Australian team to retrace Sir Douglas Mawson's Antarctica expedition

A team of 46 Australian scientists is going to lead a voyage to Antarctica in a bid to retrace Sir Douglas Mawson's 1911-14 expedition.

The team will take the six-week long journey this November along the southern coastline following the last leg of the route Mawson took during his voyage.

According to Herald Sun, the team will take observations and measurements based on what Mawson's team observed on ocean, wildlife, weather, geology and ice cover and record what changes have occurred since Mawson's time.

Professor Chris Turney from the University of New South Wales said that the Antarctic region is rapidly changing due to global warming and hole in the ozone layer.

His team intends to incorporate current climate models and measure the change in wildlife, and compare it with the original data dating 100 years back.

According to the report, the voyage is privately funded and has its own challenges like a 150-km long iceberg blocking entry to the coast at Commonwealth Bay.

Turney said that he is confident of the technology the team has got; nonetheless, the expedition will be full of challenges.

The expedition team will take part in online chats with schools across Australia and update on blogs and social media.

Turney added that the team aims at retelling Mawson's story of adventure and get public engaged with science.

The report added that the berths on the ship would be made available for sale to the general public as well.