Comparing ship versus plane-based personnel movement of Australian Antarctic expeditioners

The introduction of plane-based personnel movement within theAustralian Antarctic programme via the intercontinental AntarcticAirlink to complement the existing ship-based transportationarrangements provided a unique opportunity to examine theimpact of differing transportation methods on expeditioner healthand well-being. This research investigated the response profiles of88 Australian expeditioners who experienced different methods oftransportation to and from Antarctica. Results indicated that themethod of transportation to Antarctica had no significant impact onexpeditioner well-being. In contrast, expeditioners who returned toAustralia by plane reported significantly higher distress two-monthspost-return than those who returned by ship. However, there were nosignificant differences in expeditioner response profiles at 12-monthspost-return based on method of transportation. Implications of thesefindings for expeditioner training and support needs are discussed