Land Rover Announces 2015 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Bursary Winners

• The eighth Land Rover Bursary, run by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) on behalf of Land Rover, has been awarded to the "Trail by Fire" expedition
• A modified Land Rover Defender will be used as the world's first #4x4 mobile volcano observatory for the team's groundbreaking field research
• Land Rover will enable the first large scale investigation of volcanic gas emissions along the Nazca tectonic plate in southern Peru
• The research is crucial to improving our understanding of how volcanic gas emissions contribute to the Earth's atmosphere and reducing uncertainty in climate modelling
• The Defender will house a suite of cutting edge instruments including a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) used to collect and analyse volcanic gases 

Whitley, UK, 7 October 2015 - Land Rover, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), is proud to announce the award of the eighth consecutive global annual bursary. This year's winner, "Trail by Fire" went through a rigorous application and interview process for the highly competitive bursary. They will receive funding of up to £30,000 and the use of a specially modified Defender vehicle. 

The international team of six volcanologists are completing the first large scale investigation of volcanic gas emissions along the entire 2,500 mile length of the Nazca tectonic plate which runs from Peru to the southern tip of Chile. 

The expedition is the largest of its kind and will improve our understanding of how volcanic gas emissions contribute to the Earth's atmosphere, and reducing uncertainty in climate modelling. This information is crucial if we want to understand how our atmosphere formed and our planet became able to sustain life. 

The Land Rover Defender will be put through its paces as the group negotiate their way through unpredictable terrain.  The Defender's exceptional off-road capabilities will allow the team to navigate the South American Andes, which is one of the world's most tectonically and volcanically active regions. The remote locations, high elevations and lack of established routes to the summit of its volcanoes have historically resulted in a scarcity of scientific studies. 

The Defender has been modified by Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) at its Oxford Road facility in the UK to create the world's first #4x4 mobile volcano observatory. Notable modifications include aircraft grade anti-vibration mounted housing for the team's Delta Ray spectrometer, an uprated power supply, a synthetic winch, increased security, LED lighting and a side deployable tent for overnight accommodation. 

The team have assembled a suite of cutting edge instruments for their mobile volcano observatory with the assistance of colleagues from across the globe, including specially designed gas bags and bottles, chemical sensors, ultraviolet cameras and spectrometers. Using the Defenders off road capabilities and a specially designed UAV fleet, the team will be able to get these instruments to previously inaccessible locations. To enhance the analysis, the team is integrating their observations with satellite images, with the assistance of scientists from NASA. 

The researchers, from some of the world's leading universities, participated in extensive training at the home of Land Rover Experience, Eastnor, under the guidance of expert instructors to ensure they will be able to cope with the challenging conditions they will encounter. 

Team leader, Yves Moussallam, 27 said "We are overwhelmed that Land Rover and Royal Geographical Society have chosen our project as the winning expedition for this year's bursary. The funding and loan of the Defender make this project possible and we can't wait to get started. There is no doubt that this is an ambitious project but we hope to reveal some ground breaking findings and have an extraordinary adventure along the way." 

Mark Cameron, Jaguar Land Rover Experiential Marketing Director said: "Our partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is important to us as part of our commitment to a contribution to research, education and fieldwork expeditions. This year's recipients truly embody the 'Above and Beyond' ethos which lies at the heart of the Land Rover brand and we are excited to see what findings come out of the research. As we mark the final year of production for the Defender, this is the perfect expedition to showcase the model's contribution to research."

The Land Rover Bursary was first awarded in 2007, offering funding and the use of a Land Rover Defender vehicle as part of a partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) that stretches back more than 30 years. The award is aimed at those who want to go 'Above and Beyond' to complete a journey of exceptional challenge, and for which a Land Rover Defender, with its expert all-terrain capabilities, is an integral part of the expedition.