Sea Women Expeditions - Arctic Norway 2022

In November and December 2022, Sea Women Expeditions travel to Norway’s Arctic fjords – situated approximately 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle to study the winter herring run. Every winter, scientists, snorkelers and wildlife enthusiast alike are witness to one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet – thousands of orcas and humpbacks congregating in remote Norwegian fjords (70 degrees North latitude) to feed on vast schools of herring. Our team of 34 women where split over three cohorts, with 6 advisors, participating in a women’s leadership program, followed by an ocean research and snorkel expedition. In my role as Polar Photographer, I have been documenting my cohort’s experience of the expedition. Some of the scientific research carried out includes photographic, acoustic and genetic identification of Orcas and humpback whales. Other research includes the extraction of eDNA from water samples which will reveal the presence of certain species, analysing ocean conditions, welfare and behaviour studies on the whales and documenting the effects of climate change, along with investigating marine geology: micro-plastics and plankton.