RRS Sir David Attenborough is on its way to Greenland (Image: Steve Finn Photgraohy)
Scientists have embarked on a six-week voyage to the frozen edge of Greenland to investigate one of the biggest questions in climate science.
The UK’s £200 million polar research ship, called RRS Sir David Attenborough, will help experts study how quickly melting ice sheets are pushing vital ocean currents towards collapse.
Cutting-edge equipment, such as a fleet of airborne drones, marine robots, satellites and sensors, will collect data on glaciers near Kangerlussuaq Fjord as well as the surrounding ocean.
Advances in technology mean they will be able to examine the ice sheet in ways they would not have thought possible even a few years ago.
Boaty McBoatface, the world-famous autonomous underwater vehicle named by the public in 2016, will be deployed from the vessel for the first time as part of “the James Bond of science missions”.
Two of the vessel’s senior scientists on the important voyage have been given the codenames “Q” and “M” after the gadget-loving quartermaster and the MI6 chief in Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories, said a spokeswoman for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
Dr Kelly Hogan, a marine geophysicist at BAS, added: “We’re in a moment where our tools have finally caught up with our questions.”
Boaty McBoatface is the famous British autonomous underwater vehicle. (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
She added: “Our biggest question, probably, is how heat in the ocean is getting right up against the Greenland ice sheet and melting it or causing it to make more icebergs.”
This can impact the ocean currents which bring heat to the UK, she added.
Dr Hogan continued: “We have so many cool, frontier technologies working autonomously. That means they are launched from the ship and piloted from here on pre-planned missions. We’re using those to go right up against the ice. This is an area we don’t have many measurements from because it’s too dangerous for people to go in ships.
“We’re also using AI and a whole bunch of different models, which is like a computer simulations, to try to understand how ocean heat gets to the ice and causes it to melt.”
It is also the first time that any craft will venture into the dark and dangerous waters beneath the icebergs found in front of crumbling glaciers, known as ice mélange.
A group of researchers, who were among the crew who left Harwich International Port on Thursday, will also be camping near the glacier to collect more data about how the ice is behaving.
An instrument called Adios will be installed on the glacier to measure how fast it is moving.
Geo Pebbles, described as GPS-enabled seismic sensors, will also be deployed to record
cracking and calving events.
Among the many advanced tools being deployed as part of this mission is Meltstake – a first-of-its-kind instrument that is lowered into the water by a remotely operated boat and drills into the ice 100 metres below the surface to measure how water transfers heat to the ice.
Cutting-edge equipment is on board, such as a fleet of airborne drones and marine robots (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
A helicopter will be available to take scientists to shore (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
Dr Hogan said: “What happens in Greenland really affects what happens in the UK.
“So if you melt more ice in Greenland, you get more freshwater into the North Atlantic, that can slow down the transfer of heat to Europe.
“And in the short term, like in 10 years, what could happen is that would change where it rains in the UK and it would be more stormy in our winters.
“That’s a real problem if you’re a farmer. That’s a real problem if you’re looking at where our reservoirs located. It’s a real problem if you count on fish stocks in the North Atlantic for your job.”
The researchers hope to develop a prototype early warning system to provide advance notice of rapid glacier change.
Ocean scientist Professor Paul Holland, of BAS, uses computer simulations to understand why ice loss is happening and how climate change will impact the planet.
He said scientists will try to see if they can predict sudden changes in the glaciers as part of a mission which is “ambitious, a bit risky and interesting”.
He added: “We’re going to watch with satellites the icebergs retreating backwards. If we see the glacier really start to speed up, and emit a lot of icebergs and fresh water into the North Atlantic, then that would trigger and alarm and it’s that process of alarming that we’re trying to work on.”
The fieldwork comes as part of a major five-year project called “Greenland Ice sheet to Atlantic Tipping points” – or Giant, which is a collaboration of 17 international partners led by the BAS and funded by the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency.
The vessel at the centre of the expedition made global headlines in 2016 when nearly 125,000 members of the public voted to call it Boaty McBoatface.
Officials decided it would not be appropriate to call the vessel by the name and opted to give the moniker to a yellow remotely operated sub-sea vehicle.
Sir David Attenborough came fifth in the vote to name the “floating laboratory”.
At the time, Sir David hoped “everyone who suggested a name will feel just as inspired to follow the 423 foot- long ship’s progress as it explores our polar regions”.
Speaking in 2016, he added:”I have been privileged to explore the world’s deepest oceans alongside amazing teams of researchers, and with this new polar research ship they will be able to go further and discover more than ever before.”
The data suite on board the ship (Image: Steve Finn Photography)
The data collected by the scientists will be available in easy-to-understand formats so experts working in other fields, such as defence, could use the measurements for their studies.
Dr Hogan said: “We are making these measurements and doing it in a clear, systematic and robust way.”
Greenland is a critical geopolitical flashpoint at the gateway to the Arctic, and an ice mass being eyed by US President Donald Trump.
Dr Hogan added: “We will have 82 people on board. About half of that are scientists and the other half are crew and officers who run the vessel. We will spend about six days to get to Greenland and then spend about 30 days working.”
A helicopter will also join the mission to help take people to shore as part of the plan to be “running 24-hour science” on board.