Posted on June, 04 2007

My name is Robert Swan and I am a polar explorer. I’ve been visiting the Antarctic continent for 23 years, since my first expedition to the South Pole in 1985.

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Having seen the majesty of the frozen continent I have made it my mission in life to clean up human impacts from the past and preserve it for the generations to come. We know so much about climate change now, and it is urgent to inspire tomorrow’s leaders and challenge them to act.

To this end I’ve been running expeditions to Antarctica every year since 1996. I stay motivated by the dramatic changes I have witnessed on our regular expeditions.

During our 1996-97 expedition, the Larsen B ice shelf was a major feature of the west Antarctic ice sheet, a giant floating extension of this permanently frozen land.

In 2002 the shelf sheared off from the mainland and over 500 billion tonnes of ice disintegrated into the sea in less than a month. The British Antarctic Survey says that the climate in this area has been relatively stable for 1,800 years but average temperatures have risen by 2.5 C in the last 50 years. Larsen B was one of five huge ice shelves that have been disappearing over recent years due to warmer temperatures.1

The expeditions regularly visit King George Island, to the north of the same Antarctic Peninsula that used to contain Larsen B. We have noticed significantly more rainfall on the island than when we first began visiting.

I’ve also been seeing the greening of the islands surrounding our base. Nelson Island is located in the bay across from King George Island, and now two new species of grass can be found there. It’s the warmer, wetter weather that makes the grass grow better.

The island’s glacier is also retreating every summer. We have hiked across the glacier on several expeditions, and each year the ice climb starts a little higher up. We see more and more uncovered ground each year here and the trend is not limited to this island alone – it’s being witnessed all over Antarctica.

It is the speed of change in Antarctica that has major kick-on effects for the whole region. The ice sheets that form each winter are larger than the continent’s total land area. When the sheets form they dump a load of salt into the ocean, because freshwater freezes at a higher temperature than salt water.

This more salty, cold, oxygen-rich water is denser and heavier, which is why it sinks to the bottom of the ocean near Antarctica, and from there it flows under the oceans of the world, breathing life into the algae, krill and deep sea plants that support all sea animals. This makes the oceans the ‘lungs of the sea’. With the Antarctic ice sheets melting away, more fresh water is flowing into the oceans, threatening to slow this process, and as a result a huge portion of our food supply is threatened.

The ice also reflects 90% of the sun’s rays – it is crucial for regulating the exchange of heat, gases and moisture between the atmosphere and the ocean.

The changing physical environment also triggers changes to the animal populations. We have seen fewer Adelie penguins on the peninsula in recent years, which require the sea ice to hunt and feed. Changes to animal populations are a signal to me of an environment out of balance.

Both the Artic and the Antarctic are vital elements of our world’s natural thermostat and both are changing drastically from human interference. In 1989 I led the ‘IceWalk’ expedition to the North Pole with a team of people from seven nations. We saw first hand how the ice and snow fields are changing and the effects on the people who make their living from hunting and fishing.

After reaching both poles, I’ve been able to speak to audiences all over the world about my expeditions, including at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. This world-changing conference was where the members of the United Nations first took joint steps to halt climate change.

I have seen that global warming is a reality. My main mission is now to promote what we can all do to halt the trend. We must use renewable energy and recycle wherever possible.

It took my expedition members five years to clean up 1,000 tonnes of rubbish left in Antarctica at abandoned bases, visiting every year. The crews know what kind of mammoth international effort is needed to do a clean up of this scale.

To meet the challenge of global warming we must all work together – households, industry, business and governments of the world – to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The consequence of not acting is the destruction of our last remaining wilderness areas and the loss of Antarctica to our children, and their children for years to come. My foundation is bearing witness to the changes to Antarctica and doing everything we can to prevent future damage and loss of this incredible inspiring place.  
It was Sir Robert Scott who died trying to get to the South Pole in 1912, but he left a legacy with his son Peter Scott. Peter inherited his father’s passion for our environment and wild places, becoming a co-founder of WWF, then called World Wide Fund for Nature. Peter in turn inspired me on my expeditions to Antarctica. I take my role very seriously as a climate witness for WWF, carrying on the legacy of the Scott family and motivating today’s society to act to halt climate change.