IPN Mission Departs for Antarctica

Adda Avendaño / Photos: Archive and courtesy of CIIDIR Sinaloa

Researchers from CIIDIR Sinaloa will cross the Drake Passage—one of the most dangerous maritime routes in the world—in the name of science.

To identify the impact that Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) have on climate and oceanographic processes, four specialists from the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Regional Integral Development (CIIDIR), Sinaloa Unit, of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) are traveling to the Antarctic Peninsula as part of an international scientific expedition.

Diana Cecilia Escobedo Urías, Andrea Patricia Manrique Cantillo, Enrique de Jesús Morales Acuña, and Renato Leal Moreno, faculty members at CIIDIR Sinaloa, will investigate how Marine Heatwaves—and the connection between the Southern Ocean (Antarctica) and the Gulf of California—have intensified thermal stress and drought conditions in northwestern Mexico.

According to Enrique de Jesús Morales, head of the Satellite Oceanography and Climate Laboratory (LOSyC) at the IPN research center, the study will rely on in situ satellite data and reanalysis models to assess systemic risks to freshwater availability and primary productivity.

“As part of the Twelfth Colombian Antarctic Expedition, more than 20 scientific projects from universities and research centers across several countries will be carried out, including the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), the University of Idaho, institutions from Malaysia, the United States, and Latin America—along with our team representing the Instituto Politécnico Nacional of Mexico,” he emphasized.

The Drake Passage

The four CIIDIR Sinaloa researchers—together with a wide array of international scientists seeking to understand the planet’s response to climate change—will board the Ukrainian scientific icebreaker Noosfera, a vessel with an extensive record in polar missions.

“Equipped with specialized laboratories, advanced navigation systems, and accommodations for 27 crew members and up to 50 scientists, the Noosfera has played a key role in oceanographic, geological, and biological research under extreme polar conditions, such as those to be faced during this month-long Antarctic mission beginning in February,” the IPN researcher explained.

During the voyage, he added, the expedition is scheduled to cross the Drake Passage, located between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula—an area considered highly dangerous due to the presence of the world’s strongest ocean currents, waves exceeding 20 meters in height, and intense winds capable of capsizing large vessels.

To meet this challenge, which will test both their physical and mental endurance, the Sinaloa-based researchers were required to complete a strict medical and psychological evaluation protocol, ensuring optimal conditions for undertaking such an extreme journey.

The IPN researchers will participate in the project “Characterization of the Vertical Structure of Marine Heatwaves and Their Impact on Physicochemical Processes in Two Regions of the Antarctic Peninsula,” as part of the Twelfth Colombian Antarctic Expedition (Austral Summer 2025–2026) of the Colombian Antarctic Program. The expedition will last one month aboard the scientific vessel Noosfera, which is scheduled to depart on January 28 from Punta Arenas, Chile, officially.