SAM OMIK brings his snowmobile to a crawl. Driving slowly across the landfast sea ice that covers Eclipse Sound, he follows a gaping crack that reveals the ocean beneath. An Inuk from Pond Inlet, a far-flung hamlet on the northern edge of Baffin Island, Omik knows this type of ice; he’s been hunting on it since he was a child. Still, the crevasse — wide enough to swallow his snowmobile and the qamutik (sled) he’s pulling — has him worried. After all, his mission as the senior guide on tour company Arctic Kingdom’s narwhal and polar bear safari is to ensure the safe movement of 18 guests on their Nunavut holiday on ice.
Searching for a narrow spot where the crack, or lead, can be bridged, Omik ignores the spectacle that plays out below. In the brine is an underwater version of the aurora borealis: glittery plankton dancing on rays of light and sun-splashed jellyfish with angel wings fluttering in slow-motion — strands in a web of life that, as Omik explains later, lives and livelihoods in the Arctic depend upon.
But Omik is taking guests to see the bigger picture — where plankton meets fish meets seal meets polar bear. An hour after crossing the lead, Omik orders the caravan of snowmobiles and sleds to a halt. He waves toward the sinaaq, the floe edge, where the landfastice ends and the open ocean, studded with bobbing pack ice, begins. All eyes turn to the sinaaq and the mottled grey backs breaking the surface. All ears tune to the frequency of breathing narwhal.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Best of Canadian Geographic, 2019 من Canadian Geographic.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Best of Canadian Geographic, 2019 من Canadian Geographic.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
ANIMAL XING
THIS PAST SUMMER AN AMBITIOUS WILDLIFE UNDER/OVERPASS SYSTEM BROKE GROUND IN B.C. ON A DEADLY STRETCH OF HIGHWAY JUST WEST OF THE ALBERTA BORDER. HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED.
Unearthing a giant
Almost 30 years ago, paleontologist Elizabeth “Betsy” Nicholls made a discovery of colossal proportions
WE DID THIS
AS THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING BECOME INCREASINGLY EVIDENT, THE CONNECTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS ARE HARD TO IGNORE. CAN THIS FALL’S TWO KEY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES POINT US TO A NATURE-POSITIVE FUTURE?
The COOLEST COUNTRY
“The coolest country” celebrates the wonders of winter with an all-Canadian theme. The 20-page travel planner includes a bucket list from travel writer Robin Esrock, steamy spa ideas, ice fishing destinations, festival fun, northern itineraries and more!
KEEPER of the SEA
FROM BEING LABELLED DEVIL’S APRON BY FRUSTRATED FISHERMEN TO BEING LAUDED AS A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOLUTION: HOW KELP’S POTENTIAL IS BEING REALIZED, JUST AS SCIENTISTS LEARN IT’S DECLINING
WILD THINGS
WILD CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS THE WINNERS OF ITS ANNUAL CANADIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE
AFTER MORE THAN A MILLION YEARS ON EARTH, CARIBOU ARE UNDER THREAT OF GLOBAL EXTINCTION. THE PRECIPITOUS DECLINE OF THE ONCE MIGHTY HERDS IS A TRAGEDY THAT IS HARD TO WATCH — AND EVEN HARDER TO REVERSE.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
BON INTO A CARIBOU-HUNTING CREE FAMILY IN NORTHERN MANITOBA, ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT AND NOVELIST. TOMSON HIGHWAYS PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF HIS CHILDHOOD IN PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT
INTO THE ARCTIC
CANADIAN PAINTER AND FILMMAKER CORY TRÉPANIER EXPLORES THE SUBLIME AND RAPIDLY CHANGING CANADIAN ARCTIC
Under the ice
Until the last decade, we knew little about what lay beneath the Arctic ice. Now scientists and explorers are shedding light on this vanishing world.
