage had finally been found, but it was clear using it for cargo shipping would be extremely difficult.

But all that changed in the summer of 2007 when for the first time in recorded history the entire passage was completely ice free. In 2012, a record 30 ships travelled through it, followed in 2016 by the luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity - the first tourist vessel to make the journey. Cargo and canapés replacing desperation and cannibalism - a mark of just how much the region has changed both commercially and climatically. But just how different is the region’s climate now compared to when John travelled there in the 1800s? One of the best ways to study this is to look at historical data collected by explorers like Fridtjof Nansen.

2. Fridtjof Nansen 

Not only was Fridtjof Nansen the first person to cross the Greenland icecap he also made important meteorological and geographical records of the previously unexplored interior. In fact, it was his desire to study the region’s zoology that led him to embark on his first a voyage to the Arctic. Plagued by hostile terrain and wild storms, Fridtjof and his team completed the journey from the then uninhabited east coast of Greenland to the settlements on the west coast on 3 October 1888.

Today the Greenland icecap remains at the heart of meteorological studies in the Arctic, particularly when it comes to the study of ice cores. In fact, Gregor photographed several of the East Greenland Ice Core Project’s research stations and you can see these important facilities in the exhibition. These ice cores enable us study past climatic conditions, which in turn helps us to predict how they could change in the future. If models are correct, by the end of the century we could see an ice-free North Pole. I wonder what Robert Peary, the first person to ever stand on the North Pole, would make of that?

3. Robert Peary 

American explorer Robert Peary is often credited as leading the first expedition to successfully reach the North Pole. Setting sail from New York in July 1908 with 23 men, he spent the winter preparing on Ellesmere Island before setting off on 28 February with dog sleds and support crews. On 1 April, Robert and five others made the final push, and on 6 April 1909, they established Camp Jesus within three kilometres of the North Pole.

A lack of detailed record keeping led some to question whether Robert actually did reach the pole, but the National Geographic Society certified his claim. Back then, being the first to reach the North Pole was a treacherous and deadly goal that could only be achieved on foot, but soon it might not even be possible to stand on the North Pole.

It’s predicted that by between 2050 and 2070, the pole could be completely ice free in summer. If this happens a new, shorter shipping route called the Transpolar Sea Route could start to be used. Running from the Bering Straits across to Murmansk in Russia via the North Pole, the route would mean travelling fewer nautical miles.

Any environmental benefit this shorter journey might offer, however, is likely to be offset by the impact of the increased traffic. Not only would more ships exacerbate ice melt they would also create more pollution and potentially more oil spills. This could be hugely detrimental to the wildlife - one of the main attractions for explorers like Louise Boyd.

4. Louise Boyd

Dubbed ‘the girl who tamed the Arctic’, Louise Boyd was a wealthy American heiress who in the 1930s documented hundreds of botanical specimens on Greenland’s east and north coasts. However, it wasn’t plants that initially drew her to the region. In 1926, she headed to the Arctic on the Hobby, the ship used by famous explorer Roald Amundsen, in pursuit of hunting polar bears.

Just like Louise, Gregor too encountered these apex predators on his recent visits to the region, recalling how he had ‘to deal with whiteout situations, hostile landscapes and wild animals like polar bears’ while capturing his images. But Gregor’s experience might not be one that many get to experience in times to come given that the species is facing an uncertain future.  

The fragmenting sea ice is affecting not only how polar bears hunt but how they breed. The scarcity of sea ice has forced those in southeast Greenland to hunt seals from chunks of ice breaking off the island’s glaciers while populations elsewhere are at risk of inbreeding, having been prevented from mixing and mating. If ice conditions continue to worsen, these bears along with polar expeditions like the one undertaken by explorer Ann Bancroft could be resigned to history.

5. Ann Bancroft 

In 1986, teacher, coach and wilderness instructor, Ann Bancroft embarked on an adventure that would see her become the first woman to reach the North Pole by sled and on foot. Setting off from  Ellesmere Island in Canada as part of the Steger International Polar Expedition she took 56 days to reach the pole. This was just the beginning for Ann. Next, she led the first female team to ski across Greenland before setting her sights on the South Pole, leading the first female team to ski there. In a historic moment, in 1993, Ann become the first woman to have stood on both poles - a feat that in the future may not even be possible.

Thinner sea ice that breaks up more often and more irregularly is posing new problems for Arctic adventurers. As the thin ice moves around it rucks up, creating a jagged, rough surface that’s difficult to ski across and that makes dragging a sled with supplies hard work. Increasingly fragmented ice floes means undertaking more perilous open water crossings. Entering the freezing cold waters can have lethal consequences and as a result many explorers are now equipped with drysuits. If that wasn’t enough, there’s then the danger of camping out on the ice when at any minute, it could crack underneath your tent.

But unless you travel to the Arctic, it’s easy for these changes to go unnoticed. The shift in the drift of the sea ice, the arrival of tourists on cruise ships, the construction of new infrastructure, all this goes largely unseen. In our minds it’s easy to picture the Arctic of old, one experienced by John, Louise and Fridtjof, but it’s time to really look at the Arctic. Gregor’s images, many taken in restricted areas, present the reality of this region, a reality we should all see. Come and witness for yourself how the Arctic has and is changing.