Antarctica
Environment
'I spend a lot of time at charity do's - always raising money for some jolly good cause. And they are good causes. But there won't be any causes at all if we don't deal with the environmental issues affecting the planet.' Andrew Regan
Global warming
The Antarctic is a sensitive indicator of global change. A small increase in global temperature can have a large impact on the melting of Antarctic ice.
The worst potential effect of global warming is the melting of icecaps, causing global sea-levels to rise and flood many low-lying areas of the world, including major cities and agricultural regions.
Flora and fauna
The richness of the continent's wildlife makes the Antarctic an important destination for scientific research. The penguin is one of thousands of vulnerable wildlife species - from the elephant seal to hundreds of types of lichen. More than 100 million birds come to breed in Antarctica each spring.
Bacteria, fungi and other microbes have been discovered in ancient Antarctic ice. Scientists have been able to revive some of these frozen microbes, some of which may more than 200,000 years old.
Human impact
A number of countries have set up permanent scientific bases on the continent, where the total population ranges from about 1,000 people in winter, to nearly 4,000 in summer.
As the appeal of the Antarctic grows, more people from around the world will be keen to visit. It is therefore important to ensure that the natural, pristine Antarctic environment is not destroyed by those who travel there. Implementation of the Antarctic Treaty Environmental Protocol is designed protect the region from human impact.
'Hopefully, our expeditions will be able to demonstrate to anyone conducting experiments in the Antarctic that you don't have to send a road train out with loads and loads of tracks and bits and pieces. You can move round in a gentler way to the environment: using less fuel and moving around more quickly and efficiently.' Andrew Regan