National Geographic Magazine (August 2023):

Seeking to solve the Arctic’s biggest mystery, they ended up trapped in ice at the top of the world

In 1847, Sir John Franklin and a crew of 128 men disappeared while searching for the fabled Northwest Passage. A National Geographic team sought to find evidence of their fate—but the Arctic doesn’t give up its secrets easily.

BY MARK SYNNOTT

Jacob Keanik scanned his binoculars over the field of ice surrounding our sailboat. He was looking for the polar bear that had been stalking us for the past 24 hours, but all he could see was an undulating carpet of blue-green pack ice that stretched to the horizon. “Winter is coming,” he murmured. Jacob had never seen Game of Thrones and was unaware of the phrase’s reference to the show’s menacing hordes of ice zombies, but to us, the threat posed by this frozen horde was equally dire. Here in remote Pasley Bay, deep in the Canadian Arctic, winter would bring a relentless tide of boat-crushing ice. If we didn’t find a way out soon, it could trap us and destroy our vessel—and perhaps us too.

A MYSTERY LOCKED IN ICE

BY SOREN WALLJASPER,

In 1845, British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew of 128 men set out in search of the Northwest Passage—a fabled sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific that would hasten trade between Europe and Asia. None of Franklin’s crew survived. The Norwegian ship Gjøa in 1903-06 made the first successful passage. In 2022, a National Geographic team attempted to retrace Franklin’s expedition to find fresh evidence of its undoing.

Timelab Pro (April 15, 2023) – Our trip to Franz Josef Land was an unforgettable experience, and we were fortunate enough to be on board the mighty famous ship Mikhail Somov for a scientific mission to study the Narwhals in the Arctic.

Franz Josef Land is the northernmost territory of Russia, and one of the least filmed territory in the world. Our shots are truly unique, capturing the beauty of the Arctic landscape and the majestic Narwhals in their natural habitat.‌ As we took our drone to the skies, we searched for days to find these elusive creatures, and finally, we were lucky enough to spot them.

Did you know that Narwhals are the only known species of whale to have a single tusk? And that this tusk, which is actually a protruding tooth, can grow up to 3 meters long? The scientists on board the Mikhail Somov were conducting an important research expedition to prove that Narwhals dwell in the Russian Arctic.

They also took biopsies from the Narwhals to better understand the impact of global climatic changes on these amazing creatures. Our diesel-electric ship, the Mikhail Somov, is a historical ship with a rich history of Arctic exploration. In 1985 the Mikhail Somov became trapped in the ice for 133 days, but the crew was able to survive and eventually free the ship. Despite its modern upgrades, the ship still maintains the charm and spirit of its earlier expeditions.