A groundbreaking scientific research mission sponsored by a Bermuda-based company has started work in the Arctic to learn more about the effects of air pollution on the ocean.

The Catlin Arctic Survey 2010, kicked off on Sunday as a team of veteran polar explorers began a 500-kilometre trek across the floating sea ice of the Arctic Ocean.

It is sponsored, for the second consecutive year, by Catlin Group Limited, the international specialty insurer and reinsurer.

"We're as ready as we're going to be and eager to get started," said Explorer Team Leader Ann Daniels. "Our work is to capture data which or possible changes in other regions.

"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," said Pen Hadow, Director of the Catlin Arctic Survey. "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, both teams will be facing temperatures as low as -49 Fahrenheit with wind-chill factors as bitter as -103 Fahrenheit.

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

An international group of scientists based in Europe, Canada and the United States will be able to use the results of the data gather by the Survey.

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.

Follow the Catlin Arctic Survey at www.catlinarcticsurvey.com.

A groundbreaking scientific research mission sponsored by a Bermuda-based company has started work in the Arctic to learn more about the effects of air pollution on the ocean.

The Catlin Arctic Survey 2010, kicked off on Sunday as a team of veteran polar explorers began a 500-kilometre trek across the floating sea ice of the Arctic Ocean.

It is sponsored, for the second consecutive year, by Catlin Group Limited, the international specialty insurer and reinsurer.

"We're as ready as we're going to be and eager to get started," said Explorer Team Leader Ann Daniels. "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."

On Monday, the team was flown to a purpose-built 'Ice Base' that will be their home for the next 45 days. It is located at 78°45'N 103°30'W on the shore of Ellef Rignes Island, only 750 miles from the North Geographic Pole.

It will provide living, dining, research and communications facilities under the supervision of experienced polar guides.

The Twin Otter plane carrying the Explorer Team successfully landed on the ice late on Sunday at 86°N 80°W following a six-hour flight from Resolute.

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

The Catlin Arctic Survey is a unique collaboration between explorers and research scientists to gather data in the inhospitable conditions of an Arctic winter.

The survey is focusing on the The survey is focusing on potential impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide ('CO2') in the Arctic Ocean, including ocean acidification.

Scientists now think changing pH values in the ocean thought to be caused by carbon emissions may be just as much an environmental threat as global warming.

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.

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.

"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," said Pen Hadow, Director of the Catlin Arctic Survey. "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, both teams will be facing temperatures as low as -49 Fahrenheit with wind-chill factors as bitter as -103 Fahrenheit.

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

An international group of scientists based in Europe, Canada and the United States will be able to use the results of the data gather by the Survey.

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.

Follow the Catlin Arctic Survey at www.catlinarcticsurvey.com.