Description
The Canadian icebreaker Des Groseilliers was deliberately stuck in the ice pack in the Arctic Ocean 300 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, in autumn 1997 for a $20 million, year-long study of the Arctic climate and its effect on the rest of the globe. It’s the Canadian Science Foundation’s largest, most complex Arctic research project, called Project SHEBA (Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean). In this documentary we go aboard the vessel – bristling with hi-tech equipment.
It’s staffed at any time by 30 or more scientists from several nations. We see in this film that the Arctic simply isn’t as cold as it used to be. Researchers were immediately surprised to find the sea ice only about six feet thick and a third less than expected. But is it due to global warming? Computer models conflict. One shows the Arctic ice pack the size of the United States melting. The other is far less severe. But scientists hope Project SHEBA will provide the answer and improve global climate forecasts.