Polar explorer usually rates highly among ideal job descriptions
in the minds of eight-year-olds, alongside astronaut, race car
driver and rock star. But what's it like to actually be one?
Wired.co.uk spoke to Adrian McCallum, an engineer, polar
scientist and former member of the Royal Australian Navy, to
find out exactly what's involved in a polar expedition. He was
part of a team of four explorers who trekked to the North Pole
to measure the temperature and salinity of the sea water
directly below the Arctic sea ice. Wired.co.uk: First off, could
you briefly outline the scientific aim of 2011's expedition?
Adrian McCallum: The aim of the 2011 Catlin Arctic Survey
Explorer Team was broadly to research how changes in the Arctic
Ocean may impact the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (ATHC),
specifically by investigating the temperature and salinity (and
thus buoyancy) of the sea water directly beneath the Arctic sea
ice. An increase in the buoyancy of the near-surface Arctic
water will likely reduce the overtu