In pictures: Royal Navy icebreaker completes first Antarctic mission of the season

HMS Protector is on a five-year mission in the Antarctic to support international research.14th January 2022 at 4:41pm

HMS Protector has completed her first Antarctic mission of the season (Picture: Royal Navy).

The ship is in the Antarctic to support international research into wildlife, the changing climate and the shifting waters of the region (Picture: Royal Navy).

Work started around the South Sandwich Islands to support research into the penguin population (Picture: Royal Navy).

A team landed on Saunders Island to collect drone imagery – used to calculate the number of penguins on the island (Picture: Royal Navy).

HMS Protector visited British Antarctic Survey research station, Rothera (Picture: Royal Navy).

A small team also visited San Martin Argentinian Antarctic Base on 28 December (Picture: Royal Navy).

Next

The Royal Navy’s only Antarctic research ship has completed her first Antarctic mission of the season – revealing the impact of global warming.

HMS Protector is on a five-year mission to support international research into wildlife, the changing climate and shifting waters of Antarctica.

The Plymouth-based icebreaker has three ‘work periods’ planned around the Antarctic Peninsula before autumn descends on the region and rules out her moving safely around numerous bases and through icy waters.

• Protector and penguins: Navy research ship in cutting-edge climate research
• Icebreaker HMS Protector makes Royal Navy history with polar expeditions
• Exclusive: Military reservists and veterans set off on Antarctic climate change expedition

The mission, which covered the festive season and carried over into 2022, started with work around the South Sandwich Islands to support research into the penguin population.

From there, the ship moved deeper into the Antarctic to continue her mission in some of the most remote islands on the planet.

Naval charts of waters around islands like Southern Thule and the Cook Islands have not been updated in nearly a century – with the challenge made all the greater by unfavourable sea conditions and grounded icebergs.

This forced Protector to spend two days sheltering inside a caldera – the hollowed-out innards of a volcano.

from JC's Naval and Military news and photos https://ift.tt/3foAsd1
via IFTTT