EAIIST Raid Caravan
© Joël SAVARINO / IGE / Institut Polaire français / CNRS Images
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EAIIST, an incredible trek across the ice
An expedition traversing more than 1300 kilometres through the world’s coldest regions… An incredible exploit by a Franco-Italian team of scientists, to study climate change and its effects on sea level.
It is without any doubt the most remarkable polar trek ever undertaken by humans because of its sheer scale and complexity. For nearly two months, from 7 December 2019 to 25 January 2020, a Franco-Italian team of scientists, particularly from CNRS and Grenoble-Alpes University, traversed more than 1300 kilometres at the centre of the Antarctic Plateau.
The aim of this trek organised by the French Polar Institute was to gain a better understanding of the impact of climate change on the Earth’s coldest continent and predict increases in sea level. To do this, scientists crossed some of the world’s most inhospitable regions. Their departure and arrival point was the Concordia station, the only permanent European base on the Antarctic continent.
In total, the EAIIST (East Antarctic International Ice Sheet Traverse) expedition collected more than six tonnes of ice, which will now be analysed to understand better the effects of climate change on the white continent. It was an incredible logistical challenge: the convoy weighed 243 tonnes in total, and travelled the expedition’s 1318 kilometres at an average speed of 8 km/h in temperatures as low as - 45 °C… Relive this astonishing scientific exploit through our pictures direct from the trek.
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