April 29, 2021

The Northwest Passage Project, based at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography, is pleased to announce the documentary film “Frozen Obsession” is being broadcast and streamed on PBS through Maryland Public Television.

Watch on the PBS website, stream in the PBS Video app on your device or TV, or watch the broadcast on your local PBS station.

Climate change is a critical scientific and social issue that confronts today’s world. Nowhere are the consequences of a warming climate more pronounced and observable than in the Polar Regions. “Frozen Obsession” follows the 18-day, 2,000-mile Northwest Passage Project expedition through the stunningly beautiful and extreme Canadian Arctic Archipelago aboard the Swedish research icebreaker Oden. Made of a diverse mixture of scientists and students, the Northwest Passage Project team studies water chemistry, microbiology, birds, mammals, and physical oceanography. As the film bears witness to a dramatically changing Arctic, we gain a sobering assessment of what’s at stake. But in a hopeful turn, the film also reveals the exhilarating, life-changing experiences of the students on this expedition, who represent the next generation of scientists and decision-makers who will surely make a difference in the world.

Funding for this film was provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation.