Upper Savoyard glaciologist Heïdi Sevestre and explorer Matthieu Tordeur traveled 4,000 km with the force of the wind on the white continent. A human challenge, but also a major scientific mission to advance the fight against global warming.
« We made a dream come true! Matthieu Tordeur and Heïdi Sevestre have just returned from Antarctica. The 34-year-old explorer and the 37-year-old glaciologist, from Annecy (Haute-Savoie), crossed the most inhospitable continent on the planet in a kite-ski, to advance science and the fight against global warming: a mission of some 4,000 km, started on November 3 and completed in 80 days, in extreme conditions.
Around them, no threatening bear, but during the day permanently, strong wind, and above all, very cold: « I’m what scared me the most, » says Matthieu Tordeur. « Because, on the Antarctic Highlands, at 3,700 meters above sea level, it stings very hard! Up to -50 °C felt outdoors, -28 °C recorded under the tent. « At these temperatures, everything freezes instantly, » explains the adventurer. Plastic, rubber: everything breaks. So everything is complicated to handle. And we can’t leave even a micro piece of skin in the open air, under penalty of freezing. « In fact, we are relieved to have returned without injuries, and with all our fingers! « , smiles Heïdi Sevestre.
The duo left independently for almost three months. « We were more isolated than the ISS! « , underlines the Haut-Savoyarde. « It’s true that the nearest base was often more than 400 kilometers away, » adds his teammate. « There is a form of great vulnerability, because if you hurt yourself in a place with a lot of bumps, where a plane cannot land, you are left to yourself… »
For luggage, the tandem was limited to the minimum, i.e. still four 100-kilo sleds to pull. Inside, a third of food, a third of equipment for camping and getting around – including several kites, adapted to different wind conditions. « Obviously, we couldn’t take a shower, so to wash ourselves, we used small wipes, which we had to remember to warm in our duvets the day before so that they would not be completely frozen the next day, » details Heïdi Sevestre. And to drink, we melted snow in a stove, thanks to fuel oil that we had packaged in small bottles. «
A sentinel of the climate
The last third of the baggage was devoted to scientific equipment. Because the purpose of this mission, called « Under Antarctica », was mainly to collect data, in order to better know this white continent, a true climate sentinel. « Our present and future are in the hands of Antarctica, » insists the glaciologist. It is a continent that is 25 times as much as France, and which warms on average twice as fast as the entire planet. If it lost all its ice, the sea level would rise by 58 meters. Even a small fraction that melts, it is immediately coasts that are nibbled all over the world. Today, this is already the case, Antarctica is losing about 150 billion tons of ice per year in the oceans. So we need to understand what’s going on there. «
Two types of radars therefore explored the terrain: a small one, which probed the first 40 meters buried under the ice, and a larger one, which collected data up to 2-3 kilometers deep. « The objective, » explains Heïdi Sevestre, « is in particular to know whether there is more snow falling or not with climate change, because when temperatures rise, there is potentially more humidity and therefore more precipitation. It is also a matter of mapping what is happening under the polar cap, in order to more precisely calculate the volume of ice, which in western Antarctica in particular, is very sensitive to warming. All the surveys will now be analyzed by German and English scientists. « It will take time, around two-three years, » warns the duo.
Some 300,000 young people were able to follow the journey of Matthieu Tordeur and Heïdi Sevestre, through an educational program developed in partnership with the association Témoins Polares. The two explorers will also testify in classes, including one in Val-d’Isère (Savoie). A documentary series in two episodes of 70 minutes is also in preparation with France Télévisions. « We want to raise awareness and mobilize by making people dream, » conclude the two adventurers. We need to dream in this world. And we must act too. It’s not too late. «
source : ledauphine
