Prof. Aaron Micallef from the University of Malta’s Department of Geosciences recently , in order to study how global warming is changing the seabed and the life inhabiting it.
He travelled on 27 January from Argentina, boarded the National Geographic Explorer, crossed the Drake Passage, where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet, and then reached Antarctica.
The expedition, which was organised by the scientific journal, National Geographic, also explored how climate change is leading to fresh water leaking from the ocean floor.
Together with his colleague, Thomas Má½”ller, Prof. Micallef spent six days on an inflatable landing craft, collecting water samples and recording footage of the seabed.
Prof. Micallef said he hoped the trip would help raise awareness of how far climate change can affect even remote places like Antarctica. Having been one of the most ‘stunning’ locations he’s ever visited, Prof. Micallef said the continent is ‘teeming with wildlife’.
Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent on the planet, and home to the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In winter, coastal regions can reach a temperature of -30 degrees Celsius.
The expedition was financially supported by the Linblad Expeditions-National Geographic Fund.
Prof. Micallef has also undergone , where he was part of a team that discovered three large underwater volcanoes and a 100-metre shipwreck off Sicily’s south-west coast.
