The PAX ARCTICA - RUSSIAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION 2017 Will Launch on September 11 to Explore the New Siberian Islands, a Virtually Unknown Region in the Russian Arctic

PARIS and MOSCOW and NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A one-month expedition will launch Sept. 11. It is led by explorer Luc Hardy, founder of Pax Arctica, an organization that raises awareness of the impact of climate change on arctic, polar and glacier regions.

In 1879, Captain George W. De Long and his crew of sailors and scientists left San Francisco aboard the American flagged USS Jeannette. De Long set out to reach the North Pole via the Bering Strait. But in the north of Siberia, the Jeannette and her 33 navigators found themselves trapped in the pack ice. After two years of forced wintering and drifting, the crushed

In September 2017, a Franco-Russian-American expedition will launch to follow in the footsteps of De Long's USS Jeannette starting from the port of Tiksi, in Yakutia.

The Pax Arctica - RUSSIAN EXPEDITION 2017 NEW SIBERIAN ISLANDS is supported in part by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (www.fpa2.org). For many years, HSH Prince Albert II has pursued a long family tradition of working to protect the environment and to promote sustainable development in order to face the threats menacing the planet. The approach of this expedition echoes the philosophy of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Its results will provide valuable information on the effects of climate change on these regions and the consequences they can have on ecosystems. Geolocalized measurements will be carried out in order to better understand local signs of climate change.

"Today, Siberia is severely disrupted by anthropogenic climate warming. The planet has now entered a vicious circle that must be interrupted as soon as possible. Climate warming accelerates a little more each year, the melting of permafrost will cause cascading disasters: subsidence of soils, crater formations releasing carbon dioxide and methane bubbles and sometimes even the anthrax bacteria! It is therefore essential to communicate relentlessly in order to raise awareness among international public opinion. What happens in the Arctic areas highlights the challenges facing us globally because of climate change and the global water crisis," M. Hardy said.

Alexeï Tikhonov, scientist and Director of the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg, will seek to show how the melting permafrost uncovers numerous remains of mammoths... "For the paleozoologist that I am, the disappearance of permafrost is a boon because the remains of many mammoths resurface. I can learn a little more about this extinct species by advancing science. But, more generally, the melting of permafrost is also a problem related to global warming that must be stopped as soon as possible!"

The originality of this extraordinary adventure lies in the fact that it also welcomes artists (painters, photographers, musicians) such as Evgenya Arbugaeva, Zarina Kopyrina, Arkady Nasonov or Marie de la Ville Baugé, and extreme sportsmen such as Alexey Molchanov, the World champion free diver, and the French free dive champion Aurore Asso, who will attempt to dive at the site of the sinking of the Jeannette.

A documentary film about the Pax Arctica expedition will be directed by Bertrand Delapierre, author of numerous films including The Pursuit of Endurance - in the footsteps of Shackleton (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YttkGizltA). To follow the expedition in real time (photos, text, videos), use the following links: Facebook (Pax Arctica) https://www.facebook.com/Pax-Arctica-140974605968049/

The Expedition Blog:  http://www.paxarctica.org/blog/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/luchardy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luchardyofficial/

Press Contact:

Luc Hardy at [email protected] or +1-203-625 0237

SOURCE Pax Arctica