I am thrilled (to the point of shaking with joy!) to be invited to participate in this amazing expedition in February 2023. Visiting Antarctica has been a life-long dream for me, and is the only continent I haven’t yet travelled on. This exciting adventure brings together my love of wildernesses, being a citizen scientist, and travel. I’m sure it will inspire my writing too.
In partnership with Dr Earle and Ocean Geographic, the expedition’s mission is to address the warming climate and loss of ice in the southern polar region. It will develop creative strategies to radically reduce carbon emissions. Limited to 110 expedition passengers from around the world, we will join conservationists, high-profile personalities and ocean luminaries to raise public and government awareness of the splendour and importance of the Antarctic. Together, we will help formulate 23 resolutions to inspire transformative changes for global net-zero emission by 2035.
Renowned oceanographer, marine biologist and explorer, Dr Sylvia Earle was the first female Chief Scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence since 1998, she was named by Time magazine as its first ‘Hero for the Planet’ that same year. Her conservation initiative ‘Mission Blue’ is creating a global network of marine protected areas, known as ‘Hope Spots’. These richly biodiverse marine environments are critical to the health of our oceans, which in turn helps to safeguard the future well-being of the planet.
“This will be a climate expedition like no other. One that can have a real impact on the future of our relationship with life on Earth,” says Dr. Earle.
The pivotal 12-day Antarctic Climate Expedition starts on February 13, 2023, with two nights and a full-day collaborative conference in Ushuaia, Argentina followed by a nine-day voyage on board Aurora Expeditions’ latest ship, the Sylvia Earle, and ends with a post-voyage night in Punta Arenas, Chile.
“The outcomes and photographic and video footage from this game-changing expedition aim to encourage the way people see and understand the Antarctic,” says Aurora Expeditions CMO Hayley Peacock-Gower. “To encourage people to be a part of the solution, to help change the trajectory of our blue planet.”
Paula Boer 