Art Mortvedt: Polar Aviator Goes to Work for Polar Science
Published on 09.12.2009 - General Info
Art Mortvedt (59) is a North Dakota native who has been flying Alaska bush planes for 28 years. Mortvedt has logged over 5,000 flight hours and is currently flying his bright orange single engine Cessna 185, nicknamed the Polar Pumpkin. Since 1981, he has been operating the Peace of Selby Wilderness Lodge with his wife in the bush of northern Alaska. Over the past several years, Art has been providing essential logistical support to scientists working in Antarctica. On October 15, 2009, Art received the Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award "In recognition of exploration leadership achieved through risk and innovation".
Yet as a man who lives for adventure, Art will continue to strive to tackle new challenges by being the first person in the history of polar exploration to land the same single engine aircraft at both Poles of the world; having already landed the plane at the South Pole he plans to land it at the North Pole in April 2010. On top of this, he plans to make a contribution to polar science by taking images of algae and cyanobacteria (1) living in the Arctic sea ice using a laser imaging instrument provided by researchers from the Kinohi Institute in California.
In the following interview, Art Mortvedt talks about his experience as a polar pilot and how he's preparing for his upcoming expedition to the North Pole.
How did you get to the point where you're planning such a challenging expedition?
Back in 1999, I flew a bright orange single-engine Cessna 185 airplane nicknamed the Polar Pumpkin for Adventure Network International, a company that provides logistical support to expeditions going to the Antarctic. One of my first tasks was to fly a French woman, Laurence de la Ferrière, to the South Pole to begin her expedition to the coast of Antarctica (she finished in the vicinity of Dumont d'Urville Station). Ever since then over the course of the past few years, I've been going back to Antarctica pretty much every austral summer.
I've spent portions of the last two austral summers based out of Cape Town, South Africa doing work in the Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica with the Tawani International Antarctic Expedition. The focus of these expeditions has been the search for extremophile microbes (microbes that live in extreme environments). I was expedition leader, which meant organizing some of the logistics. The expedition involved 15 people from four countries (Russia, the US, New Zealand and Austria) and we worked closely with a Russian company out of Cape town, South Africa called the Antarctic Logistics Center International (ALCI).
A gentleman in Chicago by the name of Colonel James Pritzker, who has a passion for polar science, played an integral role in making this expedition happen. We also received much cooperation from our Russian colleagues - including Dr. Valery Lukin, the head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, and Dr. Alexey Turchin, head of ALCI.
Have you had any memorable moments during your time in Antarctica?
One of my most memorable moments occurred when I got stuck in a fairly dramatic storm while flying the Polar Pumpkin back from the South Pole. I had to spend six days in my tent at 85°S. I tied down the airplane so it didn't blow away and proceeded to hole up in my tent until the weather improved. But it was a moment of peace, quiet and reflection, not to mention a reminder of the power of Mother Nature.
Do you often run into these kinds of situations when you're out flying?
Flying in the bush of Alaska, I often find weather systems that are impossible to fly through, under or over. So I'll find a lake or river, land with my float or ski plane, and put up my tent. Sometimes it's just matter of hours, and sometimes it's a matter of days before the weather improves. The whole idea is to have plenty of survival gear aboard the aircraft and have a few remote fuel caches just in case. But over the years, I've become a bit used to this routine.
How did you to decide you wanted to land at the North Pole in a single-engine plane?
The time I arrived at the South Pole in the Polar Pumpkin I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice to fly this plane to the North Pole someday?" So after the last two seasons working with microbial scientists in Antarctica, I decided to match my desire to fly the Polar Pumpkin to the North Pole with the search for microbial life in ice. And I've been so fortunate to have been connected to some of the world's greatest scientists in this field - such as Dr. Birgit Sattler from the University of Innsbruck in Austria and Dr. Michael Storrie-Lombardi at the Kinohi Institute. Some might call it a match made in heaven since it combines my passion for flying bush planes and the Polar Regions with the work of world class scientists trying to learn more about extreme microbial life in these awesome regions of the world.
To my knowledge, nobody has ever landed the same Cessna 185 at both poles. It's an extra challenge flying a single engine plane versus flying a twin engine plane with a longer range. But historically Cessna 180s were used in Arctic research way out in the pack ice to conduct research. The Naval Arctic Research Lab in Barrow, Alaska, used Cessna 180s. So another reason why I want to do this flight is to commemorate the historical significance of small planes in Arctic research.
The Polar Pumpkin is also the only Cessna 185 ever to land at the South Pole. I don't mean to imply that I'm the only person to ever have landed this Cessna 185 at the South Pole. Other pilots have landed the Polar Pumpkin at the South Pole, including a very good friend and excellent polar pilot, New Zealander Max Wenden.
Have you decided what to call your North Pole expedition?
It will be Polar Flight 90 for L.I.F.E., which means I'm flying to 90°N for Laser-Induced Fluorescence Emission. I've even got a website dedicated to the expedition.
So what exactly will you be doing for the microbiologists during the expedition?
One of the challenges we face is that of taking laser images during 24 hours of daylight. It's much easier to take them when it's darker. But since there's only a small window during which a small aircraft like the Polar Pumpkin can go to the North Pole, I have to go in April.
Dr. Michael Storrie-Lombardi and I were able to take laser images of life in ice from the air in Alaska during a test run in a different aircraft on the 2nd of May, 2009. We were able to take images in low-light conditions; however it remains to be seen how the instrument will work in total light conditions, so we're looking at other options. We're looking into perhaps using a different type of hybrid instrument - a spectral imager - but that's in the planning stages as we speak. We need to develop an instrument that we're sure is going to work at all altitudes and in full light conditions. We're trying to get a very bright group of engineering students to develop a prototype for us.
A primary objective is to one day develop techniques for remote sensing of microbial life in ice to the extent that an instrument flown aboard a spacecraft orbiting Mars or other icy planets can detect life, or evidence thereof, without having to land.
One of the other things we're trying to do is excite people about the Polar Regions, and about polar science. As you can imagine, the construction of an appropriate instrument to put on the Polar Pumpkin is expensive. We have a private donor who's been very generous to us. However, those contributions won't be enough to meet our goals, so matching funds are offered to whatever we can raise. One of the things I've been doing lately is flying the Polar Pumpkin and giving lectures throughout the eastern and southern US this trying to raise funds.
What kind of people donate to expeditions?
We have philanthropists interested in science, those interested in exploration, those with questions about Global Warming and Climate Change, and those interested in new knowledge about our environment, whether it be on Earth, or in Outer Space. There's a great variety in the backgrounds of people interested in what we're doing.
On your expedition in April, do you plan to go directly to the North Pole without stopping?
I intend to land at the North Pole yet be prepared to stop en route as necessary. If I get into bad weather along the way, I plan to be prepared to land on an ice floe or a refrozen lead, put up my tent and wait until I can continue.
What else are you planning to do to prepare for the trip?
I plan to fly the Polar Pumpkin from the lower 48 states of the U.S. to Alaska in the middle of the upcoming winter. I want to do a test-run with the aircraft during a difficult time of the year - when it's cold and dark. I want to do this so I can test my camping gear and test the airplane. I hope to have the plane in Alaska by early February so I can do some final testing of the aircraft here, including the installation of an auxiliary fuel tank.
What kind of things will you be testing during your trip?
I'll be watching engine temperatures very carefully. And I'll be seeing how my particular tent, stove, and all the other associated equipment work in very cold weather. I'll also be practicing my traditional navigational skills, when or if my GPS fails.
I'll once again have a good time coming up through Canada. The world is very fortunate to have such good Canadian neighbours -especially, of course, the United States. Everyone there I've been touch with has been just fabulous.
We wish you an interesting journey and the best of luck.
I'm hopeful that the expedition will be interesting; however I hope not to have too much adventure. "Adventure is a sign of poor planning" as they say. I want to have a successful, straightforward expedition to accomplish the scientific goals of the mission.
The Explorer's Club in New York has loaned ma an official Flag to carry on my flight. The flag was issued to me at the Lowell Thomas Awards ceremony in New York on October 15, 2009. What's exciting is that it's flag number 53. This flag was taken to Antarctica in 1933 by the famous aviator, Colonel Bernt Balchen. He took it on the Ellsworth Trans-Antarctic Expedition from 1933 to 1935, so I feel very honoured to carry a flag associated with someone who worked with Amundsen, Ellsworth, Nobile, Byrd, and many other early polar aviators.
If all goes well on your expedition in April 2010, do you plan on doing more similar expeditions afterwards?
I'm quite open to other opportunities to do good science with the Polar Pumpkin.
Any other thoughts about your expedition?
I believe that now we're entering a new "Polar Era". We're realizing just how important the Polar Regions are to the health of our planet. The only way that we're going to be able to nurture our planet is to understand it, and there's a whole lot we don't yet know about the Polar Regions. I feel very privileged to be able to combine my passion for flying small planes, the Polar Regions, and science in this expedition. For the health and welfare of us all on this planet, we need to better understand these marvellous, vast regions of snow and ice.
I'm just an average guy who's been flying bush planes in Alaska for 28 years. What I'm trying to convey to people through this expedition is that average people with a passion for science, and a curiosity about the Polar Regions, can do something really cutting-edge and worthwhile that will benefit us all - no matter where in the world we live.
(1) Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, blue-green bacteria or Cyanophyta, is a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: κυανός (kyanós) = blue). They are a significant component of the marine nitrogen cycle and an important primary producer in many areas of the ocean, but are also found in habitats other than the marine environment; in particular cyanobacteria are known to occur in both freshwater,hypersaline inland lakes and in arid areas where they are a major component of biological soil crusts. Stromatolites of fossilized oxygen-producing cyanobacteria have been found from 2.8 billion years ago, possibly as old as 3.5 billion years ago. The ability of cyanobacteria to perform oxygenic photosynthesis is thought to have converted the early reducing atmosphere into an oxidizing one, which dramatically changed the composition of life forms on Earth by provoking an explosion of biodiversity and leading to the near-extinction of oxygen-intolerant organisms. According to endosymbiotic theory, Chloroplasts in plants and eukaryotic algae have evolved from cyanobacteria via endosymbiosis. More information about cyanobacteria.
