CNN
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Crouching low in one of the coldest and most distant places on the planet, polar explorer Alan Chambers searched for an invisible threat.
Traveling with former Royal Marine Dave Thomas, he spent two months skiing (1,151 km) for two months, from the Antarctic coast Hercules Inlet to the geographical Antarctica. The pair carried sleds stacked with supply and equipment, and extras for snow samples.
“I made a specialized sled with perfect inserts,” explained Chambers. “Every night, I lay on my hands and knees, lying on my belly from camp, shaving the snow at minus 35 and filling the can.
The effort, wrapped in January 2024, was Chambers’ first expedition in a partnership with leading climate scientists at Columbia University, mapping the spread of microplastics and nanoplastics around the world. In the end, he plans to visit the seven most distant places in the world to collect earth, sand, snow, water, permafrost and riverbed silt. Experts will analyze to determine what a wide range of plastic waste will look like.
Microplastics, the ultra-small bits of plastic that break from large products are smaller than pencil erasers under 5mm. If it deteriorates further, it is labeled as a nanoformer that measures less than a micrometer, or 10,000 millimeters. Their microscope size makes them difficult to observe and quantify, but studies still show that they are ingested by hundreds of species, including humans. Recent research has shown that the amount of plastic in the human brain today is about 50% higher than it was 10 years ago.
Although studies are underway into the impact of such contamination on human health, the nanoplastics department is capable of potentially disrupting cellular processes and depositing endocrine disrupting chemicals that interfere with the reproductive system, the impact on specific forms of cancer has also been studied.
Small plastics have already been detected in a variety of environments. The purpose of Chambers’ collaboration with Columbia University is to examine how areas are affected that are rarely touched by humans. Their hope is that the analysis of these samples is already beginning to produce intriguing results, providing scientists with the evidence they need to influence environmental policies and promote systematic change in the future.
“Each mission is designed to push boundaries physically and scientifically, but provides important data in the global battle against plastic pollution,” Chambers, who also serves as a motivational speaker, told CNN over a video call.
Chambers was awarded the MBE, a UK honor of community service or outstanding achievements in 2000 for “Decision and Leadership in Continuous Adversity.” Many of his achievements included being part of the world’s first team skiing Iceland in the winter in 1995, and five years later he led the first British team, walking from Canada to the geographical Arctic.
The idea for Mission Spiritus came to Chambers after a “super-meaning” individual and his family ran a trip to Antarctica.
“He asked what he was doing in my life. It would affect me in 300 years. So I asked him, ‘What are you doing?’ He then said, “I want to create energy from the atmosphere to the planet.” It blew my mind. ”
Chambers undoubtedly made a difference in his time, raising over £14 million ($18.8 million) for charity – benefiting causes such as cancer research, exploring and leading extreme expeditions in over 70 countries. However, this proposition was different.
“This was about putting a lot of effort into your life, but I didn’t see any results. It had a huge impact on me,” he said. “I told the man, “I walked across Iceland, across Greenland, from the coast to the Arctic, so it makes sense to walk from the Antarctic coast to the Antarctic, but I want to incorporate your philosophy and do some scientific research.”
With that in mind, he approached a scientist at Columbia University’s Climate School. He jumped at the opportunity to carry out such valuable research without conducting extreme fieldwork himself.
“I was excited when Allan reached out to propose exploration/scientific cooperation centered around his grand walk across the Antarctic,” said Maureen Raymo, professor of Earth and Climate Science at the Lamont Daugherty Earth Observatory in Columbia. Chambers and Raymo have been friends since they first met on a trip to the Arctic in 2017.
“My friend came over and said, ‘Are I walking to Antarctica? Is there any scientific use that can be done along the way?” she added. ”
According to Raymo, doing this kind of work in a place like Antarctica is “very difficult” for researchers. “As a formal team of still highly specialized and trained scientists gathered this series of samples, there will be a long way to go from federal scientific agencies and logistics planning and support from perhaps $1 million,” she explained.
Chambers admits that he has “limited knowledge of microplastics” before meeting Raymo. To understand their true influence, he later traveled to New York City to meet her and her team in Columbia, he said.
It was there that the research team taught him the correct protocols surrounding how to collect samples and how to store and record them.
The ambitious project is called Mission Spiritus. “Spirits is a breathable Latin,” explained Chambers. “The idea is to try and do something in the end to help the planet breathe on its own, not the life support system we all know now.”
For Chambers, Mission Spiritus is about “purposed adventures.”
“Collecting samples from the most remote areas of all continents provides experts with the evidence and leverage needed to reduce the impact of plastics.
“We are just gardeners of the Earth. And it depends on the scientists to do the slightest thing,” he said.
After completing their Antarctic mission in 2024, Chambers and Thomas traveled to southern Chile to meet Dr. Baseryan, an environmental geochemist at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at the Columbia Climate School.
“(All samples) were still frozen and he transported it to the US just like he would transport a live organ,” Chambers said.
The analysis is ongoing, but the initial findings are shocking, Chambers said.
“The researchers found traces of plastic (from samples) in the middle of Antarctica. The only way they can get there is in the wind system,” he added. “Is it snowing in Antarctica?”
Raymo said the results of the first set of specimens will be completed by the end of summer. “We are currently using snow samples collected by Alan to measure the first continental-scale transects of plastic and black carbon contamination in Antarctica,” she said.
“Initial measurements suggest a certain level of microplastic presence due to fuel combustion and a stronger signal for black carbon,” Raymo said.
The importance of this mission is clear, Chambers said. “It’s not about demonizing plastic because it is used in every part of our lives,” he pointed out. “It’s a way of recycling plastic, so it doesn’t get into the atmosphere or wind system.”
Following that initial expedition, Columbia researchers created a wish list of future destinations for the sampling project.
“When we thought about how to continue this collaboration, the idea of sampling some of the world’s most distant and most iconic wildernesses, communities and ecosystems quickly became our North Star,” Raymo said.
Earlier this year, Chambers set out in Game 2 of the mission with their new team. The aim of this time was to collect 52 sand samples during a 26-day expedition through the skies of Oman, the world’s largest sandy desert, including the strip of the Arabian Peninsula.
“We geotagged the samples and recorded the conditions, temperature and wind direction,” he said. “We took each sample before packing it in a safe case.”
The covered distance was the same as in Antarctica. Half the walk, the rest is via sand vehicles and camels. The sample was handed over to Yang again.
July Chambers and his team will tackle all 18 main The Faroe Islands, a North Atlantic archipelago, is where the lake water and sediment are collected.
“These (Faroe Islands) samples are compared to measurements made using sediment samples collected over a decade ago, and we can also see trends in this remote era of plastic pollution,” Raymo said.
If Chambers succeeds in raising about $1 million in funding, the plan is to head to Chile’s Atacama Desert in 2026 for the world’s most aridor non-polar desert samples. Then it will be in the Comoros Islands. Northwest passageway in Canada. And finally, the Gibson Desert in Western Australia.
“Most importantly, we are raising awareness of the prevalence of harmful plastics in the environment, air and water,” Raymo said. “Alan has a large audience through his public speaking, philanthropy and adventures. Together, we can help raise awareness of plastic pollution while inspiring large numbers of people with his incredible expedition feats.”
