OBJECTIVES
RETRACING THE 1932 EXPEDITION
Our primary expedition goal is to faithfully retrace the planned route of the 1932 Cambridge Vatnajokull Expedition. Along the way, we hope to reproduce their photographs 87 years later and rediscover historical artefacts that they left behind.
BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
We plan to identify and document microbial communities at the northern edge of the ice cap. To achieve this we will demonstrate truly off-grid Oxford Nanopore Sequencing completely and sustainably powered by solar power. By demonstrating the remote use of this technology we hope to provide a blueprint for future expeditions of non-scientists to use this technology with ease, expanding the accessible toolkit of climate research.
Our scientific programme is kindly supported by:
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
We are participating in a psychological study investigating human factors in expeditions. This study is run from the University of Manchester and the University of Aberdeen and will involve a series of questionnaires before, during, and after the expedition.
FILM MAKING AND DOCUMENTARY
Our team contains keen film makers and photographers, and as such, one of our expedition goals is to produce a feature length documentary about our expedition, showing the highs and lows of the planning process and the expedition itself. We hope that this will inspire other young people to lead future expeditions into polar environments.
EXPLORATION AND MOUNTAINEERING
Due to failing equipment and the summer melt, the 1932 Expedition failed to achieve all their expedition objectives - most notably first ascents on several of the prominent peaks around the Vatnajokull icecap. By retracing their planned route, we hope to climb these summits.