14 DAY TRIAL // On Wednesday, British explorer Pen Hadow set off, alongside colleague Ann Daniels, on a new expedition to the North Pole, meant to determine the exact situation on-scene. Satellite information can be reliable, but at times it's best to make sure for yourself, scientists say, because the reality at the scene could be a bit different than what's viewed from orbit. The two, joined by another British researcher, will feed back their collected data to professor Wieslaw Maslowski, from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The main goal is to find out the exact time when the polar ice cap will melt, and what the possible consequences are.
Yesterday, the team left the UK for Canada, where they will set up the final details of their expedition. After that, they are due to be flown to the Arctic, where their mission is scheduled to kick off on the 27th of February. They will have to face freezing temperatures, as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit), throughout the entire trip. Planned to last about three months, the trek will take the team over 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) of ice across the North Pole.
At all times, they will be carrying the SPRITE radar, a sophisticated instrument that is bound to measure the thickness of the ice shelves every 10 centimeters. Hopefully, this will provide Maslowski with sufficient data to put together a comprehensive model of the situation in the Arctic, a model that could potentially be superimposed on satellite pictures, thus offering the best possible view on the situation there. If they are successful, the team members could eventually predict the speed of the melting, as well as issue early warnings for people living in cities close to the shorelines.
“We cannot afford to fail on this mission – there is too much at stake. As a matter of honor, we will gather as much data as we can,” the 46 year-old scientist shared on a press conference on January 22nd. The adventurer has extensive experience at the North Pole, as he is the only man to have ever trekked in the region solo and unsupported by others. Las month, however, he admitted that the last expedition in one of the most dangerous areas of our planet was very “daunting,” and that it was an episode he didn't wish to repeat anytime soon.