Sedna IV under sail

After two years of intense efforts and negotiations, and a five month journey, the Sedna IV sailed into Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ending a voyage through the famous Northwest Passage.

The Sedna IV (named after the Inuit goddess of the sea) is a 50 meter (165 feet) three-masted schooner. It has been transformed into a seagoing studio for interactive learning and audiovisual production. The information that the ship provides will help to save our environment.

A view from the mast

The mission was to film documentaries, collect data for scientific studies, and serve as a floating media lab for students around the world.

The Arctic Ocean is not as icy as it once was. Some observations from the trip:

• Because the permafrost is melting and the sea level is rising, a whole village of about 700 people is being forced to move.
• Some polar bears were stranded on a sandspit many miles from shore. They were feasting on a whale carcass when the ice melted unusually early and fast.
• Robins have been spotted in Iqaluit. It was previously too cold for robins to travel that far north.
• Some polar bears are starving in Hudson Bay. Less ice means poor hunting and a shorter hunting season for the bears.

11/25/02
Photos: Jean Lemire © Glacialis, NFB and Gédéon Programmes

Also see:
A Canary in the Cold
Arctic Mission (the Sedna IV/National Film Board web site)
Arctic Maps, Maps of the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage Links, Environment