An eight-member team of scientists and vehicle mechanics will brave the icy winds and treacherous terrain to reach the South Pole — 90 degrees south latitude — to commemorate the centenary of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's feat.
A team of Indian scientists are all set to explore the icy depths of the Antarctic region looking for clues of climate change as part of the first such mission to the South Pole.
An eight-member team of scientists and vehicle mechanics will brave the icy winds and treacherous terrain to reach the South Pole — 90 degrees south latitude — to commemorate the centenary of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's feat.
"This is the first scientific expedition to the South Pole," the Earth sciences secretary Shailesh Nayak had said.
It is summertime now in the frozen continent and the highest temperature reaches 13.6 degrees Celsius below zero.
Led by Rasik Ravindra, the 62-year-old director of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, the team will conduct experiments, gather atmospheric data and collect ice cores from the frozen continent in their bid to understand the changes in the environment over past 1,000 years.
Earth sciences minister Prithviraj Chavan is flagging off the 45-day expedition here this evening.
Besides Ravindra, Ajay Dhar, Javed Beg, Thamban Meloth, Asit Swain, Pradip Malhotra, Krishnamurthy and Surat Singh will be part of the team.
Amundsen had reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911 in dog-drawn sledges, but Indian scientists will use special sport utility vehicles (SUV) for their 45-day journey.
"The journey from Maitri to the South Pole, approximately about 3,000 kms, will also help understand climate change over the years," Nayak said.
Experiments involving geomorphology — the study of landforms and geophysics — which includes movements of tectonic plates are being planned.
These studies are expected to add to the knowledge of how the ancient landmass, once fused with other continents in a super-continent before being separated 200 million years ago, has evolved, Nayak said.
At the South Pole, the sun rises on or around September 21 and does not set again until about March 21. The winter low temperature recorded at the Amundsen Scot station at the South Pole was -82.8 degrees Celsius.
The wind averages 12.1 miles per hour and the closest land is actually straight down through the ice, approximately 3.2 km away.
India is also in the advanced stages of building its third research station named Bharti in the Larsemann Hills region in the eastern part of the frozen continent.
India's first research station in the Antarctic region — Dakshin Gangotri — was established in 1983-84. It was abandoned in 1990 after it sunk in the snow partially.
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