A man has embarked on a 3,000km kayak voyage up the Greenland coast sampling mammal's poo - along with his own.
Mike Keen, 53, is a quarte of the way through his three-month paddle from Qaqortoq in the south of Greenland - to Qaanaaq in the north.
Along the way, he is collecting poo samples from sea mammals to check the levels of microplastics.
He is also only eating a Greenlandic diet - food that can foraged or hunted - as part of a microbiome study.
Mike, from Ipswich, Suffolk, said: "I'm a big advocate for eating your environment and what's around you.
"The diet took some time to get used to, but I'm feeling good now. I feel like my body's gotten used to the change."
Mr Keen, set off on April 20 and expects to finish his journey at the end of July or at the latest, early August
He aimed to complete 30k of kayaking a day, although is averaging 41k a day so far.
Potential storms and sea ice in the North could hinder his progress, but he is currently six days ahead of schedule.
So far, the dad-of-four has been rough camping and relying on the generosity of locals along the way.
He has had to haul his kayak across frozen fjords as he makes his journey up the west coast of Greenland - while eating a local diet.
Mike, who works as a chef, said: "I crowdfunded £2,000 - £3,000 to help fund my journey.
"I've always loved the history side of the Arctic, and how the Inuit survived up here for thousands of years.
"It's hard enough finding my way around with a GPS and all the gadgets, so to think they've done it without for so long is crazy.
"I'm very much into the local way of eating, so on my voyage I've been sticking to fish, seal, whale, reindeer and occasionally seagull eggs to knock up a tasty omelette.
"The diet is purely fat and protein with minimal carbs and minimal fibre."
On his journey, Mike is taking samples of mammal's poo from hunters, which will be sent back to laboratories in Greenland's capital - Nuuk.
There, it will be analysed to test the spread of microplastic pollution and whether it is concentrating in any sort of areas.
Samples of his own faeces will also be sent back to a team of microbiologists to see what effect the diet has on his gut microbiome, his physiology and mental wellbeing.
Mike added: "I want to raise awareness of climate change in the Arctic and these two projects are important scientific studies that will help me do that."
Mike Keen, 53, is a quarte of the way through his three-month paddle from Qaqortoq in the south of Greenland - to Qaanaaq in the north.
Along the way, he is collecting poo samples from sea mammals to check the levels of microplastics.
He is also only eating a Greenlandic diet - food that can foraged or hunted - as part of a microbiome study.
Mike, from Ipswich, Suffolk, said: "I'm a big advocate for eating your environment and what's around you.
"The diet took some time to get used to, but I'm feeling good now. I feel like my body's gotten used to the change."
Mr Keen, set off on April 20 and expects to finish his journey at the end of July or at the latest, early August
He aimed to complete 30k of kayaking a day, although is averaging 41k a day so far.
Potential storms and sea ice in the North could hinder his progress, but he is currently six days ahead of schedule.
So far, the dad-of-four has been rough camping and relying on the generosity of locals along the way.
He has had to haul his kayak across frozen fjords as he makes his journey up the west coast of Greenland - while eating a local diet.
Mike, who works as a chef, said: "I crowdfunded £2,000 - £3,000 to help fund my journey.
"I've always loved the history side of the Arctic, and how the Inuit survived up here for thousands of years.
"It's hard enough finding my way around with a GPS and all the gadgets, so to think they've done it without for so long is crazy.
"I'm very much into the local way of eating, so on my voyage I've been sticking to fish, seal, whale, reindeer and occasionally seagull eggs to knock up a tasty omelette.
"The diet is purely fat and protein with minimal carbs and minimal fibre."
On his journey, Mike is taking samples of mammal's poo from hunters, which will be sent back to laboratories in Greenland's capital - Nuuk.
There, it will be analysed to test the spread of microplastic pollution and whether it is concentrating in any sort of areas.
Samples of his own faeces will also be sent back to a team of microbiologists to see what effect the diet has on his gut microbiome, his physiology and mental wellbeing.
Mike added: "I want to raise awareness of climate change in the Arctic and these two projects are important scientific studies that will help me do that."
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