Scientists from the University of Plymouth are involved in an international scientific expedition investigating how climate change is impacting the Antarctic continent, the role of the Southern Ocean in climate mitigation and the long-range atmospheric transport of contamination.
The Antarctic Quest 21 mission, led by explorer Paul Hart, will install and upgrade instrumentation that provides geophysical data essential to the refinement of sea-level predictions. They will also measure snowfall and collect snow samples from completely isolated and unvisited areas of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Some of those samples will then be analysed at the University to investigate the long-range atmospheric transport of microplastics and the concentration of metals.
The expedition has been inspired by one of Britain’s most admired explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton, who set out on his own science expedition 100 years ago this year, but sadly died before he could begin his scientific work.
In a fitting tribute to Shackleton, the expedition team will mark the date of his passing with a commemoration service on the Antarctic ice, reflecting his importance in the history and the beginnings of scientific exploration of the Antarctic continent.