The last few weeks before taking on Antarctica.
In just a month, Richard Stephenson and I will head off to Antarctica and ski 2600km, over approximately 110 days, from one side of the continent to the other. This goal was first floated almost a decade ago in the Magnetic North Pole, our first expedition together. But now the countdown is on. It feels very real and close and comes with mixed emotions: excitement to get out there; determination to see how far we can push our bodies and mental strength; pride to represent the crucial crew behind us; purpose to fulfill our climate science goals; and also, some sadness as we leave our families behind.
The last month before setting off will be busy, yet it’s time where we must also conserve our energy. Richard and I are both doctors so we will finish up at work and continue to finetune our expedition. This mission has been attempted by others multiple times, so we have a lot to learn from in terms of what caused past expeditions to fail. For instance, managing unpredictable weather, preserving food and fuel supplies, and spotting illness and injuries in each other. We’ll work with our support crew and sponsors to meet their own goals and make any last tweaks.
From the outset, we knew our mission, travelling across this so-far largely untouched land for a full summer season, could have a bigger impact on the world. Information about Antarctica is often sporadic and collated on the continent’s outskirts. While the technology on the ground, the satellites in the sky and the scientists working from stations have built a comprehensive picture of the continent, we hope to add another element to this great work.
Working with Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Program in partnership with the Antarctic Science Foundation, we have essentially turned our sleds into mobile weather stations. Being mindful that weight is of the essence (we are already starting out pulling 200 kilos cumulatively of equipment), it’s a balance between gathering meaningful data and specimens, without adding too much pressure to our sleds.
Each day, we’ll collect a range of data that will project to the LandSat 8 satellite and then be calibrated into insights for the Australian Antarctic Program, as well as climate scientists the world over. Information we’ll gather includes air temperature and barometric pressure, cloud characteristics and patterns, ice surface properties, solar radiation, moisture content and wind speeds.
An almost unbelievable focus will be us complementing and elevating the Million Year Ice Core project. At its very simplest, teams of scientists and experts will spend many years drilling into the ice core to a point where the ice exceeds one million years old, accessing trapped air bubbles from this time. Where we come in is we too will be collecting ice samples – about a gram a day. Scientists will gain a direct comparison of changes in Antarctica from a million years ago to today. These real glimpses of time will help scientists understand changes in climate and greenhouse gas concentrations from these periods.
Finally, the most important job of all for the month ahead is spending time with our families, creating weekly Antarctica activity packs for our kids, and recording their favourite bedtime stories so we’ll never be too far away, no matter how challenging the transantarctic expedition of a lifetime might be.
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to the mission at www.thelastgreatfirst.com.au