SOS ARCTIC 2024. Greenland South-North traverse
On May 6, 2024, a new Windsled expedition began, with an international team led by renowned explorer Ramon Larramendi embarking on a challenging journey across Greenland’s ice cap from south to north.
The team of scientific experts included three Greenlanders (Jens Jacob Simonsens, Aka Simonsens, and Bo Kleffel), two Italians (Roberto de Pieri and Enrico Gianoli), a Venezuelan (Marcus Tobia), and a Spaniard (Felipe Ruiz de Gauna). They traversed a total of 1,500 km from Narsaq to Upernavik in just 22 days.
This mission was successfully achieved with this main goals:
- Push the maximum load capacity of this innovative vehicle. (3 Tons)
- Support five scientific research projects.
- Establish a new route that could serve as a logistical base for future expeditions in northern Greenland.
The new Windsled, which increased scientific potential, consisted of a convoy of four articulated segments capable of carrying eight crew members and approximately three tons of cargo—an increase from the 2.2 tons of previous versions. Additionally, for the first time, it featured an advanced electrification system based on solar panels.
Among the scientific projects carried out during this expedition were the following:
- MICROAIRPOLAR Project. Microorganism studies in the air. Antonio Quesada, Ana Justel, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.
- Monitoring and detection of PFAS. Paul A. Mayewski, Climate Change Institute (CCI), University of Maine, USA.
- PIONEER Project (EU funded). Ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter measures with an advanced low cost portable sensing apparatus. Federico Dallo, CNR Institute of Polar Sciences, Italy.
4.Impurities in snow: black carbon, mineral powder, microplastics. J. Ignacio Lopez Moreno, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology-Higher Council of Scientific Research Spain, IPE-CSIC.
- Snow sample analysis for:
- – trace metals, mercury and emerging contaminants identification (CEAC)
- – the study of microbiological features, including abundance and diversity of cold-adapted prokaryotic communities.
Nicoletta Ademollo, Warren Cairns, Angelina Lo Giudice, CNR Institute of Polar Sciences, Italy
The last achievement before concluding the expedition was mapping a new logistical route that will serve as a reference for future scientific explorations. Upernavik, the final destination, will become a key point for upcoming Windsled journeys in northern Greenland.
On June 9, 2024, the expedition concluded, laying the groundwork for a promising future.
The Team
Ramón Larramendi
Project Leader
Spain, Greenland
Jens Jacob Simonsen
Captain, Explorer, Polar Logistics
Greenland
Marcus Tobia
Mountaineer, Explorer
Venezuela
Aka Simonsen
Arctic Guide, Archeologist
Greenland
Roberto de Pieri
Electrical Engineer
Italy
Bo Kleffel
Polar Logistics
Greenland
Felipe Ruiz de Gauna
Mountaineer, Camera
Spain
Enrico Gianoli
Greenland Guide
Italy
Diary
The paper chronicles the SOS ARCTIC 2024 expedition, a 1,450 km journey across Greenland using the Inuit WindSled.
The expedition, led by Ramón Larramendi, aims to test the effectiveness and sustainability of the WindSled for polar scientific research.
The team consists of eight researchers from diverse backgrounds, including Enrico Gianoli, the author of the diary. The diary details the challenges and triumphs of the expedition, including extreme weather conditions, changing winds and the need for constant teamwork.
Some key points in the document include:
- The WindSled: An innovative vehicle designed for polar exploration, combining traditional Inuit knowledge with Western technology.
- Extreme weather conditions: Temperatures down to -38 degrees Celsius and unpredictable winds.
- Teamwork: The expedition requires constant collaboration and diverse skills from all team members.
- Patience and adaptability: Team members must be patient and adapt to unexpected challenges, such as changes in the wind and obstacles in the terrain.
- Scientific objective: The expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of the WindSled as a sustainable and efficient polar scientific research platform.
- Logistics and transportation: The aim is to optimize logistics to reduce dependence on polluting vehicles, such as helicopters, and to promote the use of traditional transportation methods.
The expedition is divided into several stages, including the main journey across the ice sheet, disassembly of the WindSled, transport of equipment and scientific samples, and exploration of alternative routes for future expeditions. The diary concludes with the team arriving at their final destination, Upernavik and preparing for the next phases of the mission in 2025.
You can found the whole diary in italian in the following link: https://www.osservatorioartico.it/windsled-2024/
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(English version)
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Scientific projects
Italian science activities during SOS (Sustainable Observing Science) Arctic 2024
The activities that have been thought out and programmed take strongly into account on the one hand the limited timeframes that were available to plan and prepare them, and on the other the strong logistical constraints that the shipment and the conditions pose. Going beyond what is proposed will require careful analysis to identify appropriate technical solutions, but it would allow us to extract all the potential that the Windsled platform could offer in terms of environmental monitoring on the Greenland Plateau.
The plan moves along two distinct lines, although potentially integrated in the future with the addition of further analyses and measures:
A – Snow sampling to study pollutants and prokaryotic populations
B – Evaluation of background air pollution conditions in terms of aerosols and imported reactive gases such as ozone and NO2
Snow samples