56 | Viking Explorer Society News
Two purpose-built ships, Viking Polaris and
Viking Octantis, are up to the challenge. In
addition to 189 luxurious staterooms, each
ship carries a submarine (yellow, naturally),
onboard research labs, Special Operations
Boats built to military specs and the best
expedition equipment that money can buy.
The hardware is essential, but it's the human
resources - senior scientists in fields as diverse
as glaciology, whale genetics, volcanology
and oceanography - that bring hundreds
of combined years of scientific knowledge on board. Lectures
in the Aula, the panoramic state-of-the-art auditorium, are so
well-attended it's sometimes a challenge to find two empty seats
together. One presentation on whales is repeatedly interrupted by
actual whales cavorting in the waters surrounding the ship.
In between dips in the pool, Nordic spa treatments and lobster dinners,
guests are encouraged to ask countless questions and to get their
hands dirty, if they wish, collecting plankton from the sea or mashing
up bait in the lab. While some are content with Zodiac rides to shore
and close encounters with curious penguins (we see thousands), many
relish the opportunity to learn even more about the natural world in
the most spectacularly pristine location imaginable.
"We want to totally transform marine
science," says Dr Damon Stanwell-Smith,
Head of Science & Sustainability for Viking
Expeditions. "We have the ability to do
world-class research on our ships."
The former executive director of
International Association of Antarctic Tour
Operators, Stanwell-Smith is a marine
scientist who has conducted research for
the British Antarctic Survey, as well as the
Balloons are released
simultaneously from hundreds
of locations worldwide,
gathering data that is used
for research and next-day
weather forecasts from
Sydney to Siberia.
