LAST month, Dr Richard Spikings, from Durham City, embarked on a trip of a lifetime to Antarctica with 38 other scientists.

The trip was organised by the Chilean Antarctic Institute and saw botanists, ecologists, biologists and geologists from all over the world descend on this remote corner of Earth to collect samples for their research.

Dr Spikings, a research geologist in the Department for Earth Sciences at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, was there to investigate the geological reconstruction of the Antarctic Peninsular and South Shetland Islands.

The rocks he gathered during the trip will be analysed to determine their age and composition, which are key to discovering the environments within which they formed.

Every summer, 5,000 scientist visit Antarctica and 1,000 battle the winter months.

To anyone wondering why people willingly brave sub zero temperatures, Dr Spikings, 43, is passionate about its contribution to science and our understanding of life on Earth.

“I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to visit Antarctica because very few people have the chance to visit such a remote place,” said the former Framwellgate School pupil.

“It holds an abundance of clues as to how the climate is changing, and about the origins of the Earth and its continents.

“I’ve always wanted to be a geologist because I am curious about the mechanisms that work together to drive processes on Earth.”

Dr Spikings said Antarctica held the key to mankind’s future, adding: “The ice sheets on Antarctica are a sensitive indicator of climate change.

“An enormous quantity of water is locked up in the ice sheets of Antarctica, and if these sheets start melting at higher rates, then the sea level will rise significantly, swamping many major population centres around the world, including London, New York, and most likely Newcastle.

“Monitoring Antarctic ice sheets is a useful way to see how fast we are advancing towards this situation, which is obviously calamitous for mankind.”

Dr Spikings, who will return to Antarctica in December, is also drawn to the remote beauty of the landscape and praised its untouched nature, pristine air and dramatic mountain ranges.

It is not without its challenges, however, with low visibility, 50 knot winds and freezing temperatures.

“During the summer the climate in the Antarctic Peninsular and the South Shetland Islands can be above zero and it can be sunny, which has the potential to be pleasant,” he said.

“The main danger would be falling into the Southern Ocean, which has a temperature -2°C to -3°C. Your survival time would be one minute.”