British explorer Pen Hadow prepares to test his waterproof survival suit and survey vessel

A British explorer who was the first man to reach the North Pole solo announced plans Tuesday to lead an expedition to measure the thickness of the Arctic ice caps.

Pen Hadow, who reached the top of the world alone in 2003, will lead a three-person team including a woman scientist on the Vanco Arctic Survey mission, which could provide key evidence on global warming.

"The results of the Vanco Arctic Survey (VAS) will give the clearest prediction yet of precisely how long the Arctic ice cap will exist before it melts into the ocean," he said in a statement.

The latest estimates for how long it will take for the Arctic ice caps to melt range from 16 to 100 years, said Hadow, who will be joined by fellow scientists Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley.

"This will be the first time that such a detailed survey of the ice thickness and snow load will be made from the surface over a full crossing of the Arctic Ocean," said Joao Rodrigues of Cambridge University.

The expedition will kick off at Point Barrow, Alaska, in mid-February and the group will cover 2,000-2,200 kilometres (1,250-1,370 miles) before they arrive at the geographic North Pole about 120 days later, in mid-June.

They hope to average about 18 kilometres a day, in temperatures that will dip as low as minus 50 degrees celsius (minus 58 degrees fahrheit), while lugging 85 kilograms (187 pounds) of scientific equipment.

Their supplies will be replenished about every two weeks, and their route also involves swimming for about 100 hours in water as cold as minus 1.8 degrees celsius.

An ice penetrating radar will make survey measurements every 20 centimetres, while ice cores will be drilled through the ice every 20 kilometres to measure its density.

The Arctic ice cap covers just three percent of the total surface of the Earth, but reflects 80 percent of the solar energy that penetrates the planet's atmosphere.

According to a statement announcing the expedition, eight percent of the Arctic's surface is believed to be melting each year, causing sea levels last century to rise between 10 and 20 centimetres.

"A further increase of between 20 centimetres and 80 centimetres could lead to 300 million people being flooded each year," it said.