27 min listen
ratings:
Length:
27 minutes
Released:
Apr 20, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Just twenty years ago, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) would not allow women to camp in Antarctica. In 2013, it appointed Jane Francis as its Director. Jane tells Jim Al-Khalili how an intimate understanding of petrified wood and fossilised leaves took her from Dorset’s Jurassic coast to this icy land mass. Camping on Antarctic ice is not for everyone but Jane is addicted, even if she does crave celery and occasionally wish that she could wash her hair. Fossils buried under the ice contain vital clues about ancient climates and can be used to check current computer models of climate change. The earth can withstand a great range of temperatures: Antarctica was once covered in lush forest. But the question is: can humans adapt? As the ice caps melt, sea levels will continue to rise. And, says Jane, the time to start planning for that is now.
Image: Courtesy of Jane Francis
Image: Courtesy of Jane Francis
Released:
Apr 20, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
The Return to Mawson's Antarctica - Part One: Join polar scientists on an expedition to part of Antarctica last explored 100 years ago by Discovery