Fantastic voyage: scientists return from exhilarating Antarctic adventure

For Shelley Ball and Wynet Smith, there are few words todescribe the grandeur and majesty of Antarctica.

Bell and Smith were among some70 women with scientific backgrounds who travelled therein December, part of thelargest ever all-female expedition tothe globe's southernmost continent.

"I'm still in a state of shock and awe," said Smith, an Ottawa-basedgeographer and the executive director of Global Forest Watch Canada, on CBC Ottawa'sAll In A Day.

"I've travelled many places in the world ... but I have to say, the location, the landscape of Antarcticaand the wildlife there, turned my world upside downin many ways."

The Homeward BoundWomen In Science Leadership Expedition departed Dec. 2 from the southern tip of Argentina and spent 20 days at sea, exploring the Antarctic Peninsula the continent's northernmost tip.

Ball and Smith were among five Canadian women who made the voyage, along with fellow travellers from Australia, NewZealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Germany.

The journey's goals included raising the profile of women in the scientific disciplines, while also giving those chosen for the expedition a first-hand look at how climate change is playing out in Antarctica.

"It definitely defined my path forward, my personal mission in life which is connecting people to nature, especially youth," said Ball, a Westport, Ont., biologist and the founder and president of Biosphere Environmental Education.

The expedition took Ball and Smith to some of the most remote places on earth, including the penguin colonies at Deception Island and American and Argentine scientific research stations.

It was conversations with researchers at those stations, said Ball, that really hammered home the effects of climate change.

"They're saying, 'Wow, you know, there used to be a glacier in our backyard when this station was built in the late 50s. It's [now] half a kilometre away.' And that isreally sobering."

It wasn't all serious: the trip also involved sliding down mountains, communing with penguins, and even the odd snowball fight. Smithshared photos and videos from Antarcticaon Twitter, coupled with verses in haiku.

The expedition also involved mentorship training on how to become better scientific leaders and communicators, and both Ball and Smith say they hope to use those skills now that they're back in Canada.

They also say they're planning a return voyage at some point.

"I left a piece of my heart in Antarctica," Ball said. "You can't go to that landscape and not have it affect you."