racing to understand a melting arctic, and how these changes will affect us all. ♪♪ the northwest passage project the university of rhode island, graduate school of oceanography by a team led by principal investigator and project director, gail scowcroft. the project's novel approach to ocean science research and communication is to include a diverse group of 28 undergraduate and graduate science majors from around the united states who will work alongside scientists. the expedition team gathers in newburgh, new york for a final briefing. gail scowcroft: this is a historic cruise that will hopefully provide very important pieces of the climate change puzzle to the world. you all deserve a round of applause. [applause] narrator: having few roads or airports, the arctic is not easy to reach. an air national guard cargo plane transports the team, along with thousands of pounds of science instruments, from newburgh to thule, greenland. for the students, selected from a large, competitive group of candidates, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. francis crable: i'm in chicago right, so we don't h