NU Online News Service, March 15, 1:34 p.m. EST

An insurer-sponsored scientific mission involving two teams studying the effects of carbon emissions on Arctic Ocean seawater began over the weekend, it was announced.

Bermuda-based specialist property and casualty insurer and reinsurer Catlin Group Ltd. said one exploration team would be trekking up to 310 miles across Arctic Ocean floating sea ice.

The Catlin Arctic Survey 2010 group yesterday left the northern Canadian town of Resolute. Explorer Team Leader Ann Daniels said in a statement: "We're as ready as we're going to be and eager to get started. Our work is to capture data which scientists would otherwise not be able to get, as it is extremely hard to operate in this environment in the winter."

Later a Twin Otter plane carrying that explorer team successfully landed on the ice at 86?N 80?W following a six-hour flight from Resolute.

The explorers, who also include Martin Hartley and Charlie Paton, were to begin their scientific work today by heading northward across the rugged sea ice, measuring its thickness and taking samples of the seawater beneath the ice.

A second, separate phase of this year's Catlin Arctic survey was to start today, weather permitting.

That portion of the study is to involve a team of research scientists who will be flown to a purpose-built "Ice Base" which will become their home for the next 45 days.

The Ice Base--located at 78?45'N 103?30'W on the shore of Ellef Rignes Island, only 750 miles from the North Geographic Pole--will provide living, dining, research and communications facilities under the supervision of experienced polar guides, Catlin said.

The insurer's announcement said the scientists will focus on the potential impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the Arctic Ocean, including ocean acidification.

"There is a need for much more information about any changes in the Arctic Ocean, especially as CO₂ is more readily absorbed in cold water and could act as a barometer for possible changes in other regions," Catlin said.

Some scientists believe that, based on current projections, the pH of the world's oceans could reach levels by 2050 not seen on Earth for 20 million years. If this occurs, there could be serious consequences for marine life in the Arctic and elsewhere, the insurance firm said.

Pen Hadow, Catlin Arctic Survey director, said: "Scientists really want to know more about what is going on in this region of the ocean, but to operate on the Arctic Ocean in winter is extremely difficult. The Catlin Arctic Survey not only gives scientists a way of working in the Arctic themselves, but the efforts of the Explorer Team will also allow data to be obtained far beyond the areas where it is safe for scientists to work."

During the Survey, Catlin said both teams will be facing temperatures as low as minus 49 with wind-chill factors as bitter as 103 below zero.

The academic institutions whose researchers will work from the Ice Base include CNRS-Universit? Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire Oceanographie (Villefranche); Plymouth Marine Laboratory; Institute of Ocean Science (Fisheries and Oceans Canada); University of Exeter; and Bangor University.

During the expedition the team will be sending video, reports and photos to show what it takes to capture data under the extreme condition of the Arctic Ocean. Their efforts can be followed online at www.catlinarcticsurvey.com.