The documentary Frozen Obsession follows the 18-day, 2,000-mile 2019 Northwest Passage Project expedition through the stunningly beautiful and extreme Canadian Arctic aboard the Swedish research icebreaker Oden. The expedition is led by an interdisciplinary team of scientists from the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, its Inner Space Center (ISC), and an award-winning filmmaker. The ISC, an international hub for ocean research, exploration, and education, is a world leader in the use of advanced communication technologies, such as telepresence, to expand the reach of oceanographic research.

Frozen Obsession provides a bird’s eye view of how climate change, a critical scientific and societal issue, is impacting the Arctic region and how scientists are striving to better understand these impacts. Nowhere on Earth are the consequences of a warming climate more pronounced and observable than in the polar regions. For centuries sailors were obsessed with finding a path across the mostly frozen Arctic.  Now, scientists are racing to understand a warming Arctic, and how these environmental changes will affect all of Earth's inhabitants. With support from the National Science Foundation and additional support from the Heising-Simons Foundation, the innovative Northwest Passage Project consists of a team of scientists, education professionals, a journalist, an Arctic scholar, and 23 graduate and undergraduate students. 

As Frozen Obsession bears witness to a dramatically changing Arctic and the urgent efforts of science to understand the consequences, the public can gain a sobering assessment of what's at stake.  However, in a hopeful turn, the film also witnesses the exhilarating life-changing experiences of the participating students, who represent the next generation of scientists and decision makers and who will surely make a difference in the world.

Directed by David Calrk and Bob Elfstrum
Director of Photography Duncan Clark
Producer/Write David Clark
Editor Patty Stern

The National Museum of Natural History participated in the Northwest Passage project as a host to a live feed series that connected the researchers and students conducting climate research in the Arctic, with visitors to the Explorer Theater in the Sant Ocean Hall.