Google Apps Adventures: Explorers film climate change in action

Posted by: Ashley Chandler, Google Apps team

Editor's note: The Google Apps Adventures series features stories from the people and organizations that use Google Apps to explore, discover and push the boundaries. These businesses truly embody the freedom enabled by the cloud.

Back in January we shared the story of Berlin-based multimedia agency Traffic Konzept + Film, and award-winning polar explorer Børge Ousland as they set out to film a record-setting expedition to document global warming in the Arctic. Ousland’s goal was to be the first to sail through both Passages of the North Pole in a single voyage, and the first to circumnavigate the Arctic in a single season – a feat other explorers have tried and failed to do for 500 years. Unfortunately, due to global warming, such a journey is now possible.

To stay connected and coordinate the expedition, the explorers and Traffic relied on Google Apps and YouTube. They also outfitted their boat with a special GPS tracker, so everyone could follow the voyage in real time via Google Maps.

To capture the adventure, Traffic created a short documentary that combines exclusive footage from the expedition with the first post-voyage interviews of Børge Ousland and co-captain Thorlief Thorliefsson. While the film will be aired at the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival today, you can enjoy a preview right here.

Google technology helped bring the journey to life as it happened. Børge Ousland tells us, “The film allows viewers to look back and get a real sense of the climate change effects that everyone witnessed and documented.”