The second Dickson expedition to Greenland, 1883

During the Vega overwintering at Pitlekaj, various future goals of Swedish Polar research had been discussed. The North Pole had yet to be reached, Antarctica was still virtually unexplored, and there was still a lot to be done in Siberia. However, other nations would mainly involve themselves in Polar research in this area, and trips to Antarctica would likely prove too costly. Instead, the thought of further exploration of Greenland became increasingly prominent. Already in 1870, A. E. Nordenskiöld had made a brief expedition to this area, and now, expansion and further in-depth studies in this research field seemed a pressing matter. Following his return from the journey aboard the Vega, Nordenskiöld had developed a deeper interest in historical geography and cartography. Among other things, he hoped to be able to identify the onetime location of Austbygden, meaning the Norse Viking Age and Medieval settlements once part of the colonisation of Greenland. Further, Nordenskiöld had ideas about land situated inside the inland ice, where there might be forests. All in all, this called for a new polar expedition, and this time, Oscar Dickson provided all of the necessary funds.

Apart from Nordenskiöld, the scientific crew of the expedition included Alfred Gabriel Nathorst (1850–1921), geologist and botanist, Johan August Berlin (1851–1910), physician and botanist, Carl Wilhelm Forsstrand (1854–1928), journalist and zoologist, Gustaf Kolthoff (1845–1913), zoologist, Axel Hamberg (1863–1933), hydrographer and geologist, and Otto Kjellström (1855–1913), cartographer and photographer. The expedition also recruited two Sámi men, Anders Rossa and Lars Tuorda, to serve as experts on sledding and skiing equipment. 

On May 23^rd, 1883 the expedition left Gothenburg, with a vessel already familiar from the 1868 expedition - the mail steamer Sofia, which in this way made a new journey to the polar regions. The expedition arrived in Greenland on June 17^th, and somewhat later, on July 4^th, Nordenskiöld began his attempt to cross the inland ice, to gain knowledge about the interior of Greenland. With nine men and sleds, the party spent 17 days going 110 kilometres inland across the ice, before the decision was made to turn back. At this point, Nordenskiöld asked the two Sámi men of the expedition, both excellent skiers, to venture still further east, to report on the ice conditions. They returned after 57 hours, having seen no evidence of land in the interior of the ice desert. Consequently, the party returned to the coast and to the Sofia, to continue their other research tasks. After examining ruins of the Norse settlements in the Igaliko fjord, and making a trip to the Greenland east coast, where a number of prehistoric Inuit artefacts were found, the expedition left Greenland and returned to Gothenburg on September 27^th, at which point its members disbanded. This would be the last polar journey of A. E. Nordenskiöld, as well as the last Swedish polar expedition funded by a single person. Even if the crew found no land inside the ice, Nordenskiöld's initiative would prove important to other researchers. In 1886, American Robert Peary travelled extensively across the Greenland ice, and in 1888, Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen became the first to cross south Greenland, from coast to coast across the ice. Nansen travelles from the east coast to the west coast for this. A few years later, in 1892, the longest trip across the Greenland inland ice was made when Peary and Norwegian Eivind Astrup crossed north Greenland from west to east and back again, a journey spanning over 2000 kilometres. This became a contribution to the cartographic knowledge about the area, and concluded that Greenland is an island, rather than part of a larger North Pole continent. 

Anders Larsson

Bibliography

1. Nathorst, A.G. Den svenska expeditionen till Grönland 1883. Färden till Kap York, Ymer pp. 15-38, 1884
2. Nordenskiöld, A.E. "Den andra Dicksonska expeditionen till Grönland, dess inre isöken och dess ostkust. Utförd år 1883 under befäl av A.E. Nordenskiöld", Stockholm, 1885
3. Nordenskiöld, A.E. "Den andra Dicksonska expeditionen till Grönland, dess inre isöken och dess ostkust. Utförd år 1883 under befäl av A.E. Nordenskiöld", Stockholm, 1885 (E-Book)
4. Nordenskiöld, A.E. Den svenska expeditionen till Grönland år 1883. Rapporter afgifna till D:r Oscar Dickson, Ymer pp. 211-260, 1888

Film

1. Nordenskiölds sista expedition. Documentary by Charlotte Airas. 59 min. Production: Making Movies/YLE (2017)