Intrepid launches citizen science programs in Antarctica

Intrepid Travel has launched its first-ever Citizen Science program in Antarctica for those onboard the group’s polar expedition ship, the Ocean Endeavour.

There are five programs ranging from the NASA Globe Observer, which observes cloud movements in concert with NASA satellite flyovers, to Seabird Survey where travellers can record wildlife viewings that will help scientists better understand seabird migrations in the Southern Ocean.

The experiences will be facilitated by three citizen science coordinators, new roles that Intrepid created to carry out and support actionable research through their Antarctic operations.

Citizen science is voluntary research collected through public participation, in which people can share and contribute data they observe to a variety of projects, with the goal of advancing scientific studies by increasing the capacity of information gathered.

While the five programs will be available on all Intrepid Antarctic sailings, Intrepid will also be running two departures in partnership with WWF Australia, in which travellers will be joined onboard by scientists from WWF and the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC).

The 14-day WWF journey to the Antarctic Circle departing on 17 February 2023, and the 11-day WWF Giants of Antarctica departing 1 March 2023, will host a team of marine biologists conducting scientific research on Antarctica’s great whales to understand their ecology and migration corridors under a changing climate.

This project is being led by Chris Johnson, global lead of WWF’s Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative, who will be on both Intrepid sailings in 2023 with special guest researchers from UCSC including whale ecologist Dr Ari Friedlander.

Intrepid Travel’s five citizen science programs include:

NASA Globe Observer: Clouds – Participants can understand how clouds affect how much sunlight the earth absorbs and how much heat escapes back into space. Observing this helps scientists understand how surface and air temperatures are affected by cloud covers and how clouds respond to climate change.

Seabird Survey – Here, participants understand seabird distribution patterns and habitat usage in the Southern Ocean. Travellers work in small groups with an ornithologist out on the deck counting and identifying sea birds that fly around the ship.

Happywhale – This program engages travellers to identify individual marine mammals.

Fjord Phyto – Phytoplankton are the sea’s most important inhabitants and underpin the marine food chain. During this project, travellers will collect phytoplankton as they visit various fjords throughout the austral summer.

Secchi Disk – Travellers understand phytoplankton and how climate change impacts them.

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Chris Johnson Citizen Science Coordinators Dr. Ari Friedlander Intrepid Antarctic intrepid travel NASA NASA Globe Observer Ocean Endeavour University of California Santa Cruz WWF Australia