The Deadliest Arctic Expeditions (2024)

FAQs

What was the deadliest expedition to the Arctic? ›

Franklin's Expedition

The deadliest expedition to the Artic was in 1845–1848. Sir John Franklin's expedition led a British Royal Navy expedition by the sea with two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (2 January 1886 – 18 May 1959) was an English explorer of Antarctica. He was a member of the Terra Nova expedition and is acclaimed for his 1922 account of this expedition, The Worst Journey in the World.

Sir John Franklin set out with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in 1845 on a voyage to find the North-West Passage. The ships disappeared into the Arctic, never to be seen again until their wrecks were discovered in 2014 and 2016...

The earliest explorations in the Arctic date back to the Vikings, who reached Greenland around the 10th century and lived there for 500 years. But such early explorations were very rare. The Arctic was coveted by Europeans as early as the 16th century with the aim of opening up new shipping routes.

After travelling down Peel Sound through the summer of 1846, Terror and Erebus became trapped in ice off King William Island in September 1846 and are thought never to have sailed again.

In terms of the logistical challenges involved, the total number of participants, the number of participating countries, and the available budget, MOSAiC represents the largest Arctic expedition in history.

The discovery of Ernest Shackleton's ship at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea recalls a grueling expedition when men endured entrapment, hunger, frigid weather, angry seas—and near madness. All year, the ship had been trapped, ice pushing and pinching the hull, the wood howling in protest.

Mary Celeste (/səˈlɛst/; often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) was a Canadian-built, American-registered merchant brigantine that was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azorean islands on December 4, 1872.

Was the SS Arctic ever found? ›

The wreck of the Arctic has never been found. Captain James F. Luce never took to the sea again.

However, when the ship became stuck in polar pack ice, the crew had to abandon it. They spent months on the ice, watching the Endurance flounder, before Shackleton and five others embarked on a perilous 800-mile journey in a small lifeboat to seek rescue. All of the men survived.

The Short Answer:

The South Pole is a lot colder than the North Pole. Both the North and South Pole are very cold because they get very little direct sunlight throughout the year. This has to do with where the poles are located on the sphere-shaped Earth.

The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about 700 km (430 mi) away, though some perhaps semi-permanent gravel banks lie slightly closer. The nearest permanently inhabited place is Alert on Ellesmere Island, Canada, which is located 817 km (508 mi) from the Pole.

Amundsen's aerial expeditions (the 1920s)

Roald Amundsen was a key figure in polar exploration. Born to a family of shipowners and inspired by Fridtjof Nansen and Sir John Franklin, he grew up immersed in the sea trade. In 1903, Amundsen led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage.

Climate Change

The release of greenhouse gasses from the burning of fossil fuels and other sources is causing temperatures in the Arctic to warm at twice the rate of the rest of the world, resulting in lower levels of sea ice, melting permafrost and rising sea levels all over the world.

The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled Antarctic sightseeing flights since 1977.