On the 6^th of February, the expedition of half circumnavigation in East Antarctica will begin within the scope of the project KHIONE, a project within the scope of the College on Polar and Extreme Environments (Polar2E) of the University of Lisbon. Paula Matos (researcher and project coordinator) and Margarida Queirós (team researcher), both from CEG-IGOT, will participate in the expedition. The project will be developed along the expedition that starts in Lyttelton, New Zealand, and ends in Ushuaia, Argentina.

During the expedition, the researchers will develop a multidisciplinary investigation, pairing biodiversity surveys by scientists and tourists. The aim of the project is to test (1) citizen science as a tool to collect and share relevant scientific data from marine and terrestrial ecosystems and the cryosphere; (2) the applicability of citizen science as a value-added tool to promote environmental awareness and sensitivity of the cruise passengers.

The project was selected in the international ARICE-PONANT Antarctic 2023-2024 call and will be implemented on board the polar expedition ship of the PONANT company, “Le Commandant Charcot”.