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Norwegian explorer to deliver lecture tonight

By James Daly '13
October 10, 2012

Thorleif Thorleifsson will discuss his record-breaking voyage around the North Pole and the history of Norwegian Arctic exploration during a lecture at St. Olaf College October 11.

Norwegian marine explorer Thorleif Thorleifsson will visit St. Olaf College October 11 to deliver a lecture titled "A Voyage Around the North Pole: Modern Exploration and Climate Change."

His lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in Regents Hall 150. It is free and open to the public, and will also be streamed and archived online.

In 2010 Thorleifsson and fellow explorer Børge Ousland became the first to sail around the North Pole in a single short season. Their voyage — which took them through the Northern Sea Route in Russia, the Northwest Passage in Canada, and across the North Atlantic — covered 10,000 nautical miles in a record-breaking 80 days.

In his lecture, Thorleifsson will discuss his unprecedented voyage, the tremendous challenges encountered along the way, and the history of Norwegian Arctic exploration and the explorers of the past. He will also describe the effects of climate change that he witnessed in the Arctic. His talk will end with a question-and-answer session.

Thorleifsson will be introduced by Mari Sæther, an environmental counselor at the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. She has worked in the environmental field for more than 20 years and will speak briefly on climate change and the Arctic.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.