Scientists go to the South Pole to unlock the secrets of climate change

Led by Brazil, researchers from seven countries are carrying out an unprecedented expedition that will cover the entire length of Antarctica in a historic circumnavigation.

The mission began on November 22 and is scheduled to conclude on January 25, 2025, totaling 60 days of navigation.

The BBC reported that the researchers would travel 20,000 kilometers (over 12,400 miles) and only make 16 stops across the frozen continent.

According to Agência Brasil, the expedition has 61 scientists on board, including 27 representatives from nine Brazilian public universities, as well as researchers from Russia, China, India, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

The project is coordinated by researcher and polar explorer Jefferson Cardia Simões, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), truly a modern-day Ernest Shackleton.

“Initially, our idea was to invite more people to the project. However, due to the current geopolitical situation, the expedition became something basically for BRICS, plus other South American countries,” explained the researcher, in an interview with the BBC.

For the first time, an expedition of this kind will be conducted as close as possible to the coast of the continent, allowing materials to be collected in different regions, CNN reported.

The team of experts aims to carry out detailed measurements of the collected material to study the dynamics of the ice at the South Pole and assess the impacts of climate change in the area.

Explorers are seeking crucial answers to three central questions, the first being understanding the evolution of ice caps in the region.

Photo: Unsplash - Paul Summers

“First, we want to understand the stability of the ice sheet covering Antarctica. Projections indicate that, in the next decade, it will become the main engine of sea level rise,” Jefferson Cardia Simões explained to the BBC.

The second matter to be studied is the change in the climate in the Antarctic, including the temperature of the Southern Ocean.

The region faces an increase in ocean and atmospheric temperatures, plus a reduction in salinity caused by glaciers melting.

"Antarctica is one of the main climate regulators and what happens there has an impact on the entire planet," explained Rosemary Vieira, a professor at Universidade Federal Flumirense, to Agência Brasil.

Another climate-related concern is the increasing acidity of the ocean, which, because it is colder, absorbs greater amounts of carbon dioxide released by fossil fuels, the BBC reported.

Experts want to understand how this change is already affecting the marine ecosystem, especially phytoplankton.

Finally, another factor to be studied is air pollution and the presence of microplastics in the South Pole. To this end, the air will be continuously monitored and samples of compacted snow will later be analyzed to identify microplastics and other pollutants, reported Agência Brasil.

The team will be aboard an icebreaker from Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, one of the rare scientific vessels of its kind, measuring more than 130 meters in length.

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