A SUFFOLK-based satellite communications company has provided a tracking system for an iceberg being studied for a new television series

Navidatum Ltd, from Woodbridge, was brought in to help the team making Operation Iceberg, a two-part co-production between The Discovery Channel and BBC Learning.

The company has put together a satellite terminal with a bespoke battery solution designed to withstand the tough environmental conditions which it will encounter, with temperatures likely to remain below freezing for the next nine months.

The presence of polar bears on the iceberg under study by a team of scientists and explorers is an added threat to the equipment.

Navidatum director Tim Scott Douglas said: “We are delighted to be involved in this fascinating project and relish the challenge of creating a bespoke solution to cope with the harsh environment.

“Working with the Inmarsat satellite constellation we have maintained excellent communications at these northerly latitudes.”

Operation Iceberg involves two hour-long episodes, due to be shown on BBC Two on Sundays October 14 and 21. The first programme focuses on the birth of icebergs, filmed at a glacier in the west of Greenland and the second is based on a ship and an ice island off Baffin Island.

Among the presenters are Chris Packham (recently seen on Secret of our Living Planet and Spring Watch) and Dr Helen Czerski (from Orbit: Earth’s Extraordinary Journey and Horizon - The Transit of Venus).

The iceberg’s position can be viewed at www.navidatum.com .