href="http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/brazil/resources/brazil-geography.html"> Ministry of the Environment and the Secretariat to the Interministerial Commission for Marine Resources. It allowed to explore the interior of an Antarctic continent of 13.6 million km2, which plays an important role in controlling the climate in South America. This expedition returned to the Brazilian participation in the International Polar Year. The group started shipping on 20 November in Sao Paulo. The base of the Crystal Desert expedition was installed at Mount Patriot, to 2157 km south of the station Comandante Ferraz, installed by Brazil on the coast of the Antarctic continent there are more than ten years. Mount Patriot is also located at 1083 km from the geographic South Pole (coordinates 80 ° 19'S, 81 ° 16'W). At these latitudes and at this time of year the sun shines 24 hours on 24, the altitude is 920 meters above sea level, and the temperature is around minus 30 degrees Celsius. The team left in Antarctica with over 100 tons of equipment were transported by air. Arriving on the night of 1 December 2008, the first task was to set up tents in polar snow, isolate, and organize everyday life: the snow, food and toilets. It was anticipated that all waste is taken to return. No health problem has been deplorable in the team. On 8 December 2008, four researchers of the group have traveled 300 kilometers, up to one of the least explored regions of Antarctica, called the Mount Johns, at 2200 meters (coordinates 79 ° 37'S, 91 ° 14 ' W). There, they remained isolated for 10 days and have collected ice cores (up to 45 and 95 meters deep), which will be analyzed in Brazil and abroad. The air quality can be assessed from these samples, looking for example the presence of ash. According to Jefferson Cardia Simoes, ice cores reveal information on changes in climate and atmospheric composition throughout the last 500 years. Professor Simoes hope that this expedition will contribute to climate change studies in the framework of international programs. The researchers began their return to South America on 7 January and arrived in Brazil on 18 January 2009.