Pen Hadow is one of the world's leading Polar Explorers and a highly accomplished and acclaimed Speaker.

Pen's own view continues to be that he's the most normal person he's ever met! At 45, he's a family man who runs his own business who is fast becoming one of the most sought-after inspirational speakers on the professional speaking circuit.

'Stop Press' October 16 2007, London:

Today, world leading polar explorer and environmentalist, Pen Hadow announced an international scientific endeavour to determine how long there will be a permanent ice-cap at the North Pole. Hadow’s Vanco Arctic Survey will capture the most detailed and accurate data ever recorded of its thickness and enable scientists to predict more precisely than ever before when the North Pole ice cap will cease to be a year-round global feature. Their conclusions will assist governments throughout the world to prepare for the consequences of its meltdown.

“The only way to accurately gauge the current thickness of the polar ice cap is to physically go out there and measure it on the surface to supply crucial data that can’t be recorded by submarine or satellite,” Pen Hadow says.

Ten years ago, Pen pioneered a specialist guide service in the Arctic and Antarctic, enabling 'allegedly ordinary' people from all walks of life - men and women, young and old, novices and disabled, housewives, corporate executives and special forces - to visit these desolate, yet captivating, wilderness environments. He personally selected and prepared the expedition teams, most of whom he led himself 'on the ice'.

The stories behind his entrepreneurial, 'impossible' missions will have you riveted - but what Pen's really passionate about is providing his audiences with some fresh insights into enhancing their own performances.

Pen is an author, too. His emotive new autobiography 'SOLO' was one of Penguin's leading Christmas titles, and was voted 'Book of the Week' by The Sunday Times. His next book is in the pipeline. The Radio Times have recently described Pen as a 'dynamic new talent in broadcasting' following his performance as the presenter of a series about the work of Jules Verne.

ARCTIC SURVEY

POLAR MELTDOWN – 100 years away? Or less than five?

Scientists’ predictions for the date of meltdown of the North Pole ice cap vary wildly, from 100 years time, to less than five. This is because nobody knows its exact current thickness – not even satellites or submarines are able to measure accurately the thickness of the ice cap.

The geo-political implications of meltdown will affect us all.

Working with scientists around the world including NASA and the European Space Agency, Pen has developed a means of providing the scientists with this urgently needed ‘missing’ data.

In what promises to be one of the most high profile scientific expeditions of a generation, in February 2009, Pen and his team will depart from Alaska to trek 2000km across the sea-ice to the North Geographic Pole.

Incorporated into an innovative ‘sledge-boat’, a state-of-the-art 4kg (reduced from 100kg) portable ground-penetrating radar will take over ten million measurements during their three month expedition, providing the first accurate cross-profile through the North Pole ice cap.

The data provided will be used to reassess existing satellite and submarine-generated data in order to provide a firmer date for the ice cap’s disintegration.

Pen has also developed ground-breaking communications technology to transmit the team’s findings to a global audience, via the first live video web streaming and TV interviews ever transmitted from the high Arctic.

A state of the art interactive website thearcticsurvey.com will display live monitoring of the team’s physiological states, as well as the daily average sea ice thickness measurements, and ongoing photo-images of the journey.

Based on other high profile endeavours, we anticipate over 3 million hits per day at peak moments of the journey.

“My goal is that our story is transmitted to men, women and children of every age and nationality around the world,” Pen says. “The disappearance of the North Pole ice cap will ultimately affect us all, whether you live in the southern or northern hemisphere. “The end purpose of this survey is to provide a decisive wake-up call for political leaders everywhere to take the urgent steps needed to prepare us all for the global consequences of North Pole ice cap meltdown.”

Pen's team comprises polar explorer Ann Daniels, and specialist Arctic photographer, Martin Hartley. They will be travelling for 120 days in temperatures down to minus 50C, pulling ‘sledge-boats’, and, on occasions, even swimming across stretches of open water, reaching the North Geographic Pole in early June.

The Significance

The disappearance of the North Pole ice cap is of global significance for a number of reasons – it is not just the polar bear that is threatened.

The white of the snow and ice reflects the heat of the sun, but the darkness of the exposed ocean absorbs incoming solar energy, leading to thermal expansion and rising global sea levels. During the 20th century sea levels rose between 10 and 20cms.

A further increase of between 20cms and 80cms could lead to 300m people being flooded each year.

The disappearance of the ice also leads to easier access to up to 25% of the Earth’s known oil and gas reserves which lie under the Arctic Ocean’s seabed, already causing geo-political tensions as Russia and other circumpolar nations stake their territorial claims for those short term rewards.

More commercially, the opening up of new shipping routes, and the associated infra-structural developments in the Arctic’s fragile environment, are accompanied by new, presently unregulated, fishing grounds.

Meanwhile a multitude of negative impacts gather pace on the livelihoods of the indigenous pan-Arctic peoples, living on the coastal margins of the ocean.

Check out Pen's website at www.penhadow.co.uk