Hanu Singh (c) and Jeff Anderson (of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) and Peter Wadhams (right, Professor of Ocean Physics at Cambridge University) look at data collected by the AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. The Woods Hole AUV is an unmanned robot designed to conduct dangerous underwater missions of social relevance, such as the underside of the Arctic sea ice.
Arctic sea ice has already disappeared by 75% in the last 30 years, and scientists together with Greenpeace are working with 3D scanning experts and engineers to capture the true shape of Arctic sea ice for the first time. Greenpeace is campaigning for a global sanctuary to be declared around the uninhabited area of the North Pole to save the Arctic from attempts by oil companies to exploit the region’s resources for short term profit.