Markus Rex - Greatest Polar Expedition of All Time

This is a digital only event. When you buy tickets you will be redirected to our digital providers site on Vimeo to complete the transaction.

An illuminating account of seafaring adventure, Arctic natural history, and cutting-edge climate science.

Atmospheric scientist Markus Rex recounts the monumental Arctic expedition he captained for one year in this gripping and authoritative book. A groundbreaking step towards understanding the climate crisis, the MOSAiC expedition - launched in 2019 by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - was the first of its kind, journeying deep into the epicenter of climate change, the Arctic, to seek hard-to-find and potentially world-changing scientific data.

Rex begins with life aboard the Polarstern, a powerful icebreaker ship that is frozen into fragile ice and carried across the Arctic by the Transpolar Drift. Away from the rest of the world, the team prepares for life under brutal conditions, constructing “cities” and “towns” on the ice where they will study the Arctic ecosystem, its atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and more. A terrifying feat that had never been attempted before, the team of hundreds of scientists perform their research during terrifying storms, cracking ice floes, frost-bite, and even quarantines as Covid-19 sweeps the globe.

Interweaving history, science, and memoir, The Greatest Polar Expedition of All Time is about the teamwork it takes to complete a risky goal, all in the name of understanding - and responding to - the climate crisis.

This event will be available to watch for three weeks after the broadcast date of 6th May 2022 to accommodate different time zones (removed after 27th May 2022). This performance is included in the Aye Write 2022 festival pass, so you will not need to purchase this event if you have already purchased a pass.