In the Wake of the VikingsA cruise from Iceland to Greenland

Study Leaders

Ari Friedlaender
Dr. Ari Friedlaender is a Research Scientist at the Duke University Marine Laboratory. As a marine ecologist he studies, among other things, whales and seals in the Arctic and Antarctic. Ari received his Ph.D. from Duke, studying humpback and minke whale ecology in Antarctica, and his current research focuses on understanding how the impacts of climate change are affecting different top predators in the Arctic and Antarctic ecosystem as a whole. Ari has worked with ice seals in the Arctic for the past 10 years to understand how changes in sea ice cover affect pup survival and population growth, and he has worked with several whale species in the Arctic. Ari is also a photographer contributing to magazines, news outlets, books, and shows his work in exhibits around the world.

David Johnston
Dr. David W. Johnston, a Research Scientist at the Duke University Marine Laboratory, is a biological oceanographer and marine conservation biologist whose research focuses on the foraging ecology and habitat needs of marine animals in relation to pressing conservation issues. David received his Ph.D. from Duke, where he studied the oceanographic habitats of seals, whales and seabirds in the North Atlantic. He has studied marine mammals and seabirds in the Western North Atlantic for the past 17 years. At present, David has several active projects focused on the biology and ecology of seals and whales in the North Atlantic and the effects of climate change on sea ice habitats of harp seals and hooded seals, and on the coastal habitats of grey seals and harbor seals.