Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
•
8 min read
He’s searching for a human-made problem in areas largely untouched by
humans. Answers are just emerging
By Lianne Kolirin, CNN
Updated:
9:37 AM EDT, Tue July 1, 2025
Source: CNN
Crouched low in one of the coldest, places on Earth, Alan Chambers
searched for an invisible threat.
Traveling with fellow former Royal Marine Dave Thomas, he had spent two
long months skiing 715 miles (1,151 kilometers) — completely
unassisted — from the Hercules Inlet on the coast of Antarctica to
the geographic South Pole. The pair hauled a sled heavily loaded with
supplies and equipment, as well an extra one for snow samples, all
while battling high winds, bitter temperatures and disorientating
whiteouts.
“I built a specialist sledge with a perfectly crafted insert
inside,” Chambers explained. “Each evening I’d get on my hands
and knees, lay on my belly upwind from the camp and scrape the snow at
minus 35 to fill the tins, which we then logged and photographed.”
That effort, which wrapped in January 2024, was Chambers’ first
expedition in a partnership with leading climate scientists at Columbia
University to map the spread of microplastics and nanoplastics across
the globe. Ultimately, he plans to visit seven of the world’s most
remote places to collect earth, sand, snow, water, permafrost and
riverbed silt, which experts will then analyze to determine how
pervasive plastic waste is.
Microplastics, minuscule bits of plastic that break off of larger
products, are smaller than a pencil eraser, measuring less than 5
millimeters. Once they degrade further they are labeled nanoplastics,
which measure less than 1 micrometer, or one-thousandth of a
millimeter. Their microscopic size makes them difficult to observe and
quantify, nevertheless shows they’re ingested by hundreds of species
— including humans. A recent revealed that the amount of plastic now
found in human brains is around 50% higher than what it was a decade
ago.
Research into the impact of such pollution on human health is ongoing,
but it is known that nanoplastics can potentially interrupt cellular
processes and deposit that can interfere with the reproductive system,
while the impact on certain forms of cancer is also being researched.
The tiny plastics have already been detected across many varied
environments; the aim of Chambers’ collaboration with Columbia
University is to find out how regions largely untouched by humans are
impacted. Their hope is that analysis of these samples, a process
that’s already beginning to deliver intriguing results, will provide
the scientists with the evidence necessary to influence environmental
policy and drive systemic change in the future.
“Each mission is designed to push boundaries — both physically and
scientifically — while contributing vital data to the global fight
against plastic pollution,” Chambers, who also works as a
motivational speaker, told CNN by video call.
Birth of a mission
Chambers was awarded an MBE, a British honor recognizing community
service or notable achievement, in 2000 for “determination and
leadership in constant adversity.” His many accomplishments include
having been part of the first team in the world to ski across Iceland
in winter in 1995, while five years later he led the first British team
to walk from Canada unassisted to the geographic North Pole.
The idea for Mission Spiritus came to Chambers after he ran a trip for
an “ultra high net worth” individual and his family to Antarctica.
“He asked what I was doing in my life that would have an impact in
300 years. So I asked him, ‘What are you doing?’ and he said, ‘I
want to make energy for the planet from the atmosphere.’ That blew my
mind.”
Chambers has undoubtedly made a difference in his time, having helped
raise more than 14 million pounds ($18.8 million) for charity —
benefiting causes such as cancer research — while exploring and
leading extreme expeditions in over 70 countries. But this proposition
was different.
“This was about putting a lot of effort in during your lifetime but
not seeing the results — it had a profound effect on me,” he said.
“I said to the guy, ‘I’ve walked across Iceland, across
Greenland, all the way from the coast to the North Pole — so it makes
sense to walk from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole, but
taking your philosophy, I’d like to do some scientific
research.’”
With that in mind, he approached scientists at Columbia University’s
climate school, who jumped at the chance of carrying out such valuable
research without having to conduct the extreme fieldwork themselves.
“I was thrilled when Alan reached out suggesting an
exploration/scientific collaboration centered around his epic walk
across Antarctica,” said Maureen Raymo, G. Unger Vetlesen Professor
of Earth and Climate Sciences at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory, in an email. Chambers and Raymo have been friends since
first meeting on an expedition to the North Pole in 2017.
“How often does a friend come along and say ‘I’m walking to the
South Pole — is there anything of scientific use I can do along the
way?’” she added.
To take on work of this kind in a place like Antarctica is “extremely
difficult” for researchers, according to Raymo. “For a regular team
of still highly specialized and trained scientists to have collected
this set of samples, it would have taken years of logistical planning
and support from federal science agencies and probably a million
dollars,” she explained.
Chambers admits that he had “limited knowledge of microplastics”
until meeting Raymo. To understand their true impact, he later traveled
to New York City to meet her and her team at Columbia, he said.
It was there that the research team taught him how to collect samples
and the correct protocols surrounding how they should be stored and
logged.
The ambitious project is called Mission Spiritus. “Spiritus is the
Latin word for breath,” Chambers explained. “The idea is to try and
do something now that will eventually help the planet breathe on its
own, not on the life support system we all know it’s on at the
moment.”
‘The brainy bit’
For Chambers, Mission Spiritus is about “adventure with purpose.”
“If we collect samples from the most remote areas of every continent,
that will provide the experts with the evidence and leverage they need
to reduce the impact of plastic.
“We’re just the Earth’s gardeners — it’s then down to the
scientists to do the brainy bit,” he said.
After completing their Antarctic mission in 2024, Chambers and Thomas
traveled to southern Chile where they met Dr. Beizhan Yan, an
environmental geochemist from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at
Columbia’s Climate School.
“(All of the samples were) still frozen, and he transported it back
to the US in the same way you might transport a live organ,” Chambers
said.
The analysis is ongoing, but initial findings are shocking, Chambers
said.
“The researchers found some traces of plastic in (samples from) the
middle of Antarctica. The only way it can get there is in the wind
system,” he added. “Is it snowing plastic in Antarctica?”
Raymo said the results from the first set of specimens would be
complete by summer’s end. “We’re currently measuring the first
continental-scale transect of plastic contamination and black carbon
contamination in Antarctica using the snow samples collected by
Alan,” she said.
“Initial measurements suggest some presence of microplastics and a
stronger signal in black carbon, which results from fuel combustion,”
Raymo said.
The importance of this mission is clear, Chambers said. “It’s not
about demonizing plastic because plastic is used in every part of our
lives,” he noted. “It’s about how we recycle plastic so it
doesn’t get into the atmosphere or wind system.”
New Horizons
Following that first expedition, the Columbia researchers drew up a
wish list of future destinations for the sampling project.
“As we thought about how to continue this collaboration, the idea of
sampling some of the remotest and most iconic wildernesses,
communities, and ecosystems in the world rapidly became our north
star,” Raymo said.
Earlier this year, Chambers set off on the mission’s second leg with
a new team. This time the aim was to collect 52 sand samples during a
26-day expedition through Oman’s Empty Quarter, the world’s largest
sand desert, which includes a swath of the Arabian Peninsula.
“We geotagged the samples and logged the conditions, temperature and
wind direction,” he said. “We photographed each sample before
packing them in a secure case.”
Distance covered was the same as in Antarctica — half by foot and the
rest via sand vehicles and camels. The samples were once again handed
over to Yan, who met them in the vast desert region of Wahiba Sands.
Chambers and his team in July will tackle all 18 of the main Faroe
Islands, an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, where they’ll
collect lake water and sediment.
“These (Faroe Islands) samples will also be compared to measurements
we will make using sediment samples that were collected over a decade
ago, allowing us to also look at time-varying trends in plastic
pollution in this remote region,” Raymo said.
If Chambers is successful in raising around $1 million more in funding,
the plan is to head for the Atacama Desert in Chile in 2026 for samples
of the world’s driest nonpolar desert. After that will be the Comoros
Islands; Canada’s Northwest Passage; and, finally, the Gibson Desert
in Western Australia.
“Most important is to raise awareness of the prevalence of harmful
plastics in our environment, air and water,” Raymo said. “Alan has
a large audience through his public speaking, philanthropy and
adventures. Together we can help raise awareness of plastic pollution
while he inspires legions of people with his amazing feats of
exploration.”
<- back to index
You are viewing proxied material from codevoid.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.