ARCTIC survivors
“The fog has lifted – flying conditions are perfect!” shouts Christian Lydersen, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI). By the time he has run up all 86 steps to join the rest of us atop the observation deck of the icebreaking polar research ship RV Kronprins Haakon, he is somewhat out of breath.
Minutes later, we are in a helicopter, taking in the mosaic of dazzling white ice floes and inky black waters of the Fram Strait, the deep passage of water that separates Greenland from Svalbard. It is June 2018, and we are in search of a giant.
The bowhead whale is one of the ocean’s most elusive creatures, living a hidden life deep under the sea-ice. Having all but disappeared from Norwegian waters for eight decades, this big, friendly giant seems to be making a gentle comeback. But why,
