Rúnar Karlsson Rúnar Karlsson | Monday November 12 - 2007

Cold on the Greenland Ice Cap

SUMMIT weather station in Greenland
SUMMIT weather station in Greenland
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From 1991 the Danish Meteorological Institute has operated and weather station on the middle of the Greenland ice cap at 3000m altitude, called SUMMIT. The staff carries out different weather and climate research throughout the year and it´s pretty amazing that someone wants to spend the winter there...!
This autumn has been very cold and the coldest autumn temperature ever measured was on the 25th and 31st of October when the temperature went down to -55.2°C. The reason is that the stable Greenland high pressure system has taken its position over tha ice cap earlier than usual and the air is very still with no clouds, so radiation escapes very easily out into the atmosphere. For the air to get that cold, the coldest core of the atmosphere also needs to be close to Greenland or little bit to the West and both these factors came together this time.

The record has not be broken, because in February 2001 the temperature at the SUMMIT weather station went down to -63.3°C

It seems like mother nature has few aces up its sleeve despite the fact that global warming has scientifically been proved...!

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Welcome to the website for Borea Adventures, Iceland, your number one stop for Arctic adventures in high latitudes. We provide great adventures and expeditions in Iceland, Greenland, East Greenland, Jan Mayen and Svalbard (Spitzbergen), mainly using our spacious yacht, the Aurora. Our philosophy is to make our trips as silent as possible where we minimize the use of motorized power and encourage physical activities, whether sea kayaking, climbing, sailing, walking and hiking, wildlife, ski touring and backcountry skiing for beginners, experts and people of all ages. The North Atlantic is our playground and we offer scheduled trips for individuals and groups as well as customized itineraries and charter for groups. We travel in harmony with the wildlife of the area: Arctic Foxes, Birds, Seals, Whales and Polar Bears. Aurora is a sturdy expedition yacht and was raced four times around the globe as part of the Clipper Round the World yacht race under the ownership of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. She gives us a great opportunity to provide Arctic adventures in areas that are hard to reach otherwise. We call her our floating basecamp. Our name is derived from Greek mythology where Boreas was the god of the north wind. Aurora on the other hand was the Roman rosy-fingered goddess of dawn. Aurora Borealis is a name for the Northern lights which are common in our area. As we humans have proven through the decades, names can be hard to remember. Especially if a bit of alcohol gets passed around the galley too many times! You might spell our name Boreal Adventures, Borial Adventures, Borea Adventrues and Borealis Adventures. Thank you for visiting Borea Adventures.