Mathieu Tordeur, Heidi Sevestre and the bust of Vladimir Lenin at the Inaccessible South Pole of Antarctica
Heidi Sevestre/Mathieu Tordeur
In the vast, barren expanse of Antarctica, an explorer named Mathieu Tordeur and glaciologist Heidi Sevestre encountered a surreal sight: a golden bust of Vladimir Lenin emerging from the snow. This relic, left by a Soviet expedition, marks the inaccessible South Pole, the furthest point from any Antarctic coast.
This extraordinary 4,000 km expedition aims to gather critical scientific data to better understand the continent’s response to climate change.
“I almost had tears in my eyes,” said Sevestre via satellite phone from Antarctica. The moment was humbling, making them feel small amidst the stark isolation and beauty of the landscape.
Since November 3, the duo has been kite-skiing, harnessing winds to pull them at speeds exceeding 35 kilometers per hour. This groundbreaking kite-skiing expedition is the first of its kind, designed to gather polar scientific data. They pull a sled equipped with advanced ground-penetrating radar capable of scanning up to 40 meters beneath the snow and ice.
Researchers are eager to discover if the increased snowfall in East Antarctica is counteracting the melting occurring along the coast. While satellite measurements provide some insights, the data collected by Tordeur and Sevestre promises to yield more precise estimates, according to Martin Siegert at the University of Exeter, UK.
“For 1,000 kilometers in every direction, we’ll encounter no one,” he noted. “This kind of information is rare, and it’s essential to determine whether ice sheets are growing or retreating.
With a three-month window, the team plans to journey from Novo Air Base in East Antarctica to Hercules Bay in West Antarctica before the Antarctic summer concludes and flights cease.
In 2019, Tordeur became the youngest individual to ski solo to the South Pole without assistance at just 27 years old. Committed to merging adventure with scientific discovery, he remarked, “Kite-skiing offers the potential to explore and research further into the continent, where few scientists venture.”
Mathieu Tordeur and Heidi Sevestre on their Antarctic expedition
Heidi Sevestre/Mathieu Tordeur
Traditionally, underground mapping is conducted via aircraft, yet researchers sometimes employ ground-penetrating radar towed behind tractors to enhance data accuracy. This kite-skiing expedition stands out as one of the most extensive ground-penetrating radar surveys ever attempted.
Tordeur and Sevestre plan to utilize powerful radar that can penetrate up to two kilometers deep, seeking to connect ancient ice layers from East Antarctica to West Antarctica. Successful results could indicate that the West Antarctic ice sheet, capable of raising sea levels by up to five meters, did not completely melt during previous interglacial periods—an ongoing debate within the scientific community.
“This is critical for assessing the stability of the ice sheet amid current climate change,” notes Hamish Pritchard from the British Antarctic Survey.
During their journey, Tordeur and Sevestre traversed roughly 1,000 kilometers along Sastrugi roads, navigating through rippled hard snow sculpted by the wind, which caused instability in their sleds.
To cope with challenging conditions, Sevestre finds motivation in audiobooks, such as The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, who recounted a harrowing expedition across the Ross Ice Shelf in the early 20th century.
“They experienced temperatures around -65 degrees Celsius inside their tents, and I can’t help but think they wouldn’t have complained about -28 degrees,” she reflects.
Source: www.newscientist.com
