BY KAREN BOSSICK

Local water expert Wendy Pabich is headed to Tromso, Norway, as part of a team of ocean explorers, scientists and artists who will document the impacts of global climate change in the Arctic.

Pabich was selected for the all-women international Arctic Norway expedition because of her work in science and women’s empowerment.

“I’m super excited and hoping to spread the work,” said Pabich. “I’m over-the-moon about this opportunity for its deep alignment with my work as a water woman, adventurer, scientist, artist, writer and educator. and my passion for empowering women and girls, exploring and protecting our beautiful natural worlds and helping people cultivate a deeper connection to water and wilds, themselves and each other.”

Sea Women Expeditions is sending a team of 34 Indigenous and non-Indigenous women photographers, videographers, lawyers, historians, educators scuba diving professionals and traditional knowledge holders on the expedition.

The women will participate in a women’s leadership program followed by an ocean research program that includes sampling water for eDNA, a passive acoustic recording program and a behavioral study to document interactions between snorkelers and orcas during the winter herring run.

They will be aboard a 47-meter MV Explorer oceanographic research vessel with an ice-reinforced hull.

Pabich holds a Ph.D. in biogeochemistry and hydrology and an M.S. in Coastal Geology. She has worked at Woods Hole, Mass., and at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C. She will lead a workshop during the Women’s Leadership Program and share her skills in science and art.

The expedition is entirely volunteer and self-funded. Each woman needs to raise a minimum of $10,000 by Nov. 1.

Sea Women Expeditions has run four ocean research and dive and snorkel expeditions to the Artic in Nunavut and Nunatsiavut, Canada; Greenland, Iceland and Norway.

For more information visit www.drwendypabich.com or email wendy@drwendypabich.com.