WHAT BECAME OF ALOST EXPEDITION? N ARGTICHope is Growi Literally. le AiGeal Tei Ts) pee nd eto Pel efi Sie Recrelec oy aoa fn 7 cc eTNATIONAL «| FURTHER | avousr 2025, CONTENTS Renan Osun capred his drone image in Peel Sound Canada, as he lay on pa ice that threatened to tap the Nat Geo expedition ‘eam curing its G0 Fram Maine bond PBlar Sun, [poor jexpLone wa How a Discovery Is (Dis)proved a scient celestial just on¢e, is it ‘ora breakthrough? BY JOE PALCA Getting SheepShape | snoHarstinov | Meet Spud theram | The Fartile Fossil and his handler, carry” -V torque decades one ing’on the tradition fossilhas cHanged how | Of livestock showing. | pajeontologists under { BY SANTUIW-rIsHiER | estanddindsaur skin. BY-MIGHAEL GRESHKO Colorectal Cancer Cases Shift Younger Seniors are affected— but one in five cases now is diagnosed in people under 55. The Life Aquatic You may nat see them, but they're there, Images reveal the tiny eye-popping creatures that float, swim, and squirm inside single drops of seawater. PHOTOGRAPHS BY In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an Explorer Fights Wildlife TraffickingAUGUST | CONTENTS FEATURES! No Way Out Retracing Sir Joh Franklin’s expedition through the Northwest Passage meant facing its perils BY MARK SYNNOTT RENAN OZTURK 7.34 The Golden Age of Mummification ‘Mortuary holds secrets of Egypt's embalmers. ART BY OWEN FREEMAN. P66 The Past Is Present Throughout We Helped Build history, manyshave This Country strugglédsto secure Revealing the history OF the so-ealled four Chinese railroad crews freedoms, inclttingan STORY AND: seciom from want. PHOTOGRAPHS BY and fear. P74 PHILIP CHEUNG.....P.68 dom The World's Oldest Colony Puerto Rican identity. experiences of Bla equestrians, STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTOPHER GREGORY KENNEDI CARTER....2.7 RIVERA 108 Unlikely Refugees Ata Jorday sanctuary, ‘wild animals that Supyived injuries, war nes, and smugglers get help and a home. STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS Pi nove: José Torres Ramirez participates inan annual reenactment of Britains {allad 1797 nvacion attempt del Boquerén, Puerto Rico.aa = Join National Geographic at the ends of the Earth on an expedition cruise to the Arctic Cee eMC Rina eee oe ceric get up close to the wonders of the polar regions, kayaking amid spectacular icebergs Ce Me eee an eae e co ee eae tn oa ee kee RU SR Sa eS a GEOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS ‘Our 2024 voyages are now open for booking. Visit our website to learn more. DUNKS 2 TR Roe EELS L LESAuGusT | BY NATHAN LUMP FROM THE EDITOR PHOTOGRAPH BY RENAN OZTURK WHEN was a\poy) I couldn't read 1 about polar exploration. Robert Peary, Sir Pdmunchtlillary, Sir Ernést Shackletonthe tales of these exploters and theigereWs battling the elements and th o@lds inthe Arctic and Antatetio, werd filled with such drama and pathdsthat fwastransfixed. And 'm still atenthysiast,not only of the stories but alsOof the rebions hey explored, places botIneaptivatirig in their beauty and of critical importance for what they tell us about tHEways climate change isaffecting our planet This issue's cover story is its own odyssey of Arctic exploration. In the mid-19th century, Sir John Franklin led a crew of 128 men from England insearch ofthe elusive Northwest Pas- sage, asea route through Aretic waters linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, After Franklin’s two ships became trapped in ice, the men eventually madleit to shore, but to the best of our knowledge, none survived theexpe- dition. ‘The mystery of what befell Franklin and his crew still intrigues many. That includes weiter Mark synnott and photographer Renan Ozturk, who boarded Synnot’s sail boat in Maine last summer to trace the -xpedition’Solite on a quiest to leary wiht happened, Navigating the Northwest Passage iSeasier now thanin KranKlin's day ‘nr patt because of warming waters. sadly—but Synhottand Ozturk found. it’ stilla difficutt;dangerousjouthey You won't WARETO iiss their story. which is also the subject of Explorer: Lost in the Arctic, adocumentary that will premiere August 24 on National Geographic and stream the next day on Disney+ and Hut We hope you enjoy the issue. {J From what vantage was the photo taken? Mark Syanatt ‘xplaine that after losin the boat's anther. the decided tote the boat to a stable ke baulder—and Renan, oeing the herorthat haf, volleares tga feo re water ang/wuith 3 ling ound! the bal He tagk this shoul he wae swimming inthe water rhondit all the ice. Iesavedgir On the aft deckytrew member RudyLIFE BEGINS WHERE YOUR COMFORT ZONE ENDS NEW SERIES NEVER SAY NATIONAL : Rate ty eae Eo aa PTT ea Bile Dect Luli dAUGUST CONTRIBUTORS NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORERS ‘These contributors have received funding from the Notional Geographic Society, which is committed to illuminating ‘and protecting the wonder of our world Kennedi Carter Aresidentof Durham, Noss in showcasing the wid and! verse range of Back ekpe iences, from agversiy and hardehip to love and commu nity. Her phitograpby has Sppesredin grtten VeGlue, the New Yafk Tired-and Essen ‘omong otNer outlets. Page75 ‘Mark Syanett he best-seling author, longle adyencurer, mountain guide, and) pioneering climber of emote took walishas been an Explorer since 1999. In National Geographics Jandany issue, SYMott wrote about efforts to protect antiquities in the Himalayan kingdom of Mustang. thie months cover story, he tdalka hatrowingjeutney,tnraugn Aree waters. At the end of the expedition he lefhissallbost Polar Sur, ip Philip Cheung Nome, Alseka. How il he fezurn ‘et hig heme iniMaine?"'m definetly Photographs face by Cheung ugh the Northwest Passage” ReWaws. Page 34 nave been extbited at sev Dublications such at Harper's, Vanity Fala Tyme. Based in legs Andelesshe'stontinuing to develop His projectgbout the CChinase migrant labacers who, wotkedion the Central Pacific Raraga Wythe 1200s. Page 88 Christopher Gregory Rivera APuerto Rican photographer Fukammed anata whe makes his home in Nev ‘A photographer who's won the Pulitzer Prize twice, Muhalsen also York City, Gregory Rivera lu ‘established the Dutch nonprofit Everyday Refugees Foundation, He's minates lesser known stories bbeen documenting the consaquances of refugee crise: around the of the past to facitate under world for more than a decade, and he became an Explore in 2025, standing oft nt. His inthis issue, he turns his lens to rescued animals that have survived images of COVID-19s toll on traumas. "As @ human being, a photojournalist, and a Jordanian” undocumented US. immigrants says, "Tm proud to tal the story of the Al Ma wa wildlife sanctuary, ‘appeared last fall on national Which gives a second chance to voiceless souls” Page 122 geographiccom. Page 108Feed them without holding your breath. Cesar. eet esol aePROOF Paes VOL. 244 NO. 2 Tang ecu er) } mers ot Oo ieee ney | a rere ets Te of the normally unseen but eye- Brag PSR a ae Pee ne een erstDeen ened Pelayo inet Pecan et erat erg Poe epeneeriocemey Pristine onesTHE BACKSTORY THIS PHOTOGRAPHER IS ON A QUEST TO DOCUMENT TINY CREATURES IN THE SEA, ONE DROP OF WATER AT A TIME Like THE vasw€XPaNsES they constt tute, drop$of seswater tgem With life Scientists estimate that some may'eor- 1th ge'manf as emillién organisms; ‘m0St too snaiLto Scawith the naked. éye-Tut puta dropunderamictoscope, and youwilldtkely ind free-swimming fish Tafya6, crawling copepods, and pediilidr protists. While these minus culg’creatures and their water worlds faxé overlooked by most of us, Spanish. photographer Angel Fitor has made ‘them his muse. As a teenager, Fitér spent much of his time peering into the fish tank at his childhood home in Alicante. “My relationship with the underwater world started actually behind the glass,” he says. Now 50 and also a self-taught | naturalist, he's turned his passion into acareer. “I'm working behind the glass, only a different type of glass: a.cam- era lens,” he says. Forthe past several-| years-he’s been colleeting water from. the Mediterranean and photographing ‘the minute critters within t—a series ‘of images lie aptly Calls SPabrops. Detécting jehat’glurking ina seem- Tiglyempty bead of liquid "is alrays% thrill“ hesaysjone ie likensto opening presents on Christmasmoming when eWwaachild: you nevebkriow what gin a Sanbple until you placeit ubder the Jens. Itfeetslike a genuine discows ery." he says. Driven by WHat he describesas dy “insane passion, curiosity, and unfath- ‘omable love for the sea," Fitor trawls the shallows arid dives the depths insearch of promising specimens to takebackto his sitio fora closer look ‘Every neW/sample brings new oppor- tunities to ftrthiermiy appreciation of the small yet determinantéreatures of our plane he says. Though he's amassed hundreds ofiimages of sttin ning ang rarely/seen microflora znd fauna; his work isn'tover. Totnuly sate his curigsity, Fitorsays, “Tdmeet sev- ral lifetimes.” ZANNIE ROTH Inhis home lab, Ftor uses a micropipette to prepare a shrimp larva for its p AUGUST 2023 6ebee eau ate Oe cuIN THIS SECTION Wildlife Crime Fighter EXPLORE Atcheimer’s Eye Exam stopping Sheep Dino Navel-G: ILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES-AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC I VOL. 244 NO. 2 How a Discovery Is (Dis)proved A SCIENTIST OBSERVED ONE STARTLING CELESTIAL EVENT—AND THEN NO MORE, FOR YEARS. WAS IT A BREAKTHROUGH OR A FLUKE? BY JOE PALCA IF A SCIENTIST SEES A UNICORK, she'llpiobablywant tosea more than one befofe telling the yorld-about her discovery. But sometinn ngenicoriis enduglt 1112007 an astronomer hamed Deincan Lorimer reported finding Spéctacutir néW kind of celestial event ipwas a brief bolt oP nergy so powerful it could reach Earth fromé Galaxy billions of light-years Way. He called discovery a fast radio burst (FRB), ‘BECAlise it lasted less than a second and it was only detectable usinga radio telescope Itwas a remarkable find. If real, FRBs could be used to measure the amount of matter in the space between galaxies. Iikened them toa kind of dipstick for the density of the universe—a turn of phrase my editor loved that also happens to be accurate. TThe problem was, Lorimer found only one of these spectacular new events, He predicted there would be many more—but in 2007 he spotted just one. AUGUST 2023 17IT’S NOT UNHEARD OF FOR ONE EVENT TO KICK OFF A WHOLE NEW FIELD OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. A FRAGMENT OF A PI KIE BONE FOUND IN A CAVE IN SIBERIA ALLOWED ANTHROPOLOGISTS TO INFER THE EXISTENCE OF AN ENTIRE POPULATION OF HUMANS WHO WALKEDeTDHE EARTH AROUND THE TL EOF THE-NEANDERTHALS —_ It’s not unheard 6f foroneeventtoikick off whole new field@f sefentific inquityA fragment ofa pinkie borte fotind in a cavein sibetia allowed, anthropolggisis tonfer the existence ofan entire populatigh of humans who walked the Eartitarouind, the tiné of the Neandexthals. Stills rares Wheh Lorimer’sfaper came oft in thé journal Sofenfe, F¥ASa Science correspondent at NPR. Even’ though did a ségment about Lorimer's discovery, on théafistogn program All Things Considered, 1 Xvds skepti¢al It showed in this sentence from my repgrtforthat broadcast: “Sometimes, what seems like 2 remarkable scientific discovery turns out tobe an effin the data.” Were these so-called Lorimer bursts, as some sar- astically referred to them then, just technical glitch? ‘THE GLITCH EXPLANATION gained momentum from paper by ayoung graduate student named Sarah, Burke-Spoldor. Her thesis adviser assigned her the taskof finding mote FRBS. Using observations taken by the rauiiotéleScope at the Parkes Observatory in ‘Australia, the same radio telescope Lorimer used to deicet his FRB, She found more bursis that looked likeFRBs. But because ofthe way they appeared in the telescope data, She was virtually certain what she Was seeing wassoine kind of Earth-based radio interference Alth6ugh what was causing hese events was a mystery atthe ime, she gave them.a name: perytons. (See "The Pefytoh Explanation,” page 20) As the yearSticked by and no,.moreERBs were discovered, soméasttonomets beban to concftide Lorimer had found nthifigmoré than (an iinttsual example of one of these perytons. There were, however, somehopeTabsigns that FRBs were real. In 201 there was a repottofa second one, but doubters were quick to point out that this FRB came from the same Parkes radio telescope that the Lorimer burst and the perytons came from. In 2013 four more were found, again from Parkes. Finally, in 2014, there was a report of an FRB from another radio telescope, at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. More discoveries started trickling in from other telescopes on a somewhat regular basis. Atlast the conversation about FRBs shifted—from whether they were real to Where do they conte from? 18 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC “Btabnétard Werelthe BunaBer.OResuspect right Won thegergo,” says Cornell Universityastronomer Shathi Chatterjee. “Magnetargére neutron Stars with exiraordinarily intense magnetic fields.“astyono- fiers thinkthey’te what's left after a massive 8tar Goes su emo. They're huge enouch toproduice the KindofenetgiesSeen in FRBs, and they are knowh to spit out puilses of x-rays.and gamma rays, ‘The case for msgnetars as the generatorsofFRBS ‘gota huge boost in 2020 when astronomers detected an FRB in our own galaxy, the Milky Way\Becausé it was nearby,in cosmic terms, astronomers were, ableto determine precisely where it was coring, from. TheSource tieried out to be a previously dis- covered magictat. But that hash'tended the discussion about the origins of #RBs.fthe one discovered in the Milky, ‘Way was not powerful enough fojbe seen if it had occurred in a clistant galaxy. So either, as FRBs go, this was a small one or there's some other celestial object capable of generating them, “we don't necessarily understand the me¢hanics of how this magnetar in our own galaxy pfoduced this radio burst aswellaswe'd like,” Chatterjeesay® “But we certainly understand that this 3 one class, of FRB emission?” ONE oF THE auEstions that bothéredme fromthe ouitset abouit FRBs was how astronomers coytld/be so sure BRES vere coming fromsrdistany/galixy ‘The answer lies in somethingtalled thedispersion measure. When there’s@powertul bist of radio ‘waves from a nearby souree, all radio frequencies that make upthe burst arriveatessefitially the same time. ‘When the radio bursts btimpinio electrons as they fly through space-ttey slow down ever sostightly. But theyslow downatdifferent rates. The high-frequency ‘ToMpohient of the burst slows down less, soit arrives, on Earth before the low-frequency component. In other words, the burst gets spread out in time. And even though there aren'ta lot of electrons floating, around in intergalactic space, in the billions of light- years between Earth and the source of the FRBs, there are enough electrons and other particlestocausethe dispersion in the signals. ‘And that’s how FRBs can be used asa dipstick for the density of the universe (a phrase worth using atuc WoMNSON AUGUST 2023 19least twice). The amount of the dispersion tells you how much “stuff” the radio wavesare passing through. To get an accurate estimate of the intergalactic stuff, you need to know the distance of the galaxy the FRB is coming from. To do that, astronomers point other kinds of telescopes in the direction of a burst to see what's there. ‘The home galaxies of two or three dozen FRBs have now been determined. That number should grow dramatically oncea new set of radio telescopes, ‘comes online in 2024, These will complomentt radio. telescope called CHIME—operalinsince 2017—that. is particularly good at findifig ERES becauiSBit s€es a wide swath of the sky€vory night, “We've seen several shousafnc FRA,” say Victoria Kaspi, a physigs professor al McGill UniverSity and principal inyestigatoron the CHIME/ERBteam. With the complementary téleséopes, Kaspi predictsshe and her¢olkéagueswill beable to pinpoinetheloca tion asd distance of most FRBs that CHIME detcets, Suclta rgenumber of localized ERBs will provide asifonomers With the “opportunity for using them tgstuldy the Birge“scalé structure of the universe.” Imhagifeninay Acodlatogh¢ story: few yearsago, an international teh of astfoplomers reanalyzed the sme data from te Bark@S radio telescope that Lorimer used to find the fispFRB, “They found one more that we missed,” Lorinter says now, “just using better techniques.’ And siriee then, he adds, other teams have analyzed even didardata and found FRBS in those datasets too. “They were just sitting there, waiting to be dis- dovered,” he says. 0 $e Palen s+ ¢sance sec journalist Basha in Washington, Df Fors0 yeargne war stance correspondent at NPR and he colguthonge the back Annoying: The Science ef What Bugs Us tHe wrotebbect the science of annoyance inthe January 2020, "uses Notions Geograph. 20 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC THE PERYTON EXPLANATION The Parkes Observatory radio telescope has one antenna with 13 separate feed elements, each pointing at a slightly different part of the sky. Normally, a signal from lestial object will appear in 5 pretty sure that was ru Butke-Spolapr said she ot sourde Inv Bs torefertate @Eooking cycle finished, That explains why most perytons were seen after the normal lunch break was over, Burke-Spolaor says “These were people who were really hungry” impatient, and unwilling to wait. So,a putative celestial object, it turns out, had less to do with sphumanity’s quest for knowledge thanthe i lunch, —JPbeara ecg When you leave a gift to the National Geograp! Rea ar te Red asa dct a Cee ee na Sou ea a! Need a will? We believe all people deserve access to estate planning tools. That's why we are offering this Cee ge RRM each Beer ane i Oo ke k meon DUB makiag.EXPLORE | T PML Eh ess" Dae ee on nea eee ern tia econ trea pleofstateand county fairsacross America. Now she can “fit” Spud the amin essthan fourhours transforming him from awoolly blob into re eee eee eee ine ue OL eriny works with the Youth Conservationist Program anda summer FL error ed oe ge Une nena od “like seeing the kids connect with the animals, especially when Kidsdon’t come from agricultural backgrounds” -carTun FisHER Ou) Equipped with an adjust- able head piece and eras Perey Peon nes Kept sharp for fine tim= enced cee Poon ee ered eerie ont eaen nee Pees eed emcee renee ans latter quickly remove erence ee wearers ect eer ee es lees Serene erin Peer eee eee es vents duling ofthe tools, ere re Right before the sheep ieee eee pare neers Cees eer ean ener ore peer rnns Se eae eae ‘are used to tease the coat oe prog Cac) Serer ates cee rere Oe os eee in eee ce Es ees crore coer eee) gece tus ee_— Desert X AlUla: The Art of the Desert ag se aren Z POCO ou icis Pregl ean aac De Urey ty fresh artistic resurgence to this s Retort cencePAID CONTENT FOR ROYAL COMMISSION FOR ALULA In the searing heat of the desert, a sculptured pool of stainless shimmers as it reflects the bright steel sunlight, the image constantly changing with the time of day and angle at which itis viewed. It stands as an artistic representation ofa mirageor atleast it sigod, Because thiswork of aft, like mirageand, theshifting sands of the desert, istraiiSient, ane'Row that the art exhibiti@in hasclosed,‘t leaves behind no tracedt was oné Of the monumental installations of Desert X AlUla, a temporary art exhibition staged’ on a spectacularseale in the striking sandstone landscape of Satidi Arabia's AIUla oasis. Desert X hi Valley of California where, since 2017, exhibitions have brought the desert to life through artistic installations modeled on and Within the landscape. The works by. agclaimed international artists aim its roots in the Coachella to Amplify the beauty of the desert while expressing profound ecological, ‘uittral, and spiritual themes shared by indigenous peoples and the wider global community. For Desert X/art is medium for cultural exchange; itch his Was reflected tithe choice of MulaQ3 its first location fora Deseit Kexhibitionbeyoidtne Us; For millennia, AlUtehasbeena vibrant center of culttirar exchange due to its unique position as an oasis in the vast Arabian desert. ‘The life-sustaining waters of AlUla ensured that it become a vital stop for ancient trader rying spices, aromatics, and more across the grueling desert from southern Arabia tothe Mediterranean. Later, with the spread of Islam, thousands of from across the world passed pilgs through AlUla’s oasis each year as they traveled the pilgrimage routes to the Holyccities of Makkah (Mecca) and ‘Mediiia:Suélninternational exposure made AIUia Amedting point of cultufes influencing the area’s long and artistictraditions. Some of AlUla’s earliest artis carved into the ‘desert landscape itself: Thousands of years ago, Neolithic, Bronze; and Iron Ageartists scrambled up rock- strewn slopes to etch images into the sandstone, ‘with primitivetools. Thesé early dxiworksoaén drew inspirdtign trom fiantife, depicting anfinals that thertists saw, hunted, oceveh feaféd—from lions and ibex so0Striches and Arabian leopards Spirituality also emerges in carvings of abstract human figures carr what are interpreted to be ritual offerings, while AlUla's prehistoric tombs show artistic qualities with is paid content. This content does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic or its editorial staff.PAID CONTENT FOR ROYAL COMMISSION FOR ALULA their distinctive stone walls forming “tails” and other elegant shapes in the landscape. Around $00 B.C., AlUla may even have had its own sculpture school, with the people of Dadan crafting exquisite art that may have reflected wealth, or may have been used in religious Among the most impreséive worl are the life-size and evenJafGerstatues fofindlat the temple of Diu GhabarrAIM60k alike >meh with strong limbs¢Gefined stomachs, and broad shoulders, stafidinig with hands clenehed, left foot forward, afd stem gazes Stylistically these figures closely fesemble statues found inrancient Egypt and Gfetce, but with Arabian additions suchfs hefdbahdsénd bracelets—the artistic exchaylge giverr focal twist AlUIA’ymonunfental art took on its most suiblime.form in the colossal tomb facades of Hegra, aitthhere, tgo, we see far-flung cultural infilienoe® engraved into the desert. The highly skilled masons who carved these enormous ahd intricate facades into the desert cliffs drew, spiration from ackoss the ancient world: atomby might include Greco-Roman columns supporting, a trlangularBediment and stepped crenellation: from|Mesopotamia, while guarding the entrance might be sphinxes, eagles, and griffins—all powerful symbols from Egypt and Persia. And yet, Hegra's artists didn't adopt any single style, but instead blended all these influences into their own uniqui ‘And art Wasr"tonly for AlUla’s wealthy patrons: Many houses HPAIUIa Old Town devorated witht pidtures paintedonto their Jlime-Washed Walls Naeuval pigmerits, from red iron onide toaSynthetfe bitestialigo> wet used {ocreate images of local plans and anirhals) householdibbjects; as well aS yeomettic patteris and abstraéts¥imbols, including Seine iepleed, bylslami@art. This itistic trad through the centuries with more tecerit paintings showing cars and buses as artists again dew inspiration from the world around them. were colorfully jon contintied And themtthere's the desert itselt landseapesftolling sand dunes and rugged sandstone eliffs, the vast serise of openness and quietin which nisty,colors contrast with bright-blue skies and eruptions of lush, green vegetation. With its varied ana E the majestic sweeping, const ntly changingpallet and ever-shiftinig shapes, AlUla's deSert has captivated and inspired for millennia, Above left: The monumental architocture of the tom Rome, Gree sat Hegra combines artistic Egypt, Persia, and Mesopotamia. Above right: Thousands of years fluences from across the ancient world, including 0, ancient artists drew inspiration from the landscape around them in AlUla carving enduring images of long-lost natlve wildlife into the soft sandstone rock. Credit: Matthieu PaleyAbovescg6ar‘iphy of Hoe? ty Abdullah \lOdhiman Is one Althenontitiental Works of ax thar debuted Dover RAIWIa a comphorsfy exhibition by Tnternational arises featuring the themeSA¥ ath Oht6 this tandseApe, international artis together t8 establish Desert X AlUla, first in 2020 s.came ahd agitif inf 2022, in different canyon locations. Featuring the theme Sarab, meaning “mirage,” the most recent exhibition explored ideas of mirage and oasis that areso intrinsic to desert culture. ‘The 1Snewh’cofmisstoned artworks included ideas reflecting tipdn dreanisycamouflae, fiction, appearance and digappearanee, extraction, illusion, and myth, Wandering throug interacting with nature on ®montitental scale visitors explored a series of spectaculaF Works the canyon3}whetethey experienced art Down the rock face of one canyon poured a meticulously crafted tapestry woven of yellow jugs known in Ghana as Kufuor gallons, these distinctive plastic containers are commonly repurposed there and used for storing water. Forartist Serge Attukwei Glottey, his “Gold Falls” addressed the experience of globalization, o> Crete: Krystle brit, migration, and water equity, Chiydiaomte’s *Datk Suns, Bright Waves” mimicked(the movement of desert dunes with asttiking, progression of black-and-white walls depicting a section of algorithmic pattem based on geological and ttatiial shapes, A concave geometric structure agdinsta timeless sandstone backdrop, Dana Awartani's “Where the Dwellers Lay Pays, homage to Nabataean tombs while reflerti contours of AlUla’s mountains, gorges, cavern: and rock formations. A few of these works remain, in sity, othershave moved to ney locations. and) gone/ Butlooking to the furute, the ambition isto bufld upon thése some, like qdlesert mirage, are, sugcesse§to creaté an unprecedented experfeytce ‘ofpermanent aft in direct didlogue with they landscape. Within a largé® cofitest;Wadi Alrann, Which means “Valle¥ of te ANS,” pkansto bring toxéther art era-defining Works set within ae monumental landschpe of AlUla-The efvas is prepared and ike , statues, and tomb facades, froufarourt the wofld to create awaits theartists:totiches to bring itto life: “Alldla'sFOCK carvings this awe-inspiring art will stand the test of time the art of the desert ‘To learn more about AlUla visit www.nationalgeographic.com/journey-to-alula ‘To plan a trip to AlUla visit wwwexperiencealula m4 Al, learning the slopes 4 DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES , OF SCIENCE em triumph AND INNOVATION nilon fr Retinamay help assess Alzheimer's Aredelhesysch lnk changes, rel Na tothaeartiest inal and Brairt je samplesfrom 86 human dona Tesearchers fouhd thathigher levals Ofbeta-snloid Protein the ret- inacorresponded tohigherievd's in the brain and nigne €oghitive Ekamining UNDER THE MOONLIGHT WHILE MANY SPECIES CAN BE FOUND RELAXING IN SUNSHINE, TURTLES TAKE.BASKING INTO OVERTIME netrogysysteyh that@aprBe dfigettly obseWeg~cabiid Ona nighttline bance tfip th Townsville, Australia sWo biologists stumbled upohig sbientifi¢distoyery-As hey paciclled alongthe Ross River, Eric Nondberg anetBoftak| McKnight noticed freshwater jelp dogger inter turtles basking just a8theydo duting thé day but by mooulights, verte e@flier in variety ofanimals, including freshwaterdiutls, bask i sublighy, Ajatieimer's disease. to regulate their temperature andametabolism. Many freshwater = CONNIE CHANG turtle species can be spotted resting diPlogs.and rockS While they take in the sun's rays. But until Nordberg and MeRHIBHTS taioe trip, night basking had never been studied. Itisn’t unique to the Kreffi’s river turtles (Emydura macquarit krefftii) that they observed in Townsville either. The biologists further research, recently reported in Global Ecologyand Conserva- tion, documents that at least 13 species of turtles across six families bask at night, in tropical and subtropical spots around the world. ‘The ehavior has nothingto loth the moon, ittumsout. Turtles simply leave the water when it becomes too warm, in a reversal of what they do during the day. -sessica TAYLOR PRICEFOR ONE AMAZING LIFE Ss NATURAL NUTRITION 24) STRONG IMMUNESYSTEM y © | sTroncbscLesyNCLUDING @ } A HEALTHY HEART, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. : Loe eat) [ONEEXPLORE | CAPTURED aaa PTC TAS ee) Deedee fog er adults, now one in five cases occurs in those Per rae oe Piene ene show. That's up from one eo a ee Perera mee Irae PCat tors, Western diets, obe- eee) rates, a study in Science PoetINNOVATOR EXPLORE ADAMS CASSINGA BY NINASSTROCHLIC PHOTOGRABH BY REBECCA HALE He fights for wildlife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. dafns Cassinga fas had many identi ties: Kefugte. Journalist. Miningcon- sltatiteAnd slow, defender of wildlife ASaxchild, he was captivated by £nimals—gorillas lived in the forests oltstdehis hometown of Bukavurin the Demaeratic Republic of the Congo— buthis path toconservation was citcu- itousein the mid-1990s, civil war sent histo South Africa, where fora time hho sirigdled to survive. Later he found jobs in journalism and then mining, One dal, while flying to a gold mine in northéastern Congo, Cassinga igazed.dowh on the green canopy near Garaimb National Park and decided t0,change curse. Armed groups; poachers, and black-market profi- teers operate in the couintry’s parks. Soin 2013, he started Cansery Congo, a gréupof undertovehinvestigators— including police’Officerss politicians, and students—whettackwildlife criminals. ‘thé nonprofiphas worked on more thaM6,000 criminal’eases, rescued hundrétls oP tralTick6d ani mals, and seized Wildlife contrat band. In an industry ddminated.by foreigners, the National Geogaphic Explorer hopes to pave the way for Congolese conservationists. “Ifwe want our children to see these animals, we have to do it,” Cassinga “other people come as part of their job, butit’s not their responsibil ity to protect what's ours.” 0 2020, Learn more about its support of Explorers at natgeo.com/impact. | CONSERV CONGO HAS WORKED ON MORE THAN 6,000 CRIMINAL SES AND R JED HUNDREDS OF TRAFFICKED ANIMALSEXPLORE Lara ag rere oe gle fossil has revolutionized paleontologists’ understanding of dinosaur skin. And it may yield still more surprises. Pea eT) cA Raa Deere ba eteed Reece eet sea oc eee are eet eee that died some 130 million years ago. ‘The creature is so well preserved, sci- enntists can see the finest details ofits skin with astounding fidelity. Pree cnr mec eng ee Eg Seen on ened under legally dubious circumstances, amid rash of fossil smuggling out of Tee eared etc bene tere ete Pete renee re eee ener eet Rae eset triation efforts at the time fell apart). Ever since, the dinosaur has yielded one stunning discovery after another. Dinosaur-skin fossils aren’tunheard aN ete cert eet agra ee ees scales. But this Psittacosaurus has pos- Pee ate single non-avian dinosaur—and even contains vestiges ofits melanin pigmen- Pirie eee Cette eee aed the U.K’s University of Bristol who has closely studied the dinosaur. Peseta ceeny 2021, ateam led by Vinther found that this Psittacosaurusis the only known, Pct eae erat UE eee eres eg ecation, urination, and sex. Last year, eter nie teem ted the dinosaur’s scales announced that Parmer e tas ate PR anaes a eed Crete ae ‘What else lurks within this fossil? Ifthe past is any guide, plenty more. 0 ari Described in 2002, these filaments along the dino prea ert roe ete Peer rary cee ey pee renter dinosaurs that includes eee Coe ey ANCIENT ALLURE eer eet rd crocodilians, except its ene Pree Sennen advertised the cloacain social and sexual settings.Pr roe ee enn ae toni) erik ucts cca ee euch ic Denes cee ccd Cee eee Ea and tail bristles, enabling a series of ‘groundbreaking scientific studies. XA GAZING Pees paleontologists Phil Bell, eee ere ct ont) Michael Pittman revealed Cees prereset ree) Pameteraie’ eons re violet eg paleontologist Jakob Vinther found that the Pers ees ere erent pera ona perro ae) Dea such as forests.q kkk, ‘ “Are you a ¥ ™ What a gpeat nately ea vidjeulonspracey Than of Stuer” -d, Hicksvillé NY if’S ENOUGH TO'MAKE Only $29! 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He was looking for the polar bear that had been stalking us for the past 24 hours, but all he could see was an undulating ear- pet of blue-green pack ice that stretched to.the horizon, “Winter is coming,”/he murmured, Jacob had never seen Game of. Thrones. and was unaware of the phrase’s reference to the show’s menacing hordes ofice zombies, but to us, the threat posed by this.frozen horde was equally dire. Here in remotePasley Bay, deep in.the Cana- dian Arctics winter would bring a relent- less tide.of boat-erushing i¢elIf we didn’t find a way Out.soon, it could trap-us and destroy our vessel=and»perhaps us too. It was late August, and we'd ducked into the bay to ride out a ferocious gale. For more than a week, the wind had raged, sweeping six-foot-thick chunks of frozen seawater down from the polar cap. Some were the size of picnic tables, others as big as river barges. H.MS. Erebus in the Ice ‘A19th-century paint- ing imagines the fate, of onest Franklin's tr ships. In,1850-3 note yas foundhon Canada's KingWilliam Island, deseribing the death iof Captain Jobin Frank- Jif (ebove,Jeft) and the ‘crew's intention to trek More than 600 miles foward a trading post. Bhi rotow the 2022 eas reeset tan See tng ie eee August ons Se day Smee eatsHer@anid therefSmalbicebergs jutted skyward like miniature floating Alps. The pieces of this drifting mosaic Babbed arofind the boat, rasping as they. ground agdinsteach other and fizzing as they slowly melted find feleaséd trapped air bubbles. Any one of these lots could be the torpedo that pierced our fiberglass hiillpso we'd traded. watches around the clock, cofstantly steering, the ice away from the boat with long wooden poles the Inuit call twks. As one day became two, and two became three, the ice slowly closed in likea vise. On day nine, when Jacob and awoke to find the water between the floes had frozen, it seemed certain we were going to be trapped here for the winter. A cold knot formed in my gut as I wondered if this was how Franklin felt. Ifoursituation hadn't been so urgent, its irony would be almost comical, ur. ctewof fveiad left Mainié in my sailboat, PolérSun, otoré than two months earlier to followthe routé of the legeridary explorer $in,Johit Frafiklin. He'd set off from England in 845 im Search of the elu- Sivg NomhwesuPatsagera sed Toute over the icy topof North Ameéficathat would open a new tradingavenuetothe riches of the Far East. But PraTiRlii’s two ships, Erebus and Terror, and his, crew of 128 men had disappeared. What no one knew at the time was that the ships had become trapped in ice, stranding Franklin and his men deep in the Arctic. None lived to tell what hap- pened, and no detailed written account of their ordeal has been found. This void in the histor- ical record, collectively known as “the Frank- lin mystery,” has led to more than 170 years of NO WAY OUT 41edHUNTING FOR CLUES Wes LONG, COLD JOURNEYAWMVSTERY-LOGKED IN ICE SEA ICE NAVIGATION OVER TIMEsp devoted Franklinités” obsessed with piecing together tilastory offhow® morethan a hundred: British sailors tied to Walk out of one ofthe most inhospitable wilderntsseson/Earth Over the years, 1todlhad becom a Franklipite, With morbid fascination. Mead allthe books could find on the subject, imagiftingmnyselfase member of the doomed crew, and puzzling Over the many unanswered questions; Where was Franklin buried? Where were his logbooks? Did the Inuit try to help the crew? Was it possible that a few of the men almost made it out? Inthe end, Icouldn'’t resist the ur; these answers myself and hatched a plan P the Erebus and the Terror, anchor in the same ulatibn. It haSalso spawned generations of 0 go looking for some of fit olar Sun so that I could sail the same waters as 4B NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC harbors, aitd see what they saw, falso hoped to complete the voyage that-Pranklin/never did: to’sail from the Atlanti¢ into themazelike network of straits and-bays that miakes up the Northwest Passige and emergeof the other Sid20F the continent, off thie edast of Alaska, Now, after nearly 3,000 nautical miles— roughly traf the jouTney—my quest to immerse myself the Franklin mystery had become a little too real. If Polar Sun were iced in, Icould lose her. And even if we somehow made it safely ashore, a rescue here could be difficult. And of course, there was also that polar bear. BY THE TIME FRANKLIN SET Sait, the British had se for ch expedition pushed a bit been searching for the Northwest Passag three centuries. E:Synthott was joined by his wife, Hampton Syanott (at left), US. Coast Gyard-licehsed captain who helped ‘erew Polar Sun for part of the voyage: “Navigating in the Arcticis incredibly nerve-racking,” she says- "Picking our way through ice chunks and maneuvering around bergs that can calve or flip at ‘any moment—you spend your life ‘on boats avoiding these situations, farther northysendiig the mariners’ compasses spinnihg in cirélésas they approached magnetic north. TheiP'ships(ftén became trapped in ie: during the intérmiifable darkness-of the polar winter. Many éXpetitiois ended in sragedy, but none sospectaculaHly.as Franklin's Accotdingto the British version of thestoryrthe Erebus and Terror were last seen by whalersoff Greentand’s coast in July 1843—and never heard front again A crucial clue emerged 14 years later. A private expedition financed by Franklin’s widow found anote tucked inside a metal cylinder at a place called Victory Point on the northern tip of Can- ada’s King William Island. The Victory Point record, as it came to be known, is the most significant written account to emerge from the Franklin expedition. The note contains two separate entries. The first, dated ‘May 1847, says the Erebus and Terror became trapped in ice eight months earlier, 15 nautical miles northwest of King William Island, It ends with: “Sir John Franklin commanding the Expe- dition. All well.” The second entry was added less than a year later and says the ships were aban- doned in April 1848 and that the crew had lost 15 smenand nine officers, including Franklin, who died two weeks after penning the first note. It nds by saying the suiViving crev, now under the omuhand of Hues Rawdon Crozier, intended to ‘walk towafd thefrearest HiidsomsBay Company trading)Settlement, morethan 6oo'miles to the South. TFthere waSany hope to be Bledihed from thisMesperatenote>it Was that Crozier waka vet- ean of multiple Arcticexplorations. fied already endured an expedition thar had beén trappedin ice and)spent ime among the Inuitewho had, given him the name Aglooka (Long stuider)) Back in London, however, the British had & very different view of the situation. In 1884; five ‘years before the hote was found, another aecotiht had emétged: John Rae, a Scottish fur trader arid, explorer, fecounted meeting an Inuit\named In-nook-poo:2he-jookWwho said that a group of 35, or 40 kublunas (white men) had starved to death. years earlier, near the mouth 6Pa large river. The Inuit showed Rae dozens of relics they'd col- lected ftom the site, including medal Franklin had received in 4836. But In-nook-poozzhe-jook also described. eamp that bore signg ofifank-, Jin’s men havingbeen driven to what Rae called “the last dréad alternative”: mutilated bodies, pieces of which still/sat in kettles in which they had been cooked, When Rae shared this gfishf account ythe Englishrpublic,-inflamed by nove othef than (Charles Dickens, refused to believe the crew had-fesorted'to cannibalism. “‘Thefioble con- ‘duct and example of Sueli mefi, ard of their own Beit leader himsel...outweighs...the chatter of a gross handfulof neivifised people,” Dickens wrote iT his magazine, Household Words. The énflU€five of the famous author was such that most Britons came to believe it was the Inuit who had killed Franklin and his men—not the brutal elements, the unpreparedness of the crew, or just plain bad luck. And asa result, most subsequent reconstructions of the expedition’s final days failed to consider extensive Inuit oral histories that would've told a strikingly different story. When the sunken wrecks of Erebus and Terror No WAY OUT 49