April 2007
Calibration of the EM bird in the North Pole region based on 3D topography of the surface and of the submerged part of a 1 km long, 60m wide sample of the ice pack. Surface topography by laser scanner and stereoscopy in collaboration with IGN (Institut Géographique National) and ESA (European Space Agency). Topography of the lower surface of the ice pack with the help of an ROV (Remotely Operated robot Vehicle) to which a multi-beam sounder will be attached.

April 2008
Crossing of the Arctic Ocean with the EM bird slung under the airship. This will be the first time such a large stretch of ice is measured. It will constitute a reference, extremely valuable for following the impact of global warming. The results are to be provided to the Damoclès and Mercator Ocean programmes.

The magnetic field is created by convection currents moving the iron and nickel in fusion in the Earth's liquid core. This is called the terrestrial dynamo.
The MNP is the convergence point for the Earth's magnetic field in the Northern hemisphere. This is what attracts a compass needle. Located in the Canadian Arctic, it is moving towards the North-West and is currently in the Arctic Ocean, in an area we will fly over. Between 1947 and 2005 it moved 1,028 km. The acceleration of the movement of this point (40 km/year in two decades) and the weakening of the field, are phenomena that preceded the North and South Magnetic Poles inversion by 60 to 80 000 years. In the last two million years, several inversions have taken place. Are we entering a slow magnetic field inversion period ?

The measuring of the magnetic field in the Arctic Ocean and the location of the MNP will be managed by the IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris) and CEA/LETI, a laboratory operated by the Technology Research Directorate of the French Atomic Energy Commission.