UK team begins epic trek to North Pole

Three British explorers have set out on a 90-day skiing expedition to the North Pole, measuring sea ice thickness the whole way to find out exactly how fast it is disappearing, according to the Catlin Arctic Survey.

The data gathered will complement satellite and submarine observations and help ice modelling of the polar ice by experts, including Wieslaw Maslowski, who recently predicted the Arctic Ocean could be ice free as early as 2013, the London-based survey said.

Global warming is believed to be the culprit in the rapidly melting north polar ice cap freeing up new sea routes and untapped mineral resources on the ocean bottom.

The three expedition members — project director and ice team leader Pen Hadow, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels -- were dropped off by plane on an ice floe some 1,075 km from Canada. They will ski most of the way, taking millions of measurements of the thickness of the ice, assessing density and the depth of the snow, as well as taking temperature readings.