Expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew arrived in the Weddell Sea aboard Endurance, a Norwegian sailing ship made mostly of wood. Their main objective was to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. Expedition leader John Shears and his crew have been exploring the Weddell Sea aboard S.A. Agulhas II, a South African icebreaking vessel made mostly of metal, and their main objectives are to complete scientific investigations (click here to learn more) and search for the wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance.
To help them predict the weather and navigate the notoriously unpredictable Weddell Sea, both Shackleton and John Shears had/have a meteorologist aboard their vessels. Leonard D. A. Hussey guided Endurance until the sea ice overtook the ship, and Thapi Makgabutlane is aboard the S. A. Agulhas II, using considerably more advanced technology and the lessons learned from reading about past Antarctic explorers to ensure the Weddell Sea Expedition 2019’s success. Click here to read about “Weather at the Bottom of the Earth,” written by Thapi.
To learn more about the Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1916, check out this timeline that the Royal Geographic Society (RGS) made for the Weddell Sea Expedition 2019. Then follow the story map that RGS created to compare the Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1916 to the Weddell Sea Expedition 2019. To see what life was like in 1915, read this article about the Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-1916 and look at the extensive gallery of photographs that were taken by Frank Hurley (the expedition photographer), all provided by the Scott Polar Research Institute.
