
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Just twenty years ago, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) would not allow women to camp in Antarctica. In 2013, it appointed Jane Francis as its Director. Jane tells Jim Al-Khalili how an intimate understanding of petrified wood and fossilised leaves took her from Dorset's Jurassic coast to this icy land mass. Camping on Antarctic ice is not for everyone but Jane is addicted, even if she does crave celery and occasionally wish that she could wash her hair. Fossils buried under the ice contain vital clues about ancient climates and can be used to check current computer models of climate change. The earth can withstand a great range of temperatures: Antarctica was once covered in lush forest. But the question is: can humans adapt? As the ice caps melt, sea levels will continue to rise. And, says Jane, the time to start planning for that is now.
By BBC Radio 44.6
209209 ratings
Just twenty years ago, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) would not allow women to camp in Antarctica. In 2013, it appointed Jane Francis as its Director. Jane tells Jim Al-Khalili how an intimate understanding of petrified wood and fossilised leaves took her from Dorset's Jurassic coast to this icy land mass. Camping on Antarctic ice is not for everyone but Jane is addicted, even if she does crave celery and occasionally wish that she could wash her hair. Fossils buried under the ice contain vital clues about ancient climates and can be used to check current computer models of climate change. The earth can withstand a great range of temperatures: Antarctica was once covered in lush forest. But the question is: can humans adapt? As the ice caps melt, sea levels will continue to rise. And, says Jane, the time to start planning for that is now.

7,913 Listeners

376 Listeners

523 Listeners

863 Listeners

1,067 Listeners

296 Listeners

5,576 Listeners

743 Listeners

2,113 Listeners

1,952 Listeners

488 Listeners

599 Listeners

965 Listeners

410 Listeners

429 Listeners

756 Listeners

363 Listeners

471 Listeners

346 Listeners

235 Listeners

326 Listeners

3,245 Listeners

116 Listeners

73 Listeners

689 Listeners

528 Listeners

630 Listeners

394 Listeners

239 Listeners

54 Listeners

80 Listeners

96 Listeners