Founded in 1988

​The Group has worked hard to be a respected private expedition group delivering successful, safe, multi-disciplinary small environmentally focussed research expeditions, involving volunteer members.  Several members have achieved higher degree qualifications and others have extensive outdoor adventure experiences and all have a passion for the Arctic.

 

Several of the academic achievements of volunteers have stemmed from or include research work undertaken on ARG expeditions.  Members combine their high academic and outdoor qualifications with many field skills, involving the more obvious ones of mountaineering and camping in severe conditions.

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New Members & Young scientists 

The Group regularly includes both new members and young scientists in the research teams so that the pool of research volunteers can be sustainable and hopefully grow.  This also helps expeditions to remain interesting and more viable as well as encouraging the long-standing tradition of small expedition, scientific research, in the Arctic.

 

Funding for the trips is all raised within the Group by sponsorship, grants and by personal contributions. ARG expeditions to 2025 are valued at well over £500,000, not counting  EU an funded international research project valued at over £1m.  Major companies, both national and international have sponsored the Group by manufacturing and donating or loaning specialist equipment for use on project work.

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In June 2016 the Group was entered onto the Register of Charities (Registered Charity No 1167722) and this is benefitting the Groups financial situation and opportunities, thus enabling the continued policy of introducing new young scientists to the High Arctic and to the world of field research in these challenging areas and conditions.

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Anyone wishing to help the Group continue to achieve this is encouraged to both make regular or one-off donations through the Support Us page.

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The Rolex Award 

In 1990 the Group won the Rolex Award through the Royal Geographical Society for small expeditions.  Following this, a world first system for the monitoring of glacier ice movement (devised and developed by members) gained EU funding and has been used by several international expeditions.

 

Collaborating parties on projects have included Scott Polar Research Institute Cambridge, Norsk Polarinstitutt, UNIS (The University Centre in Svalbard), British Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Oxford, Imperial College and, in Norway the University of Oslo and SALT (An environmental research organisation).

 

A significant number of research papers have been published by members on a variety of topics from glaciology to pollution. Long-term studies by the Group on polluted sites in Spitsbergen and on flora and fauna observations have drawn substantial interest by being presented as posters at international conferences.

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Several companies, both regional and International, have chosen the Group to take their brand of new innovative equipment for field assessment.  In this way both sides benefit and a more useful product may be offered on the open market. The Group promotes environmentally friendly options on research, with new techniques being tried and revolutionary ideas proposed for development.

 

In this way both the public and private sector stand to benefit from the research carried out.  In cases where poor management or continued pollution of areas is recorded the problem is pointed out to the responsible authorities.  In these situations it is hoped that restitution alternatives may eventually be suggested. 

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Over 30,000 photographs

On each trip some time is set aside for members to enjoy and appreciate the areas visited. Mountains are climbed, regions explored, flora, fauna and topography photographed. Over 30,000 photographs, both on transparency and more recently in electronic format, are held in the Group’s photographic library.