A research mission to determine the impact of the giant A-68a iceberg on one of the world’s most important ecosystems gets underway next month. A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), will set sail on the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) ship bound for the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia.
Plans to merge the British Antarctic Survey (closely linked to the Falkland Islands) and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have been ruled out, Science minister David Willetts announced. In a written statement he said the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) had decided not to proceed with the proposal.
After 16 years of planning the countdown is on for one of the most ambitious scientific missions to Antarctica. In October a 12-man team of British scientists, engineers and support staff will make the 16.000 km journey from the UK to go deep into the heart of the frozen continent to collect samples of water and sediments from an ancient lake buried beneath three kilometers of ice.