10 April 2012 - This is the most recent IR sat image of the Arctic, taken by the polar orbiting satellite noaa-16. It shows the cloud distribution over the Arctic as well as the big open leads of the Arctic sea ice. The red arrow shows the most recent position of Marc and his team, whilst the blue one indicates the prevailing wind direction. This is often the most important indicator for the drift of the sea ice. Click on the image to enlarge. (from the Canadian Weather Office

North Pole Expedition - Marc C. -2012
Forecast - 10 April 2012 - day8
 
D1-10Ap
-expected position: 89.3/140
-temperatures: -20/-22C
-wind: 140-160/6-10kt becoming 160-180/5-9kt
-weather: mainly sunny-good conditions-some high clouds
-ice drift: weak toward NNW/N (pos drift)

D2-11Ap
-p:89.4/140
-t:-20/-22C
-wd:140-160/6-10kt no significant change
-wx:mainly sunny-
-id:weak tow N/NW (pos drift)
 
D3-12Ap
-p:89.4/140
-t:-20/-22C
-wd:130-150/8-12kt no significant change
-wx:mainly sunny-
-id:weak to mod tow NNW/NW (pos drift)

This satellite Image shows the last 5degrees around the North Pole - Arctic ocean. This image is taken in the IR wave length -  this means we are looking at a temperature image: dark is warm/bright is cold. Marc Cornelissen is dropped at 89N/140E. This part of the Arctic appears cloud free-you can see the bright area, due to the cold surface of the ice. The dark lines are open leads. The water is warmer than the ice surface so it appears darker on the image. (Image from Canadian Wather Office) Click on the image to see the full size.

The forecast below is in the same format as it is send to Marc. Because it is send as a txt message via iridium it is limited to 160 digits per message.
p = position
t = temperature
wd = wind
wx = weather
id = ice drift

North Pole Expedition Last Degree  2012
Forecast - 09 April 2012 - day7
 
D1-9Ap
-p:89/120
-t:-20/-24C
-wd:S to SSW (180-200°) 6-10kt after 15/18ut SE (130-150)5-9kt
-wx:mainly sunny-no significant change
-id:mod to weak tow N to NNW (pos drift)

D2-10Ap
-p:89/120
-t:-20/-22C
-wd:130-150/7-12kt bcoming 150-170/4-8kt
-wx:mainly sunny-good conditions-high clouds
-id:mod tow NNW/NW (pos drift)
 
D3-11Ap
-p:89/120
-t:-20/-22C
-wd:120-140/6-10kt bcmg 090-110/8-12kt
-wx:mainly sunny-
-id:mod tow NW (pos drift)

weather4expeditions.com makes daily weather forecasts for the Norwegian North Pole Expedition of Mads Agerup and Rune Midtgaard. Read about them and their objectives below.

Objective and plan

•Objective
◦To reach the North Pole unsupported and unassisted (”unsupported”) from the Canadian coastline in approx. 30 days.
◦If the objective is reached, the expedition will be the fastest team ever to trek unsupported from the coastline to the North Pole.

•Plan
◦The expedition concept is to trek light and fast, i.e. with a substantially lower starting payload than normal. This will enable the team to endure longer days and to make faster progress than what has been achievable with a traditional and much heavier starting payload. This is the concept which gave success to the team’s record breaking 2008 South Pole expedition.
◦The expedition plans on insertion from Resolute Bay in Canada to the starting point at Cape Discovery, Ellesmere Island, at around 20.03.2012. The planned starting date is 22.03. 2012, when it is new moon and the ice conditions are at its best.
◦The geographical distance from the starting point to the North Pole is 775 km, but ice drift makes the expected trekking distance approx. 900 km.
◦Since the ice is drifting towards the shores of Ellesmere Island, the first degree (110 km) will be demanding due to the pack ice. Recent expeditions have recommended a bearing 5 degrees west in the beginning.
◦The next major challenge will be the ice conditions at approx. 87 degrees north, where huge ridges below the ocean surface creates currents and heavy pack ice.
◦The expedition will be equipped with swimming suits which will allow crossing of open waters, in areas where it is not feasible to go around.
◦We plan to be on skis 11-12 hours per day. This requires 8-9 hours of sleep, and hence efficient camp procedures (with 24 hours a day available).
◦11-12 hours per day on skis means a daily energy consumption of 8.000-10.000 kcal. The energy content of the food ration is approx. 5.500 kcal, which is about three times an everyday diet for most people. This means that the expedition members will have to gain 10-12 kilos prior to the expedition, in order to have sufficient body fat and energy reserves en route.
◦The expedition plans on extraction from the North Pole via the Russian Barneo base at 89 degrees north to Longyearbyen at Spitsbergen.
◦Communications en route will be by satellite telephone and a tracker which will automatically report time and position. Additionally the expedition will bring a rescue beacon.

 
Expedition Members

Mads Agerup
•Born 1961.
•Married to Benedicte, two teenage sons.
•Educated as officer from the Norwegian Naval Academy, MBA and Authorized Financial Analyst (AFA) from the Norwegian School of Business and Economics.
•Current occupation as partner at asset management firm Industrifinans Forvaltning, with responsibility for Nordic real estate investments. Previous background from Deloitte Consulting and Braathens SAFE (airline).
•Previous expedition experience from Baffin Island, Greenland and the South Pole.
•Mads has always been an admirer of the Norwegian polar explorers, and he has determinantely been preparing for a North Pole expedition since 2008.
 
Rune Midtgaard
•Born 1963.
•Married to Stine, two teenage daughters
•Educated as operator and officer from the Norwegian Special Forces, MBA and Authorized Financial Analyst (AFA) from the Norwegian School of Business and Economics.
•Current occupation as CFO of Sunde Group. Previous background from FSK/HJK (Norwegian Special Forces), Deloitte Consulting and Industrifinans Forvaltning/ABN AMRO Capital.
•Previous expedition experience from Greenland, the South Pole and a number of high altitude climbs in Europe.
•Rune enjoys a diversified menu of physical training. Prior to a polar expedition the menu is typically dominated by tyre pulling and a heavy rucksack as well as cross country skiing in his neighbourhood forest. Alternative activities are weight lifting, judo and skydiving for mental recreation

Website: http://polfarer-blog.dev.preform.no/

Exped Forecast: Alex Gamme-20 January 2012- day 25 -Skiing from Hercules to South Pole and back

Day 1 - 21 January
Position: -81.0/-80.0
Wind: SW 5-7ms, decreasing after 15/18utc
Weather: sunnyTemperatures: -10C
Day 2 - 22 January
Position: -80.7/-80.0
Wind: SSW 3-5ms, no significant change
Weather: sunny
Temperatures: -10C
Day 3 - 23 January
Position: -80.4/-80.0
Wind: SW 4-6ms
Weather: mainly sunny
Temperatures: -5/-10C

Exped Forecast-Mark Langridge- Skiing from McMurdo via the Beardmore Glacier to South Pole- Union Glacier - 15 Jan 12 - day 16

day 1: 16 January 12 (Chile time)
Position: -89.2/+153.0
Wind: W 4-6kt
Weather: sunny, with moderate visibility
Temperatures: -25C

day 2: 17 January
Position: -89.4/+153.0
Wind: increasing to 8kt
Weather: becoming very cloudy to overcast
Temperatures: -20/-25C 

day 3: 18 January 12
Position: -89.6/+153.0
Wind: S 10kt
Weather: very cloudy to overcast
Temperatures: -25C

Exped Forecast: Alex Gamme-15 January 2012- day 24 -Skiing from Hercules to South Pole and back

Day 1 - 16 January
Position: -82.6/-80.0
Wind: SW 6-8ms, no change
Weather: very cloudy with slight snow
Temperatures: -10C

Day 2 - 17 January
Position: -82.4/-80.0
Wind: SSW 4-6ms, becoming less 3ms
Weather: sunny, becoming overcast following night
Temperatures: -10C

Day 3 - 18 January
Position: -82.2/-80.0
Wind: increasing to 6-8ms from E
Weather: overcast with periods of snow
Temperatures: -5/-10C

Exped Forecast-Mark Langridge- Skiing from McMurdo via the Beardmore Glacier to South Pole- Union Glacier - 13 Jan 12 - day 15 

day 1: 14 January 12 (Chile time)
Position: -88.9/+153.0
Wind: S 8-10kt gradually decreasing
Weather: very cloudy with low clouds, some short lived sunny spells-moderate visibility
Temperatures: -25C

day 2: 15 January
Position: -89.1/+153.0
Wind: SW 4-6kt, further decreasing
Weather: patchy low clouds and some sunny spells.
Temperatures: -20/-25C 

day 3: 16 January 12
Position: -89.3/+153.0
Wind: W less than 5kt
Weather: sunny spells/low clouds
Temperatures: -20C

Exped Forecast: Alex Gamme-13 January 2012- day 23 -Skiing from Hercules to South Pole and back

Day 1 - 14 January
Position: -83.2/-80.0
Wind: SE 6-8ms, decreasing after 21/00utc
Weather: very cloudy with slight snow
Temperatures: -10C

Day 2 - 15 January
Position: -82.9/-80.0
Wind: SE 2-4ms, further decreasing
Weather: overcast with slight snow-improving the following night
Temperatures: -5/-10C

Day 3 - 16 January
Position: -82.6/-80.0
Wind: S 3-5ms
Weather: sunny spells
Temperatures: -10C

Exped Forecast: Alex Gamme-12 January 2012- day 22 -Skiing from Hercules to South Pole and back 

Day 1 - 13 January
Position: -83.6/-80.0
Wind: SE 5-8ms no significant change
Weather: very cloudy with some slight snow, improving after 15/18utc
Temperatures: -10C

Day 2 - 14 January
Position: -83.3/-80.0
Wind: S 6-8ms becoming S 8-10ms
Weather: sunny spells but gradually increasing and thickening cloudiness-snow after 12utc
Temperatures: -10C

Day 3 - 15 January
Position: -83.0/-80.0
Wind: weak from variable directions
Weather: very cloudy/overcast with snow
Temperatures: -10C