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News/Blog & Recent Events - George Kourounis

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Dec 30 2024 - Wrapping Up 2024
 
I hope you all had a great 2024 full of adventures. It was definitely a t=year to remember for me with travel to Alaska, Greenland (twice!), the Canadian Arctic, New Zealand & Australia and more. There were storms, northern lights, a comet, and eclipse, icebergs, glaciers, and many other amazing natural phenomena that I was fortunate enough to witness and share.
 
Quite a few talks, television appearances, and I even recieved the King Charles III Coronation medal!.
 
See you all in 2025.

George

Dec 12 2024 - Guinness Book Of World Records
 
Look for me in the new 2025 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records. There is a multi-page spread on some of the accomplishments of members of The Explorers Club and there's a pic from my Darvaza Turkmenistan fire pit expedition.
 
I believe this is the third time (at least) that expedition has been featured in the Guinness book over the years.

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Nov 20 2024 - Nelson Bay, Australia
 
Today we visited the Port Stevens Koala Hospital. What an amazing place. We interviewed one of their education/outreach people and she gave us the grand tour of the facility. They take care of injured or sick koalas, and depending on their condition, some may get released back into the wild, but some will live out the rest of their lives here. One cute, but blind, koala was enjoying her breakfast when we arrived. She was adorable. There was also a mom with an injured leg who had her baby perched on her back. They are expected to be returned to the wild. The facility has some pretty impressive resources, including their own MRI machine. In addition to koalas, they also care for other wildlife that is in need of medical care.
 
In the afternoon, we met up with the folks from Sea Shelter. This time at a local beach for a release of a green sea turtle back into the wild. The turtle had been recovering for the past 6 weeks at their facility after being found snarled up in some fishing line. When it was time to release the turtle, it wasted no time and quickly dashed into the water and swam away. It was really nice to see this kind of animal rescue in action.
 
Tonight, it's back to Sydney, then in the morning I start the long journey home to Canada which will involve 16 hours of time zone changes, 4 airports, and 36 hours of total travel. It has been an amazing adventure here, joining the Darwin 200 Expedition, with memories that will last a lifetime.

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Nov 18 2024 - Sydney Opera House
 
Last night Joe Grabowski from Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants, and Darwin 200 Educational Director arrived in Sydney from Canada. He and I joined the team and bunch of local students aboard the Oosterschelde for a day cruise around Sydney Harbour. Joe brought a small portable ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) with him that we used to do some undersea filming at a couple of different spots in the harbour. The winds were quite strong, creating currents that kept blowing the tether cable along the surface. It was hard for me to tell if the tension on the cable was from the ROV or the current, so I kept letting out slack on the 200 meter spool we had. Well, it ended up a giant tangled mess that was difficult to collect back up (I'm so sorry).
 
After lunch, the ship laid a course for the iconic Sydney Opera House for a very special Darwin 200 event. An evening of conservation talks from Chris Darwin, the project leaders, several Darwin 200 Leaders talking about their research projects, and I even took the stage. I talked about my background, my involvement with the Darwin project, how the leg from New Zealand went, and a bit about my thoughts on the relationship between exploration and conservation. It was a wonderful evening, and a true honour to give a talk at the Sydney Opera House.

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Nov 16 2024 - Blue Mountains National Park, Australia
 
The Oosterscheld is docked right in Darling Harbour, beside the Sydney Maritime Museum. It's a fantastic spot with great views of the city.
 
The past few days have been spent exploring Sydney. What an awesome city. Very walkable, too. I've been here before, but this is the most time I've had in the city itself.
 
Of course, the Darwin 200 expedition celebrates the 200th anniversary of the historic voyage that Charles Darwin took aboard The Beagle, so how fitting was it that I got to join a bunch of the project team and Darwin 200 leaders on a day hike along the Darwin Trail in the Blue Mountains National Park... But it gets better. We were joined by none other than Chris Darwin, the great great grandson of Charles Darwin. What a treat. But wait, there's more. We were also joined by Frank Nicholas, Australia's top historian regarding all things Charles Darwin.
 
We followed in the exact footsteps that Darwin took when he came here so many years ago. We saw the same landscapes and views that he wrote about in his journals. The forest was fantastic, teeming with life... Especially the cicadas! The noise was deafening at times, it would seem that our visit was perfectly timed with their emergence.

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Nov 12 2024 - Arrival in Sydney, Australia
 
It's been an amazing 12 days at sea, and it all came to crescendo today. It was all hands on deck in order to prepare for our arrival. We could now start to see land ahead, the skyscrapers of Sydney showing themselves through the haze.
 
What an epic arrival in Sydney! We arrived at Sydney Harbour to red carpet treatment.
The port authority sent a fire fighting boat to greet us, and they had their water cannons shooting in the air. A news helicopter was circling overhead, and another tall ship from the Sydney Maritime Museum joined us for part of the arrival
 
It was amazing to sail past the Sydney Opera House and underneath the Harbour Bridge as we entered Sydney Harbour.
The Australian wildlife even came to greet us. A kookaburra bird (rare in the city) landed on our mast and rode along with us as we slowly made it into the inner harbour, all under 100% wind power.
We're now docked at the Maritime Museum.
What a journey! It's been an honour to be aboard this amazing vessel, the Oosterschelde with her fantastic crew, and to be helping out with the Darwin 200 expedition.
 
The total distance travelled aboard the tall ship was 1417 nautical miles, (2624 km) (1630 miles)

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Nov 11 2024 - Western Tasman Sea
 
Mostly overcast this morning and cooler after the stormy night. Our morning watch spent a lot of time properly folding up the sail we took down during the storm. It's now pretty much certain that we are going to arrive in in Sydney tomorrow (a day early).
 
At first I was disappointed with the sunset, but a few minutes later the entire sky looked like it was on fire with pastel pinks and oranges. Amazing!
 
Our last night watch was tonight. What a difference a day makes. Winds were light, and we were basically adrift, with just a couple of knots of forward motion. We could finally see some other boats ahead of us. At least 2 fishing boats with very bright lights were also drifting around. We tried to radio them but got no response. It was overcast, and every now and then there was flash of in-cloud lightning.
 
We were all pretty exhausted, and the time crept past slowly. I was grateful when midnight came ‘round and I could get some sleep. Unfortunately at about 5 AM, the ship really started to take on a serious side to side roll.

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Nov 09-10 2024 - Tasman Sea
 
Nov 09 - Feeling better this morning. It looks like we might be getting in to Sydney a day early due to favourable winds.
 
By mid day, I was feeling ill again with the Oosterschelde rolling side to side quite a bit. I spent a lot of time in bed today and didn't eat much at dinner.
 
Nov 10 - I slept solidly through the night and the swell had reduced, so I felt invigorated. Weather was good, a mix of sun and clouds. We were quite busy, putting up one of the jib sails, then hoisting the main mast topsail and a few other tasks. I managed to make it all the way through the shift, no problem.
 
The weather started to deteriorate in the late afternoon, and it was becoming clear that we were in for a stormy evening (unrelated to the big weather system that was predicted). We were close enough to the Sydney radar site for me to use the Radarscope app on my phone to see the storm.
 
Right before dinner, it started to rain, so the hatches got battened down, and as we ate, it just picked up more and more. When our 8:00 shift started, it was torrential, so full rain gear was required. The wind was howling, and there was thunder & lightning on both sides of us. We (red team and all the crew) scrambled to take down the schooner mast main sail and stow it temporarily, leaving just one topsail in place. Even with just the one sail, we managed to break our speed record for this leg at 10.3 knots. The rain just kept on coming, but luckily the swell was not bad at all. We had following seas, so it was manageable. Eventually, the clouds thinned, the rain stopped, and the bright half-moon became visible. Soon, it was mostly clear with stars and now distant lightning.
 
It was my favourite shift of the whole trip. The sea really lets you know how small and insignificant we really are.

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Nov 07-08 2024 - Tasman Sea
 
Nov 07 - The day started off pretty good. Had breakfast, took a water sample for the environmental DNA project. It involves taking water samples and recording the GPS location, water temperature, and pH of each, then filtering them to squeeze out the water. What's left behind contains cells from any organisms that have been in the area recently. These samples will be sent back to North America to be analyzed as part of a biodiversity survey. Part of my role on board the ship is to collect samples of seawater and prepare them for eventual eDNA analysis.
 
Later in the day, I participated in an educational classroom session via satellite. The Darwin 200 team call these the “World’s Most Exciting Classroom". videographer Josh Clarke and I hopped on the video call with host Joe Grabowski back in Canada. We talked to students about how things have been going on the expedition, how the eDNA sampling works, and I went into some detail about some of the weather and optical phenomena we've been experiencing out here.
 
Nov 08 - Big swell continued this morning. I skipped midnight watch and stayed in my cabin until dinner time, had a quick bite, took some sunset photos, then back to bed. I did get up for the midnight shift. The half moon was shining bright, and there were distant thunderstorms flashing.

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Nov 05-06 2024 - Eastern Tasman Sea
 
Nov 05 - My stomach was feeling even better, perhaps because we were on engine power due to the lack of wind.
 
The afternoon watch was quiet, no sails needed to be adjusted, so I took the opportunity to get some photos of me at the helm of the ship, and some photos with The Explorers Club Flag # 101.
 
 
Nov 06 - Up at midnight for watch. The engines were off and we were on 100% sail power. It had gotten cold and the swell had picked up a lot. Walking around the top deck with almost no light is always tricky, especially before your eyes have had the chance to adjust to the darkness. I had the first turn at the helm, which is good because I didn't last the whole shift. I tried to be helpful by running errands to the galley etc, but I was feeling queasy and had to bail about 30 minutes before the end of our shift. The swell continued to be pretty bad, and the weather had turned. It was very windy, and had started to rain lightly. I dashed to my bunk and went straight into bed.
 
Later, it was determined that we needed to untie the Schooner mast topsail. I was feeling better so I volunteered. It was a bit nerve wracking climbing up the rigging, especially untethered for the main climb. Once up at the top and with safety clip in place, I worked my way out onto the upper topsail yard. Up there, there's only a foot rope to stand on, so it is very unstable. We untied the sail and let it open up. What a view from up there! It's a good thing that I'm not afraid of heights.

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Nov 03-04 2024 - Rounding The Northern Tip Of New Zealand
 
The ship was rolling and pitching heavily this morning as we navigated around the northern tip of New Zealand and into the Tasman Sea. I did my best to power through my nausea, but ultimately, the sea won, and the next thing I knew, I was hanging over the railing by the wheelhouse, vomiting up my dinner. It was awful, but one cool thing about it was that I could see the ship stirring up some bioluminescence. The wake of the boat caused the dinoflagellates to glow blue-green. We were leaving a trail of little glowing dots behind us.
 
Felt much better the next day. The worst of the ship rolling side to side had stopped, so I went out on deck to catch up with my fellow red team members as their overnight watch finished up. We were treated to a spectacular sunrise, with lots of golden crepuscular rays.
 
I spent most of the day out on deck. The sun was shining through some cirrus clouds which created a bright and persistent solar halo, which made for some nice photos with the ship’s sails in the foreground. A big group of us took down one of the sails because we were just barely crawling forward, about 2 knots. It was quite the effort for all of us to bring down the sail, the get it folded up on deck.
 
The sunset was also very nice, but the highlight of the day was spotting the green flash right at the moment of sunset.

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Nov 01-02 2024 - Off The East Coast Of New Zealand's North Island
 
We shoved off in perfect weather and motored out into the harbour. Once a bit farther out, we started to put up some of the sails. There is a lot to learn about this process! It was very cool to be totally under wind power.
 
When 4:00 came around, my watch group were up. We adjusted more of the sails, and we each took turns at the helm for 30 minute stints.
 
A really great first day with clear weather, calm seas, and overall perfect conditions to ease us into things. We're continuing up along the east side of the North Island tonight and tomorrow.
 
 
I expect conditions to be more challenging once we turn the corner and head west.

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Oct 31 2024 - Auckland, New Zealand
 
After a long journey across the world, which actually started on Oct 28th in Toronto, I arrived in New Zealand yesterday and will be boarding the Oosterschelde today
 
The day was spent meeting everyone on board, doing some last minute gathering of supplies and getting oriented aboard the ship. There are 23 passengers and 7 crew on board. Tonight I sleep on the ship here in the harbour, then tomorrow morning we set sail.

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Oct 28 2024 - Darwin 200 Expedition
 
A last minute opportunity came up for me to join part of the Darwin 200 expedition, which is a 2 year voyage retracing the route that Charles Darwin famously took aboard The Beagle two hundred years ago. There are many legs to this epic voyage, and I was on board for the Auckland New Zealand to Sydney Australia leg.
 
I was on board representing The Explorers Club, as well as the educational non-profit Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants, which does live classroom broadcasts from the ship which is being called "The World's Most Exciting Classroom".
 
This voyage is aboard the Oosterschelde, a 3 masted top-sail schooner which was built in 1917 as a World War One cargo vessel. This tall ship has been completely restored and is the only one of 500 ships of this type that were built.
 
I'll also be doing some science, gathering water samples for eDNA analysis, which can tell us what species have been in the water recently.
 
The voyage will be about 2 weeks at sea without touching dry land until we reach Sydney.

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Oct 25 2024 - King Charles III Coronation Medal
 
What an honour it was to be bestowed with the King Charles III Coronation Medal last night at a ceremony at 50 Sussex in Ottawa.

Many thanks to the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for the support and recognition of my continuing effort to make Canada better known to Canadians and the world.

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Oct 16 2024 - Comet & Super Moon
 
There was a lot going on in the sky tonight.
 
This week, comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was visible in the northern hemisphere. This once in a lifetime event happens only once every 80,000 years, so of course I had to try to photograph it. Unfortunately, it has been cloudy here lately, and the visibility of the comet fades each day this week, but I did manage to see it. I had serious problems with the light pollution from the bright city lights from the greater Toronto metropolis, and the rising October "Hunter's Super moon", but I managed to get a glimpse of it from the park at Scarborough Bluffs, right beside Lake Ontario.
 
The Hunter's Super moon was dramatic as it rose over Lake Ontario and through the Earthshadow. I managed to get some shots of it with some Canada geese, and the Canadian Coast Guard ship, the Limnos.

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Oct 11 2024 - Amazing Geomagnetic Storm - Lake Simcoe
 
Wow! What a night.
I was blown away by the display of northern lights last night. There was a strong, G4 level solar storm incoming, and so I drove away from the city lights, and found a spot along the north facing shore of Lake Simcoe.
 
Right at sunset, the show began, with vibrant reds and purples, then later in the evening there were dramatic curtains of green and red, reflecting off the water. It was stunning.
 
The aurora was so strong that at points it was overhead, and even visible south of my location. Sever times I tried to leave because it was the middle of the night and I was exhausted, but it just kept ramping back up with strobing, flickering pulses like I've never seen this far south.
 
Eventually, I headed back south towards Toronto, but not before stopping in the town of Aurora, to get some aurora pics there too, of course.
 
I eventually got home at 3 A.M. What a light show!

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Oct 09 2024 - Filming
 
I spent the day today out in Hamilton, Ontario, filming more on-camera segments for the TV series "Mysteries From Above" season 4.
 
The show is all about interesting places and things that can only really be seen or understood by looking at them from above with satellite imagery, drone, or aerial footage.
 
The new season will air on Cottage Life TV, Smithsonian Channel and others in 2025.

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Oct 05 2024 - Explorers Club Event
 
A great The Explorers Club Canadian Chapter event last night at the Berenson Fine Art Gallery in Toronto, featuring some stunning Antarctica photos from Neil Ever Osborne.

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Oct 02 2024 - New York
 
I'm back from a whirlwind trip to New York City where I was part of an event for Ponant, held at The Explorers Club headquarters in Manhattan.

Jad Davenport and I both gave presentations about our recent voyages with Ponant (mine was the Greenland trip I did back in July). A great time was had, and it's been a tremendous privilege to be part of this exciting partnership.

Stay tuned. I'll be announcing the next collaboration trip soon!

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Sept 12 2024 - Kugluktuk, Nunavut
 
That's it. we left the Ocean Endeavour behind us today and went ashore, we walked up to the community center for some bannock, some local folks selling crafts, and a bit of a drumming & dancing show. Then it was off to the airport for the charter flight to Calgary via Yellowknife.
I spend one extra night in Calgary, then home.
 
I'm extremely grateful to Adventure Canada and the RCGS for letting me hop on to this voyage at the last minute.

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Sept 11 2024 - Kogluktualuk (Port Epworth, aka Tree River)
 
Yesterday was a sea day as we continued westward through the Northwest Passage. We were treated to some moderate northern lights in the evening, and ironically, we're so far north that I had to look south to see them.
 
Today is my last full day aboard the Ocean Endeavour, and the plan was to go ashore at Tree River.
 
They had set up a huge perimeter that extended up to a high ridgeline. I started to go up, and around, through the crazy terrain. It was a combination of spongy moss, wet areas, and lots of rocks. In fact, there was plenty of very sketchy climbing and scrambling involved, which was fun, but I was worried about some passengers that might slip and fall. At the top of the ridge, the view was amazing. The fall colours of the short Arctic willows took on awesome shades of red & orange, and I could see the winding Tree River in the distance.
 
As I got up onto the bedrock, groups of fossilized stromatalites started to become more and more common. These ancient colonies of organisms were 1.9 billion years old, and as I arrived at the spot where geologist Marc St Onge was, there was a big plateau that was FULL of them. Very dramatic, especially with the surrounding views.

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Sept 09 2024 - Bellot Strait & Boothia Peninsula
 
The Bellot Strait is the narrowest point in the Northwest Passage, and many travellers look forward to sailing through it.. We took one of the other routes, that passed north and the west of Somerset Island.
 
Yesterdays plan was to give everyone a chance to experience it by passing through the Bellot Strait west to east in the middle of the night so that we could have a second passing in the daytime east to west and a landing at Long Island (which is east of the strait). Well, the weather didn't cooperate, and it was too foggy for us to go ashore and have bear guards. We did eventually turn around and pass back through the strait in daylight. As is tradition when visiting these places, we did a polar plunge in the freezing Arctic waters.
 
Today was very foggy this morning, and not looking good for going ashore. The expedition team went out and did some scouting, and there were numerous announcements about delays, but they did manage to put together a small shore excursion for us at Pasley Bay on the mainland.
 
As first glance, there wasn't much to look at, so I just did a long walk around the entire perimeter. Once I had done that, I concentrated on looking for interesting small things. Others had the same idea too, and there was a bunch of cool stuff to be found. Including some wright whale skull bones that were estimated to be about 4000 years old! As the land rebounded from the last ice age, the uplift caused the beach to rise. The bones that were once on the beach or underwater were now several hundreds of meters inland.
 
Once we were back aboard, the weather cleared and there was good fog bow off the stern of the ship.

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Sept 07 2024 - Prescott Island
 
This was the first time the Adventure Canada team had stopped at this island, so it was a bit of a gamble, and boy did it pay off.
 
The island was very barren with a red, sandy beach mixed with limestone rocks, and almost no vegetation. Very Mars-like. I was on the moderate hike, and when we landed , we were informed that there were belugas in the shallows of the inlet.
 
It was a long walk on gravel & stone with weather that kept changing. It was warm, then rained a bit, then got windy. I kept removing and adding layers the whole time. I managed to photograph a rainbow with a group of hikers and the ship in frame. As we got southwest, I could start to see belugas in the water with my polarized glasses, then more of them. We continued on, and got into a spot with less glare on the water, and we dropped down closer to the water’s edge. There were hundreds of them! So many. Adults, juveniles, and calves they were using the rocks to help them molt. They'd swim around, then surface, then circle back. The young ones seemed to be playing. They would sometime swim on top of or roll onto mom’s back. It was easy to spot the young ones because they are born dark and get lighter in colour as they get older.
 
We all just stood in stunned amazement. What luck to have come here for the first time and see this spectacle. The estimate there were about 200 individuals in total.
 
I'm certain we all could have stayed there for hours, but time was running out, and we all quietly made the long walk back to the landing site. What a great shared experience.

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Sept 06 2024 - Beechey Island & Cunningham Inlet
 
Beechy Island is historically significant as a key site in the search for a route through the Northwest Passage. It's most notably associated with Sir John Franklin's ill-fated 1845 expedition. The remains of three crew members, buried on the island, were discovered in the mid-19th century and provided vital clues about the expedition's fate. These graves, along with other artifacts found on the island, have offered insights into the challenges faced by explorers attempting to navigate the treacherous Arctic waters.
 
We had a great visit ashore, and got to spend quite a bit of time visiting the grave sites, memorials, and the ruins of Northumberland House.
 
The plan for the evening was to do a visit to Cunningham inlet to possibly see belugas, but there was far too much sea ice blocking the entrance to the inlet. This was actually the first sea ice that we've seen so far on this voyage (plenty of icebergs though).
 
Instead, it was decided to cruise in the Zodiacs around the sea ice at sunset. It was amazing. We saw some distant polar bears, seals, and plenty of sea birds. The setting sun with the ocean and ice made for a dreamy scene.

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Sept 05 2024 - Port Leopold, Somerset Island & Prince Leopold Island
 
Despite high winds, we were able to go ashore on Somerset Island, but the original plan was shortened & we were not able to go out to the Hudson Bay Company outpost building. We were restricted to an area along the beach, and the Thule archaeological site. There were stone foundation rings where their winter houses were that would have been covered in whale bone/driftwood frames and animal skins. I can barely imagine how difficult life would have been 1000 years ago, trying to survive here.
 
After lunch we repositioned to the stunningly beautiful Prince Leopold Island. As we approached, the sheer cliffs were visible in the low clouds, which came about half-way down the 280 meter cliffsides. We took the Zodiacs for a cruise around the cliffs, but we were wise to not get too close.
 
For the second time this trip, we were very close to a massive rockfall. This one I was ready for though, and managed to take a series of photos as the debris crashed down the steep cliffside into the ocean below.

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Sept 04 2024 - Devon Island, Nunavut
 
I love Devon Island. It is so other-worldly. It is also currently the largest uninhabited island in the world.
 
We spent the past couple of days exploring a few different locations here. At Dundas Harbour we walked along the iceberg-strewn beach, saw the ruins of the old RCMP outpost, and then out of nowhere, there was the thunderous roar a huge rockfall that cascaded down the steep sloped cliffside nearby.
 
The next day, we visited Cumming Inlet, where I went kayaking near a group of walrus that were hauled out on the rocky shore, which was fantastic. Once we got to a spot where we could beach the kayaks, we noticed some huge polar bear tracks in the sand.
 
In the afternoon, we moved on to Powell Inlet where we observed even more walrus, swimming in a small cove this time. We did great hike which alternated between mixed loose rock, and soft spongy moss.
 
This place really is special. It is so alien, that there scientists and engineers that use parts of Devon Island as a testing ground for hardware that is intended to go to Mars.

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Sept 02 2024 - Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada
 
We arrived at our first stop in Canada, the town of Pond Inlet, the northernmost town in all of Baffin Island. It seems like every time I come here, somebody recognizes me from TV, and this time was no exception. The folks here were warm and friendly to us as we learned about the Inuit culture and customs, including throat singing, dancing, and the Inuit Games, which are various competitive feats of strength.

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Sept 01 2024 - Disko Island, Greenland & Baffin Bay
 
We did some more great hiking yesterday on Disko Island, then it was time for us to say goodbye to Greenland, and start our way across the unpredictable waters of Baffin Bay. We got very lucky that the crossing was flat calm, almost like smooth glass. The weather really cooperated, and we were also treated to a gorgeous sunset.

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Aug 30 2024 - Illulisat, Greenland
 
Yesterday we went hiking on the soft, mossy tundra of Akiliarusinnguaq (Nordre Isortoq), a remote part of western Greenland that I've never been to before. It was lovely.
 
Today we made it to Illulisat, the iceberg capital of Greenland. The sea was really rough, and the small local boats we hired to take us through the iceberg field near the mouth of the fjord were getting tossed around like toys. It was intense! We barely made it back in time to catch a Zodiac ride back to the ship.

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Aug 28 2024 - Sissimiut, Greenland
 
I made it back to Greenland. I flew from Toronto to Kangerlussuaq, then boarded the Ocean Endeavour. We sailed from Kangerlussuaq, across the Arctic Circle, then north to the town of Sissimiut.
 
I was great to be back here and wander around town. I managed to try some musk ox, minke whale, and some seal soup. We still have a few more days in western Greenland before crossing over, back in to Canada.

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Aug 26 2024 - Back To The Arctic
 
In a last minute development, tomorrow I'll be headed back up to the Arctic again. This time I'll be returning to Greenland, then continuing through the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. I'll be aboard the Ocean Endeavour with Adventure Canada, in the role of travel ambassador for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society & Canadian Geographic.

This opportunity came up very last-minute, and I'm absolutely stoked to be invited on this voyage. Let the next adventure begin.

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Aug 19 2024 - Blue Super Moon
 
Super Blue Moon… “Super” because it is the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, and “Blue” because it is a seasonal blue moon, which is is the third of four full moons in a single season (spring, summer, fall and winter). Typically, there are three full moons in one season.

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Aug 13 2024 - Back in Toronto - Filming
 
Back home from Alaska and I'm hitting the ground running… Filming today for season FOUR of Mysteries From Above.
 
It was fun to be back in the hot seat.

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Aug 08 2024 - Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
 
Today I gave my final talk in the Royal Court Theatre aboard the Queen Elizabeth. It has been an absolute delight to return to Alaska with Cunard and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Thank you to all the passengers who came to the talks and had great questions for me afterwards.
 
Tomorrow we'll be docked in Victoria B.C.

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Aug 06 2024 - Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
 
Yesterday we sailed through the majestic Tracy Arm Fjord, with its steep granite cliffs and frigid, silty glacial waters, peppered with icebergs. The weather continues to be perfect, which has been shockingly lucky for us on this journey.

The scenery and landscapes here in Alaska continue to be epic, and everyone on board has been spoiled by Mother Nature’s generosity.

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Aug 05 2024 - Glacier Outburst Flood, Juneau, Alaska
 
Record Breaking Glacial Outburst Flood here in Juneau, Alaska.

3 weeks of heavy rains in the Juneau area have contributed to a Glacial Outburst Flood. An ice dam on the Mendenhall Glacier broke, and all the water that was being held back by the glacier came down into the river valley.

I was on a hike by the glacier and encountered rising water on the trail. I waded through the extremely cold glacial water until It got up to my knees. At that point, I couldn't see around the trees to determine how much deeper the water got, or how fast it was rising.
The river crested at 15.99 feet. This happens pretty much annually here, but this was the worst glacial outburst flood on record. Evacuation orders were given to some residents. This type of glacial-dammed lake outburst flood is also sometimes known by the Icelandic term Jökulhlaup.

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Aug 04 2024 - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
 
What a glorious day in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. The park ranger said that it had been raining for 3 weeks straight, but we had perfect blue skies and 27C (80F) temperatures. Crazy!

Of course the glaciers were stunning, cascading down the mountainsides as we drifted past aboard the Queen Elizabeth.

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Aug 03 2024 - Sitka, Alaska
 
Today we went ashore for the first time on this voyage in the town of Sitka, Alaska.
 
Today’s weather was remarkably good. Very rare sunshine and warm temperatures today. We went on a sea kayaking excursion around some of the small islands and bays in the area, really giving us a good perspective on how wild and rugged this place can be. After the kayaking, we grabbed the shuttle back a into town where we walked around and saw the old Russian church and other sights. A great day.

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Aug 02 2024 - Aboard The Queen Elizabeth
 
Everything went smoothly yesterday, flying from Toronto to Vancouver, and boarding the Queen Elizabeth. She is a mighty vessel, and it was nice to be back on board.
 
Today was a day at sea travelling north along the Pacific coast of North America on our way to the Inside Passage of Alaska. Because we spent the whole day at sea, this morning I gave my first presentation to the passengers in the magnificent Royal Court Theater.

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July 31 2024 - Headed To Alaska
 
I've only been home from Greenland for about a week and a half, but it's time for me to hit the high seas again.
 
Tomorrow I fly out to Vancouver to board the Cunard Lines ship, the Queen Elizabeth, where I'll be giving a series of talks as part of a partnership between Cunard and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
 
I was aboard the Queen Elizabeth doing this last year, so it will feel very familiar to me, but we will be visiting a few different places that I haven't been to before.

Alaska_Map

July 30 2024 - Record Breaking Rain in Toronto
 
Wow! Toronto just broke its record for the rainiest month ever!
 
The previous record was set back in 1954 when the remnnants of Hurricane Hazel flooded parts of the city. I was away in Greenland for most of this record smashing rain, but it was set by a combination of a slow-moving storm system and the remnants of Hurricane Beryl.

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July 19 2024 - Eternity Glacier, Greenland
 
A picture perfect day at Eternity Glacier in Greenland. We hiked up the hillside along the lateral moraine and had an excellent view of the fjord, glacier, mountains and our ship, Le Boreal.
 
I must say, the mosquitoes here have been plentiful, big and aggressive. We've only been encountering them while out on hikes, but I have had to break out my netted hat.
 
The last time I was in Greenland was 11 years ago, and back then I also visited Eternity Glacier. I must say that I was pretty shocked to see how much it has shrunk since then.
 
I start heading back home tomorrow. we leave the ship in Kangerlussuaq, then Toronto via Paris again. This has been an epic journey, many thanks to Ponant and The Explorers Club.

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July 18 2024 - Nooralaq, Greenland
 
Summertime in the Arctic means that we've yet to see darkness on this trip. The sun gets low in the sky, but it never gets dark (Thank you blackout curtains).
 
Today, we were a bit farther south, so the sun did linger along the horizon, which made for an amazing display at 3 AM. A mirage of the sun made for a "stacked plates" look on the horizon. I was the only person up this early to catch this wonderful sight.

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July 16 2024 - On The Sea Ice, Baffin Bay
 
Today, conditions were good for making a trip out onto the sea ice in the middle of Baffin Bay, somewhere between Greenland and Arctic Canada. We've been extremely lucky with the weather on this trip. It was sunny and clear for just long enough for us to get out the ice and back before the fog eventually rolled in.

Standing on a drifting ice floe in the middle of the sea was definitely the highlight of the day! It's not every day that you get to stand on a part of the frozen ocean. Sea ice is not icebergs, it's frozen sea water that floats in shifting sheets.

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July 15 2024 - Kullorsuaq, Greenland

Today we visited the small town of Kullorsuaq. This village has a population of only about 500 people or so, and because of the winter sea ice, they only get resupply ships in the summer months, nothing at all between November and June!

About half the village came on board last night to join us for dinner. So many of the kids too! They were running around, jumping in the pool and riding the elevator up and down. We were treated to some local music, dancing and a brief fashion show as well. A wonderful day here in northwestern Greenland.

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July 13 2024 - Salliaruseq Island, Greenland

Our amazing home base, the Ponant ship Le Boreal. It has been home for the past week and is a fantastic ship. Here it is positioned just off of Salliaruseq Island, Greenland as we went ashore to explore the Mars-like terrain of the island, which is unlike any other spot we've seen in Greenland so far!
 
The ground here is very Mars-like with iron and sulfur deposits that really made it seem like stepping onto another planet.

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July 12 2024 - Eqi Glacier, Greenland

Today was foggy enough that we couldn't go ashore because visibility wasn't good enough to scout for any polar bears in the area. Instead, we took the Zodiacs out and cruised through the dense brash ice up to the face of Eqi Glacier, which is about 4km wide and very active.

We could hear the cracks and booms of icebergs calving off. As we were out, the ice got more dense which made for a bit of an obstacle course getting back to our mothership, Le Boreal. It was great fun.

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July 11 2024 - Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland

Wow. The morning light at Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland was epic! I woke up early and scrambled to get to the top deck of Le Boreal, and I was treated to this stunning display of Arctic light.
 
We took a Zodiac cruise around the shoreline and got to see some amazing geological formations, shaped by ancient volcanic activity.

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July 10 2024 - Ilulissat, Greenland

We were treated to some absolutely amazing icebergs around Ilulissat! Some local fishing boats picked us up out and we went out cruising around the massive bergs near the entrance to the nearby ice fjord.
 
The glacier here is one of the most active iceberg producers in the world. Took so many photos here that it'll take me quite a while to sort through them all. The overcast light and the blue ice made for an enchanting scene.

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July 08 2024 - Sisimiut, Greenland

This fishing town sits just above the Arctic Circle, and is the 2nd largest, next to the capitol of Nuuk. The colourful houses, and moody, cloudy light made it extra charming this morning. I walked around town, visited the local museum, and tasted a few of the local delicacies like snow crab, dried fish, and musk ox soup. This afternoon I'll be giving my first presentation of this voyage aboard Le Boreal.

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July 07 2024 - Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
 
I have arrived in Greenland after an overnight in Paris, then onward to Kangerlussuaq.
 
The Ponant expedition ship, Le Boreal, will be my home for the next 2 weeks. Before boarding the ship, we took a drive out to Reindeer Glacier, along the edge of the Greenland Ice Cap. The weather really cooperated, but the katabatic winds coming off of the ice sheet were very intense.

I'm aboard the ship now, and I'll keep updating as often as I can.

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July 04 2024 - Headed To Greenland
 
Tomorrow I depart on my latest adventure. I'll be flying to Paris where I'll hop onto a charter flight, headed for Greenland. I'll be giving a series of lectures for Ponant aboard their expedition ship Le Boreal. This is part of a partnership between Ponant and The Explorers Club. The plan is to board the ship in Kangerlussuaq, then head up into Baffin Bay, making stops at numerous communities, glaciers, fjords, and other places of interest before heading out into the sea ice in the bay before eventually returning to Kangerlussuaq.
 
It is a great honour to be invited to represent The Explorers Club aboard this voyage, and I'm really looking forward to returning to Greenland. This will be my 3rd time there.

Greenland_Map

June 24 2024 - Toronto Premiere: Diving Into The Darkness
 
Tonight was the Toronto premiere special private screening of the new documentary film "Diving Into The Darkness" about the life of cave diver Jill Heinerth. Jill is a friend, and we are both Explorers In Residence for the RCGS.
 
The film is epic. The frightening situations that Jill has been through are jaw dropping. Scuba diving in caves in one of the most dangerous things a person can do, and Jill continues to be second to none. The film is also inspiring, encouraging young people, especially young women to follow their dreams no matter how wild they are, even if others tell you you can't do it.
 
Hopefully the film will have a wide distribution soon. Greta job Jill & team!

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June 23 2024 - Violent Earth on CNN
 
The volcanoes episode of CNN's new 5 part series "Violent Earth with Liev Schrieber" aired tonight, and I was impressed. It showcased eruptions Mount St Helens, Fuego in Guatemala, Nevado Del Ruiz in Colombia, Kilauea and more.
 
I filmed my portions of the eposide in Los Angeles back in February, and I was pleased to see that my interviews were used throughout the entire episode.

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June 20 2024 - IAATO Ambassador
 
Thank you to IAATO (the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) for designating me as an Antarctic Ambassador.

I have been to Antarctica 5 times now and it is truly one of the most beautiful, pristine wilderness areas left in the world, and it must be preserved.

IAATO Ambassador

June 13 2024 - Tornado Warned Storm - Waubaushene, Ontario
 
I intercepted a tornado warned line of storms over Georgian Bay on Lake Ontario as they overtook me in the town of Waubaushene. I met up with The Weather Network, and we were treated to a very picturesque shelf cloud over the water as the storms approached.
 
More info & photos

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June 10 2024 - Mysteries From Above Season 3
 
Season 3 of Mysteries From Above is now available to view in Canada on Cottage Life TV. I’ll update when I know where else it will be viewable.
 
I’ve been an on-camera contributor on this show since the very beginning and I hope you enjoy it. We investigate all kinds of interesting sites that can only be fully appreciated when viewed by them from above via satellite, drones, or aerial photography.

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June 07 2024 - Explorers Club Event - Toronto

The Canadian Cchapter of The Explorers Club often has get-togethers in Toronto, usually with a guest speaker. This month we had a much larger event than usual.

It was held at the historic Arts And Letters Club downtown, and feature ont one, but three different speakers. I was invited to be the master of ceremonies of the event, a role I was happy to take on. It was a great evening full of interesting talks and fscinating people.

The talks included:

Heather Schibli - Ecologically Driven Design & The Network Of Nature.

Carol Devine - Ferocious Impact & Intrepid Response: Climate Change & Health Action From The Forefront.

Mark Terry - Youth Climate Report: Amplifying The Voices Of Indigenous Yuth In Africa & South America

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June 05 2024 - Greenhouse Gas Conference: Ashgabat

It was a tremendous honour to be a panelist at TESC 2024 today, the Turkmen Energy Scientific Conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan


I was part of the session: Reduction Of Methane and CO2 Emissions In Hydrocarbon Production. My role was to talk about some of the high-profile ways the country of Turkmenistan can improve their greenhouse gas emissions by building on their recent successes at places like the Darvaza crater, and propose a new expedition.


The panel also included representatives from:
- The United Nations Energy Program.
- NASA JPL.
- Scientific-Research Institute of Turkmengas.
- Capterio.
And others.

The country has a long way to go to curb their emissions, but every journey begins with the first few steps. It is impossible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without working with oil & gas companies and governments directly, and I appreciate the invitation to be part of the dialogue.

Ashgabat_Conference

June 02 2024 - CNN Violent Earth
 
The new CNN 5-part series Violent Earth starts airing tonight! I’m featured in the volcanoes episode, along with Jess Phoenix which will air on June 23rd.
Each episode, hosted by Liev Schrieber will feature a different force of nature (tornadoes, wildfires, tsunamis, volcanoes, and hurricanes).

CNN_Violent_Earth

June 01 2024 - Ontario Science Centre
 
Today I attended a special 2-part preview at the the Ontario Science Centre here in Toronto.
 
First was the new IMAX film Backyard Wilderness: "Join a young girl named Katie as she steps outside her front door to explore the wonders of the natural world. From the top of the trees to the bottom of a pond, Katie uncovers an array of amazing wildlife in the woods behind her home. Captured by cameras mounted inside dens, nests and along the forest floor, this film reveals a hidden world that is home to wolves, birds, butterflies, frogs and so much more.'
 
After the film I got to see the new exhibit Nature All Around Us, where I met up with good friend Julian Victor who hosts the On The Wildside segment on Breakfast Television, which focuses on educating people about urban wildlife.
 
It was great fun to see the new film & exhibit which runs until the fall.

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May 25 2024 - Film Screening Elora, Ontario
 
I had a great time at the public screening of the new documentary feature film “Carrying A Dream”, featuring my long-time friend Frederick Schuett from One Axe Pursuits.
They are working hard, getting the film on the festival circuit, so go see it if you get the chance.
 
Frederick was my chief rope rigger who designed and operated the rope system I used on the Darvaza fire crater expedition.

Carrying_A_Dream

May 10 2024 - Intense Geomagnetic Storm
 
Very active sun spots have erupted in massive solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME's), sparking a solar storm the likes of which we haven't seen since 2003.
 
This intense storm reacked G5 levels (the highest) and caused dramatic northern lights to be visible all over the world, even as far south a s Florida.
 
I live in Toronto where there is a lot of light pollution, so I drove north up to the shores of Georgian bay on Lake Huron to try and view the aurora borealis. The weather forecast was tricky, and I encountered rain and clouds on my drive up, but eventually the skies cleared and I was treated to the best display of northern lights I've ever seen in Ontario.

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May 08 2024 - Expedition News
 
When I opened my inbox this morning, I was delighted to see that I had been included in a small feature in the latest issue. While in New York recently, I was chatting with one of my fellow explorers Mark Fowler, who has nicknamed me "The Human Extremophile" due to my love of extreme environments. Our conversation was overheard by Expedition News editor Jeff Blumenfeld, and the next thing I know, it's in the Expedition News.
 
Thanks Jeff & Mark.

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April 22 2024 - Explorers Club Annual Dinner - New York
 
I was supposed to be back in Bristol, U.K. this week, but a schedule snafu meant that that trip is postponed. Unfortunately that trip was meant to happen the same week as the Explorers Club Annual Dinner, which I always try to attend. The last minute cancellation came at a point when all the dinner tickets were already sold out, so I did the next best thing and flew down to New York the morning right after the dinner so that I could at least attend the day-long open house at TEC headquarters.
 
It was great to meet up with so many old friends. and make many new ones as well. It's hard to walk 10 feet in that building without running into someone I know, which is the best part of the multi-day events surrounding ECAD.
 
I was able to attend the Annual General Meeting, and a significant time was spent at the club's newly renovated bar area.
 
I scheduled my flight back to Toronto late enough on Monday to be able to spend even more time hanging out and chatting with amazing explores from all over the world.
 
Many thanks to all the organizers and volunteers who make it all possible.

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April 11 2024 - Annapurna Film Screening
 
Great fun last night at the Toronto premiere of the new film Annapurna, which chronicles the trials and tribulations of mountain climber Don Bowie as he mounts 6 expeditions over 13 years to try and reach the summit of one of the most dangerous mountains in the world.
The event was graciously hosted by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society

Annapurna Screening

April 08 2024 - Total Solar Eclipse - Cowansville, Quebec
 
I live in Toronto and Niagara Falls was in the path of totality and close to home, but after looking closely at the weather forecast for several days, it became clear that the Eastern Townships of Quebec was going to be the place with the best chances of having clear skies for the eclipse.
 
I ended up in Cowansville Quebec after an overnight stay in Montreal, and the eclipse was as amazing as I was expecting it to be. It has been 7 years since my last eclipse (which was also my first), and I was eagerly anticipating this. Our position was perfect and our location got 3 minutes and 23 seconds of totality.
 
Because the sun is very active right now, we got a great view of red solar prominences along with the spectacular corona. What sight to behold, especially with the naked eye during totality.
 
The adventure wasn't without it's setbacks. We ended up with a flat tire right before the eclipse, but luckily we found a place in town that was able to help us out. It worked out well, because as we were getting the tire fixed, it gave us time to let the traffic disperse a bit.

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March 28 2024 - Fenside Public School
 
Thank you so much to the students and staff at Fenside Public School in North York, Ontario for the incredibly warm welcome. I was there giving a presentation about forces of nature to a gymnasium full of K-6 students.
 
They had so many great questions, and a lot of them wanted to volunteer to be my assistant!

Fenside_School

March 17 2024 - Bristol, U.K.
 
I'm currently in the U.K. for a few days, in the city of Bristol.
 
I don't have a lot of spare time here (more on that later), but I did get the opportunity to walk around a bit today after arriving. My hotel is in the historical downtown, so I got to walk across the River Avon, see the Bristol Cathedral, and wander around Millennium Park.
 
It is a lovely city, and this is my first time visiting this part of the U.K. despite having visited the country numerous times before.
 
 
I have a few friends in the area, so I'll try to meet up with at least one of them during my stay. FYI Bristol is home to a lot of film & TV production, including the BBC Natural History unit. These are the folks that bring you the amazing "Planet Earth" documentaries among others.
 
I will be filming here, but not with the BBC. I'll give more details in the next couple of days. Now I'm off to sleep off some of my jet lag.

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March 16 2024 - En Route to England
 
I'm in the process of travelling from Toronto to Bristol in the U.K. for a few days.
 
On one of my flights I captured a cool optical phenomenon. A “cloud bow”. The sun above and behind us and the water droplets in the clouds below refracted the light and produced a bow that is very similar to the kind you might see on a foggy day (a fogbow). It’s also similar to a rainbow but doesn’t have as vibrant colours.

If you are able to actually see the plane’s shadow in the clouds, you might spot a small colourful ring around it. This is called a “Glory”. I couldn’t see if there was one of these as well from my angle.

The next time you have a window seat, keep an eye out for it.

Plane_Halo_March_2024_Bristol

March 15 2024 - CBC News
 
I was interviewed today by CBC news regarding yesterday's tornado outbreak in the U.S. There were numerous damaging tornadoes across parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio last night.
 
The town of Winchester, Indiana appears to have been the worst hit. At least 3 fatalities have been reported so far.

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March 14 2024 - Whiskey And A Map Podcast
 
My conversation with Michael Reinhart on the Whiskey and a Map Podcast is now available wherever you listen to podcasts.
 
It is also available in video form on YouTube.

Whiskey And A Map Podcast

 
March 11 2024 - Atmospheric Display In Toronto
 
 
The sky above Ontario really put on a show for us this afternoon. Thin cirrostratus clouds provided the perfect conditions for a phenomenal 22 degree solar halo around the sun above the city of Toronto.
 
 
Better still, later in the afternoon, I looked up to see a rare Circumzeinithal Arc high in the sky. Both the halo and the "upside-down rainbow" are caused by sunlight refracting through high-altitude ice crystals in the thin cirrostratus clouds.
 
Whenever there are thin, high altitude clouds in the sky, I reccommend looking up, you never know what you might see!

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March 04 2024 - Filming At The OSC
 
 
Today was spent at the Ontario Science Center helping out The Weather Network. We were filming a bunch of segments for their series "Science Behind The Weather" which will air on their main channel and on social media.
 
At this time of year, the Science Centre is closed on Mondays, so we basically had the entire museum to ourselves, which was great.
 
TWN meteorologist & storm hunter Mark Robinson brought his daughter along, and her long, straight hair made for perfect demonstrations of the Van De Graaf Generator. It was hilarious to see her hair sticking straight up. BTW, if that ever happens to you during a thunderstorm, seek shelter immediately. Do not hesitate.
 
We also filmed segments about the science behind hail, flash flooding and other weather phenomena.

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Feb 29 2024 - More Filming - Hamilton, ON
 
 
It’s been a busy week, with more filming. This time it’s for season 2 of “Prime Suspect Earth” for the U.S. Weather Channel. Today's shoot was on a green screen in a studio in Hamilton, Ontario.

I’m so grateful that I get to help showcase so many really interesting places, phenomena, and wild stories that are seen by so many people around the world. My hope is that I can help get kids (and adults) interested in science and nature by being enthusiastic about it myself.

Thank you to everyone who’s watched the various shows I’ve been involved in over the years. There’s lots of other plans in the works right now, including additional programs, trips, expeditions and more.

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Feb 23 2024 - Los Angeles, California
 
 
A very hectic couple of days! I just got home from a whirlwind trip to California and back where I was doing an on-camera interview for a new CNN 5-part series that will be airing sometime in June of this year.
 
I flew out to Los Angeles on Thursday, arriving in the late afternoon, then on Friday morning I filmed my parts, then went straight from the filming location back to the airport to fly home.
 
I wasn't even there long enough to feel the full effects of the jet-lag.
 
I look forward to seeing the entire series, and I'll pass along more information when it becomes available.

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Feb 21 2024 - Los Angeles, California
 
 
A very special package arrived today. My copy of the new book “Judging Extreme Weather” by Randy Cerveny (signed by the author).

Randy is the de facto keeper of world weather records with the World Meteorological Organization, and I look forward to reading the rest of this (I did get a sneak peek at one of the chapters before it was released because I was one of the early reviewers).
 
If you have any interest in the wild world of weather extremes, I suggest you grab a copy.

Judging_Extreme_Weather

 
Jan 25 2024 - Filming
 
 
It looks like I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time in TV studios, filming for a few different programs.
 
Today I was on set, shooting the last of my on-camera interviews for season 3 of Mysteries From Above. I'll be sure to let everyone know when those shows will be airing.

MFA_Filming_Jan

 
Jan 23 2024 - Electronic Arts Talk
 
 
Many thanks to everyone over at Electronic Arts (EA Games) for inviting me to give a talk today. I shared many stories from my years of doing expeditions, and shared some insight into the things I've learned and how to apply them in the business world.

Electronic Arts Talk

 
Jan 12 2024 - Thundersnow
 
 
This has been one of the mildest winters on record here in Toronto (if not the warmest). The effects of the strong el Nino are still being felt here in Ontario.
 
Today, the most potent storm of the season came through the Great Lakes and brought thunder & lightning along with it. Thundersnow is pretty rare in most parts of the world, but here it happens more than anywhere else.

Thundersnow

Jan 01 2024 - Happy New Year!
 
I hope that 2023 tnreated you well.
 
As we look forward to 2024 I'm happy to say that I already have big expectations for the new year with trips planned to: Tornado Alley, Greenland, Yukon, Alaska and Costa Rica. I'm sure that many more adventures will be had in the coming year, and I'll keep updating this page as the year progresses.
 
Stay safe.

An Archive of Previous Year's News Items Can Be Found Here

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

 

Any Questions/Comments?

george@stormchaser.ca


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