Royal book about the Arctic
From left: Swedish Crown Princess Victoria, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Danish Crown Prince Frederik on visit to Greenland. Photo © Veronica Melå, The Royal Norwegian Court.
The three Scandinavian heirs to the thrones are writing a book about their experiences from Svalbard and Greenland.
The book will focus on climate changes and research and living in the Arctic. Three environmental scientists will also contribute to the book, which will be published simultaneously in Norway, Sweden and Denmark in October, Svalbardposten reports. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Swedish Crown Princess Victoria visited Svalbard last summer. This was their first official visit together.
From May 27 to June 1, 2009 they visited Greenland. The purpose of their trip was to focus attention on the impact of climate change on Greenland and the people living there. Aboard the Danish offshore patrol vessel Ejnar Mikkelsen, the three heirs to the Scandinavian thrones were able to observe changes in the natural environment and listen to lectures on climate change in the Arctic.
There were stops at a number of locations during the journey:
- The town of Sisimiut: Visit to the solar energy centre at the Knud Rasmussen College.
- The town of Sarfannguit: An example of how to build a sustainable community in the Arctic.
- The town of Qeqaertarsauaq: Visit to the University of Copenhagen’s Arctic research station.
- The Ilulissat glacier: In just a few years the glacier has receded by 15 kilometres due to warmer water in the fjord at the foot of the glacier.
- The NEEM research station on the Greenland ice sheet, where the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Ice and Climate and its partners drill ice cores to a depth of three metres.
Source: BarentsObserver.com / Svalbardposten.no / Kongehuset.no
