{"id":2065,"date":"2021-10-28T09:34:24","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T15:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voile.com\/blog\/?p=2065"},"modified":"2021-10-28T09:37:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T15:37:04","slug":"adapting-to-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voile.com\/blog\/adapting-to-antarctica\/","title":{"rendered":"Adapting to Antarctica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I’m writing this email with a heavy heart and tired legs. I have been pushing south towards the pole for three weeks now and have, unfortunately, reached the end of my ability to continue.”<\/em> -Eric Larsen <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cover photo by Eric Larsen Explore.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Desolate amongst the vast frozen tundra of Antarctica,<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Polar Explorer Eric Larsen<\/a> huddles in his tent. Each word and thought hangs heavy with exhaustion. Existing amongst the icy void at 86-degrees south, on December 18th, 2018, Larsen reluctantly abandons hope of conquering the 1,130-kilometer solo ski speed record from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surrounding his basecamp, warm winds howl across the snowy ground, altering the alien landscape with dramatic, elongated snowdrifts known as sastrugi. An Arctic mist layers his tent, gear, and clothes, coating Larsen\u2019s existence in a frozen, glass-like capsule. All views of the world are consumed by an endless, life-sucking void of white, leaving him utterly alone without a sense of time, place, or existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No stranger to the harsh continent, Larsen has spent over ten years exploring Antarctica. As a guide, his first objective was to reach the South Pole via the 901-kilometers Messner Route in November 2008. Since this original voyage, Larsen has successfully completed four South Pole expeditions and five total trips to Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his most recent objective to set the solo ski speed record to the Pole, Larsen suffered first-hand the altering Arctic landscape. Attempting to slog through unusually soft snow causes his skis to weigh heavy, and the duty of dragging his sled becomes arduous. After nearly 10-days in constant whiteouts and wet, deep snow conditions, the disappointing progress and diminishing food supply ultimately sabotage his objective. <\/p>\n\n\n

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The global impacts of climate change are widely anticipated; increased sea levels and erratic coastal weather causing people and animals to be displaced; warmer temperatures leading to lesser snowfall in some mountain regions; and so on. But what some may not realize is that many of these advised concerns are directly related to the vast and evolving climate of the polar regions, like Antarctica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cascading walls of ice shedding into the sea are the most common images showing how the glaciated regions of the Antarctic Peninsula are changing. For a long time, this dramatic visual was how researchers would go about grabbing the public\u2019s attention and sharing the story of the Arctic. However, collecting data and monitoring glaciers is no easy task and the science is much more involved than receding glaciers. Yet the predicted impacts may never be fully understood until it is too late, especially with the subjects for collecting data literally melting away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter NASA. In the 1990s, NASA started observing and documenting earth’s glaciated regions focusing on sea ice coverage using satellite and in-the-field data study. The recession of two glaciers at an alarming rate in the Antarctic Peninsula has caught their attention\u2014the Thwaites and Pine Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to NASA researcher Tom Neumann<\/a>, “West Antarctica contains several meters of potential sea level rise\u2026 Pine Island Glacier and Thwaites are two of the most vulnerable glaciers in West Antarctica. If these glaciers continue to retreat, the consequences will take hundreds or thousands of years to unfold, and the impacts will last much longer than that.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the impacts are already beginning to be seen. Since the beginning of the 20th century, NASA has already observed a 20-centimeter rise in sea levels. And with ice loss from the poles being one of the most influential factors increasing sea levels globally, scientists predict it may rise by as much as .9 meters or more by the end of this century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is problematic for eleven of the world\u2019s 15 most populated cities which lie along shorelines. The rise means the ocean will gradually inundate low-lying areas, while storms like hurricanes, bolstered by even higher sea levels, will extend their reach further inland. And the increase in a displaced population from the predicted effects of rising sea levels, as well as the damage to infrastructure, is a burden all society will experience. It is estimated that the annual losses from flooding in the world\u2019s biggest coastal cities could rise from $6 billion a year to $1 trillion a year by 2050. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observations of an ever-changing biome<\/h6>\n\n\n