On Tuesday 2 September 2025, the research vessel Kronprins Haakon reached the North Pole with an international team of researchers led by UiT The Arctic University of Norway, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre and the University of Bergen.
By: Espen Viklem Eidum and Martí Amargant-Arumí // UiT The Arctic University of Norway
The expedition was organised and funded through the prestigious synergy grant i2B – Into the Blue from the European Research Council.
“Reaching the North Pole with RV Kronprins Haakon is a historic milestone for UiT and for the i2B Into the Blue project,” says expedition leader Jochen Knies at the Department of Geosciences, UiT. “Thirty years ago, I first stood here under very different conditions. This time, we sailed through stretches of open water where once the ice was thick and unbroken. That striking change underlines why our work is so important.”
According to Knies, investigating how the Arctic Ocean has reacted during previous warm periods—when the summer ice may have disappeared completely—can prove crucial for predicting the future of the Arctic.
During the expedition, the researchers:
- Retrieved high-resolution sediment cores to reconstruct temperature, sea ice, oceanography and ecosystems during previous warm periods
- Compared the data with modern observations to understand the transition to an ice-free Arctic Ocean
- Investigated whether the past can provide a warning of future tipping points in the climate system
Knies believes that the combination of an integrative approach, the willingness to adapt, and the commitment to strengthening the climate archive of the Arctic is what ultimately secured the renowned synergy grant. He is glad he and his team persevered through multiple rejections of what he believed to be a worthy idea.
Knies co-led the expedition with Stijn De Schepper from the University of Bergen and NORCE. As far as Professor Matthias Forwick, Head of the Department of Geosciences, is aware, this is the first expedition led by UiT to reach the North Pole.
“We are excited about the expedition because it will give us insight into what the Arctic Ocean looked like during previous warm periods. This will give us a better understanding of what is happening today – and what we can expect in the future. The Into the Blue project is an important contribution to Arctic Ocean 2050,” says Forwick. Arctic Ocean 2050 is an ambitious 10-year project that Norway is undertaking in preparation for the upcoming International Polar Year 2032-2033.