Scientists voyage to the Southern Ocean to study world's strongest current

Scientists are heading to the Southern Ocean to investigate why warm water is leaking from the current that keeps Antarctica frozen. The CSIRO-led mission is working with NASA and France's Space Agency to learn more about what's happening in one of the most remote parts of the planet. Scientists aboard the RV Investigator are utilising various technologies such as satellites to gather data deep inside the planet's strongest current which circles the frozen content. Inside the current are five whirling eddies or circulations that are puzzling scientists because they are usually warm. CSIRO voyage chief scientist Dr Benoit Legresy said: “Where we are going is a gateway for this heat that is absorbed into this ocean towards Antarctica and of course, we want to understand how this gate is working so that we can quantify how much heat is going to melt the ice.”