Indian environmental scientists on Friday sailed from Cape Town to the Antarctica to conduct research using a dedicated polar research vessel named SA Agulhas, the local maritime safety authority has said.
The scientists, representing the Indian National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, will conduct research on changes in weather patterns, global warming and space weather, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) here.
Most of the researchers, whose number is unknown, are expected to return to South Africa in three months, SAMSA said.
For over 60 years the South African government, through its Ministry of Environmental Affairs, has been sending polar research teams to the Antarctica where the country has a research base.
The base is available not only to local scientists but to researchers from other countries as well who use Cape Town as a launching pad to the Antarctica in the name of international scientific cooperation.
NM/jn/APA