Solvay is supporting the Nanok expedition, a sporting adventure project in Greenland that will help advance scientific research on climate carried out at three Belgian research centers. The expedition is about to start and involves two Belgian explorers, Gilles Denis and Nathan Goffart, who plan to collect a series of samples for climate research while completing a unique triathlon challenge.

The Nanok expedition will last five months and be carried out completely autonomously. The explorers will cross the icy and deserted expanses of the ice cap along the wild south east coast of Greenland, known for its polar bears (Nanok). The triathlon they will complete involves:

• 600km ski-sled (pulka) crossing of the ice sheet along the Arctic Circle;
• more than 1,000km sea kayak descent along Greenland’s east coast;
• 1km vertical ascent to open a new climbing route.

Throughout the journey, the two explorers will collect environmental data for the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Université de Liège (ULg). This includes:

• Data collected by a GNSS receiver attached to the adventurers’ sleds, which will be used by the ROB to calibrate elevation models and satellite data in Greenland as the adventurers cross the ice sheet.
• The collection of snow and cryoconite samples for the ULB to study the role of dust in algae growth and extension on the Greenland ice sheet, and on the accelerated rate at which it is melting. ULB scientists will also assess the impact of microplastics on remote seawater along the east coast of Greenland.
• Snow pit measurements of winter snowfall accumulation over the Greenland ice sheet, which the ULg and the Ecological Commission of Denmark and Greenland will use to validate estimates of the modelled surface mass balance.

"Nanok is the embodiment of Solvay’s purpose to bond people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress,” said Solvay’s Corporate Citizenship Manager, Sonsoles Llopis Garcia. “It involves two young people in search of meaning who want to add an extra dimension to their adventure by contributing to scientific progress. We are thrilled to participate in what is both an extraordinary human challenge and a unique scientific expedition.”

Caption : Gilles Denis and Nathan Goffart

Gilles Denis and Nathan Goffart