The expedition, part of Mission Spiritus, was done in partnership with climate scientists at Columbia University to map and study the spread of microplastics and nanoplastics across the globe. Chambers aspired to collect samples from remote locations on every continent and reveal unknown information about how microplastics are reaching every corner of the planet. "The researchers found some traces of plastic in (samples from) the middle of Antarctica. The only way it can get there is the wind system," Chambers said, adding, “Is it snowing plastic in Antarctica?” The first expedition wrapped in January 2024.
While his first endeavor across Antarctica revealed thrilling results, Chambers and the climate scientists have curated a wishlist of future locations he is set to travel to collect samples for the project. In 2025, the explorer once again set out to map the spread of microplastics in a 26-day expedition through Oman’s Empty Quarter, the world’s largest sand desert. They aimed to collect 52 sand samples, complete with geotags, and also logged the weather conditions, temperature, and wind direction of the location to retrieve accurate information.
Chambers explored and took samples from all 18 of the main Faroe Islands. However, the only aspect limiting the project is funding. If Chambers and his team can raise $1 million more in funding, the explorers will head to the Atacama Desert in Chile in 2026 to collect samples from the nonpolar desert. “Most important is to raise awareness of the prevalence of harmful plastics in our environment, air, and water,” said Maureen Raymo, G. Unger Vetlesen Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Making Viral shared how Chambers scaled the extreme locations in Antarctica to find microplastic pollution.
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