Science magazine speaks with Mayewski about Everest expedition
Science magazine spoke with Paul Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, for the article “What’s it like to install a weather station at the top of the world?” Mayewski and Tom Matthews, a climate scientist at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, were interviewed about their experiences as members of the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Extreme Expedition to Mount Everest. “You’re totally dependent on oxygen at higher elevations. At the top of Everest, the air is a lot thinner than at sea level,” said Mayewski. “Imagine trying to do something relatively complicated with about a third of the oxygen you would normally have. You’re also confined by an oxygen mask, heavy clothing, winds whipping around you, and lots of other people nearby. It’s probably one of the most extreme environments you can think about working in.”