These three scientists are conducting vital research at the Earth's poles that will help us understand how our planet is changing — and they're pushing the boundaries of exploration in the process.
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they → conduct → process
Human instinct would drive most people from a gaping hole in an ice sheet.
Especially as ferocious meltwater gushes into the seemingly bottomless cavity.
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meltwater → drive → cavity
Originally from Wales, the glaciologist at Finland's University of Oulu has been studying Greenland's icy interior for three decades.
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glaciologist → study → decades
He's used to conducting research in "surreal and absurd" places to help us understand how our polar regions are changing — and therefore how the rest of the planet and the way we live on it is, too.
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we → use → it
It's a powerful system that simultaneously reflects heat and stores water, helping keep the world's climate in balance.
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that → reflect → balance
Every summer, it sheds billions of tonnes of ice.
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it → shed → ice
But, in recent years, that rate of loss has been accelerating to "unprecedented" levels.
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rate → accelerate → levels
Professor Hubbard believes there's a fossilised ancient forest inside the vast sinkhole that might offer clues as to why.
uncertain
that → believe → clues
"As the base of the ice sheet thaws and more meltwater accesses it, [the forest is] starting to break down that organic matter and it's starting to leak methane," he says.
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he → thaw → methane
It's an educated guess that Professor Hubbard doesn't want to wait to test.
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Hubbard → want → ?
Not when he has a background in climbing and mountaineering, some rope, carabiners, and a team he trusts supporting him.
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he → have → him
A short while later, the scientist dangles above the meltwater thundering down the shaft — which is called a moulin — equipped with a sensor that reveals the truth.
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that → dangle → truth
It is, indeed, expelling excess methane.
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It → expel → methane
This discovery matters, because methane is a powerful accelerator in the climate system, capable of reducing the strength of even the most stable layers of ice.
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methane → matter → ice
If more of it's leaking from ice sheets like this one than previously thought, the climate models we use need to be updated to reflect that.
That's why Professor Hubbard decides to volunteer himself.
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Hubbard → leak → himself
This time, he wants to feed a fibre optic cable through the rushing meltwater that will record temperature shifts in the depths of the ice below.
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that → want → ice
The findings are stark: the ice is apparently sitting at –4°C, when it should be between –18°C and –20°C.
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it → sit → C
According to Professor Hubbard, this has massive implications for projected sea-level rise.
uncertain
this → accord → rise
The scientist knows his research matters, but it's also the "thrill" that keeps him coming back to work at the poles of the Earth.
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that → know → Earth
"I feel far more comfortable on the Greenland ice sheet hanging off a rope than I would at a party," he says.
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he → feel → party
This isn't to say Professor Hubbard is unaware of what's ultimately at stake.
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what → say → stake
"If you screw up in that position, there is no chance of survival whatsoever …
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you → screw → survival
At least I know that if something goes badly awry, it'll be a quick one," he laughs.
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he → know → ?
The glaciologist is one of 15 researchers from across the world whose vital work is featured in the new documentary series, Ages of Ice.
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work → feature → Ice
Narrated by the dulcet tones of acclaimed Scottish actor David Tennant (Doctor Who, The Hack), Ages of Ice is a three-part program that follows a range of scientists including oceanographers and climatologists as they work on a diverse mix of projects in brutal conditions across the polar regions.
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they → narrate → regions
It would be remiss of the series not to feature stunning landscapes from Greenland to Antarctica, as well as the animals who call these places home.
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who → feature → places
But Ages of Ice isn't sanitised escapism masquerading as a nature documentary.
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Ages → sanitise → documentary
This year alone, we've seen devastating floods in Nepal, reports it might be too late to save places from Venice to Cocos (Keeling) Islands from rising sea levels, as well as a record El Niño forecast
uncertain
it → see → levels
And it would be hard to forget the warning that the world is on track to breach the 1.5C global warming benchmark by 2030.
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world → forget → 2030
Writer, director and producer Karina Holden feels it's too late for "distracting forms of storytelling".
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it → feel → storytelling
She wouldn't call Ages of Ice a "doomsday series", though.
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She → call → Ice
"[Ages of Ice isn't] trying to make people feel scared or hopeless or depressed," Holden explains.
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Holden → try → Ice
"But we have to be realistic about what we are learning about the planet.
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we → have → planet
"We're now having to make decisions, vote policies in and find leadership as to how we're going to work based on the science recording these changes.
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we → have → changes
This sense of urgency is part of the reason Professor Hubbard allowed Holden and her crew to capture his descent into a nightmare-inducing moulin in Greenland in search of answers.
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Holden → allow → answers
It's also why Dr Adrian McCallum agreed to have his arduous 600-kilometre data-collecting journey documented.
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journey → agree → ?
He may be working on the same ice sheet, but the geotechnical engineer and polar explorer from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland is embarking on a very different project to Professor Hubbard.
uncertain
engineer → work → Hubbard
Dr McCallum has just 30 days to trek across one of the most hostile environments on Earth with his crew of four other adventurers and scientists.
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McCallum → have → adventurers
As if that wasn't enough, they must each pull 100-kilogram sleds behind them.
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they → pull → them
Behind Dr McCallum's sled is a ground-penetrating radar, collecting data.
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radar → penetrate → data
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia