During the Greenlandia Scientific Expedition, which took place in August 2022 off the east coast of Greenland, a researcher from the Greenland Climate Research Center took a particular interest in Arctic cod during marine samples taken hundreds of kilometers away.
Greenland, August 2022. Bringing in nets of marine samples by sheer force of arms, such was the fate of the ship’s crew. Why not ? IV Nearly 100 years ago, during Commander Jean-Baptiste Charcot’s expeditions in Scoresby Sound, the largest fjord system in the world, with an area of 13,700 kmtwo. Ironically, this was also the fate of the Kamak crew this summer during the French Greenlandia scientific expedition: the ship’s hydraulic winch system broke down! Thus, the crew took turns on the aft deck to ensure the proper functioning of this marine component of the expedition, led by Caroline Bouchard, a Canadian oceanographer attached to the Greenland climate research center.
The polar exploration sailboat recorded its maritime trajectory this summer, following in the footsteps of Commander Charcot, the first Frenchman to explore the eastern coast of Greenland, almost a century ago. From 1926 to 1936, the date of the ship’s tragic sinking on the Icelandic reefs, Jean-Baptiste Charcot carried out seven missions in Scoresby Sound, 70 degrees north. At that time, scientists on board took samples from various parts of the fjords that comprise it to assess their biodiversity. “The dredging allowed Messrs. Parât and Drach to recognize the richness both in number of species and in population density of the underwater fauna where all zoological groups are represented, writing Doctor Jean-Louis Faure in his book In Greenland with Charcot published in 1933. The collections are under study, but 3 new species of the Natantia group (Decapods) have already been identified.
The Kamak sailing ship in Scoresby Sound in Greenland. Credit: Juliette Maury – Greenland
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