Kaffeklubben Island, or Coffee Club Island, is an uninhabited island lying off the northern shore of Greenland. It contains the northernmost undisputed point of land on Earth.
Martin Nissen/Wikimedia Commons
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Martin Nissen/Wikimedia Commons
Some scientific discoveries take place in a lab. Others are made deep in the rainforest, along the ocean floor or on the dark side of the moon.
And still others are made squelching through mud and ice on the northernmost island on Earth… at least, if you’re NPR climate correspondent Alejandra Borunda.
Two summers ago, Alejandra followed an expedition of scientists to Greenland’s Inuit Qeqertaat, or Kaffeeklubben (“Coffee Club”) Island. The researchers with her were aiming to find what plants grew at the farthest north point of the island. Along the way, she had an adventure … and witnessed the good, the bad and the muddy realities of scientific expeditions.
Interested in more exploratory science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez, and Berly McCoy. It was fact-checked by Alejandra Borunda and Tyler Jones. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.
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