An international team of about 80 scientists and crew members is embarking this week on a research expedition to Greenland aboard the polar vessel RSS David Attenborough. The mission, led by the British Antarctic Survey, aims to determine whether the rapid melting of Greenland’s glaciers could disrupt the Atlantic Ocean’s major current systems and influence Europe’s climate. The five-to-six-week voyage is part of the £20 million Greenland Ice Sheet to Atlantic Tipping Point (GIANT) project.

The study follows record-breaking heat across the United Kingdom and Western Europe in June, which caused power disruptions, school closures, and excess deaths. Researchers warn that even small climate shifts are proving difficult for societies to adapt to. The expedition will deploy a high-tech submersible, nicknamed “Boaty McBoatface,” to collect data from depths of up to 1,500 meters where glaciers meet the sea.

The collected data will support the development of next-generation climate models and early warning systems for glacier collapse, according to the research team.