Departing Oslo this morning under a blue sky and mirror calm sea, we cast off the mooring lines even more excited for our upcoming adventure. Tying up alongside the museum of the Fram, the ship of Fridtjof Nansen, has provided us with an inspiring insight into an expedition from the ‘heroic age’ of polar exploration. While the conception of Tara was based on the same principles as the Fram, to see this vast wooden ship in all her splendor has given us even more of a feeling of connection to this historic vessel. During our brief stop we also had the pleasure to meet Liv Arnesen, a Norwegian adventurer who was the first women to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole in 1994. Liv is planning to Ski to the North Pole from Canada next year and will possibly finish her ...

The Yacht Tara has just set sail for a two year arctic expedition during IPY. Tara is now home to only a handful of people taking the expedition into the ice where they will become frozen in over winter. They are then intending on drifting across the arctic during which time they will carry out a huge range of science including meteorology, nivology (snow density, thickness and water content), glaciology, oceanography, atmospheric and oceanic chemistry, marine biology, zoology and physiological studies of the crew. The UN Environment Programme is provid...

Several traverses across Antarctica are occurring this season, studying the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. They all have very informative and helpful web pages, as well as daily or weekly updates about their progress. Previous Expeditions: More information on previous International Antarctic Traverses can be found on the following pages: Summary of International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expeditions (ITASE) Previous scientific traverses across East Antarctica almost fifty years ago Current Expeditions: ...