MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UN-backed expedition to sail to Antarctica to gauge impact of global warning.

In a United Nations-backed project, a two-masted ship will set sail this month from the tip of South America for Antarctica to witness first-hand the impacts of global warming and environmental change on the world's most southerly continent.

The expedition by the Tara, which is supported by the UN Environment Programme, is scheduled to take one month and will take it to various areas including the northern Weddell Sea.

It will also serve as preparation for Tara's next and arguably most important venture to date, also supported by UNEP ? two years spent adrift in the Arctic from September 2006 to September 2008 as part of the 2007 International Polar Year in order to help better comprehend the inner workings of global warming.

Etienne Bourgois, project manager for Tara Expeditions, and his team will be collaborating with international scientific research projects as a platform and on-site think tank.

Also on board for this month's expedition will be the internationally renowned Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, who is part way through a project called Genesis.

During 2004, Mr. Salgado photographed the Galapagos Islands, the Virungas forests and mountains of Africa and whales in the Valdès Peninsula of Argentina as part of his effort to show the purer face of nature and humanity in an attempt to strengthen the bond between our species and our planet.

More information: www.unep.org