The trip was led by 2041, an organization with a mission to protect Antarctica. Its name comes from the year in which the Environmental Protocol of the Antarctic Treaty will be reviewed.

Founded by Robert Swan, the organization holds annual expeditions for students, business representatives and experts in order to give a firsthand educational account of the effects of global warming.

Ziegler and Gould left for the Inspire Antarctic Expedition aboard an oceanological research vessel, the MV Ushuaia, on March 12 and returned to the United States on March 27. Upon their return, the two were excited to speak about sustainable energy and climate change.

"We don't see effects of it in Pennsylvania but when you are in such a vulnerable environment like Antarctica you actually see the effects of climate change before your eyes," Ziegler said.

Ziegler, 20, of Cochranville is a political science senior at Temple University. Gould, 20, of West Chester is an international relations sophomore at West Chester University.

Ziegler and Gould said their voyage back through the Drake Passage between Antarctica and South America was very turbulent.

"The crew makes trips from November to March and they said the passage was the worst it was all season," Ziegler said.

According to Ziegler, the crew said waves reached about 30 feet and winds blew about 65 knots. The violent waters lasted about two days, during which a large rogue wave hit the ship, she said.

Gould said the force of the wave caused furniture not attached to the floor in the lounge to shift and caused her and other passengers to be thrown. The crew closed the deck and the roll of the ship made it difficult to walk or shower, Gould said.

"Everyone was thrown across the room. Some people were very scared and some of us were excited," Ziegler said.

Ziegler and Gould said they were among the excited voyagers. The expedition was both girls' first time on boat for an extended period of time.

Strong winds and snow greeted the ship's Antarctic arrival and the boarding of zodiac vessels to go ashore was delayed due to 40-knot winds.

Throughout their daily expeditions, the two saw humpback whales breeching, pods of killer whales, elephant and leopard seals, albatross and gentoo and chinstrap penguins.

At one point, the expedition brought the women to a penguin colony where hundreds of penguins were molting, shedding their old feathers. Ziegler said the penguins were friendly toward their human visitors.

"We were supposed to give them about five meters [about five yards] of space but they would come right up to us," Ziegler said of the flightless birds.

Ziegler and Gould hiked and camped on the Antarctic Peninsula along with the other expedition members. The group was given an option to camp in tents or outdoors and Ziegler opted to rough it.

Ziegler said she remained warm all night but woke up to a crisp Antarctic sunrise with tears frozen around her eyes at daybreak.

"The sunrise and sunsets were breathtaking. I wish I could wake up to that every day," Ziegler said.

While in Antarctica, the expeditioners witnessed a large portion of an ice shelf crumble into the ocean. Gould compared the noise to thunder.

"Though it was really exciting to see the collapse of the iceberg, the point is that we want to stop that from happening," Gould said.

Between Antarctic expeditions, leadership and environmental workshops were held. Gould said the workshops focused on how to incorporate sustainable energy practices back home and how to get others to think globally and act locally.

Windy Culver, managing director of 2041, accompanied the crew and voyagers on the trip. Culver said Swan used solar, thermal and wind energy in Antarctica for two weeks prior to the expedition's arrival to prove living on sustainable energy is possible in any environment.

"Robert's lifelong missions are to engage others to make a difference, to preserve this natural place and to move towards more sustainable energy. We are trying to inspire people to make better sustainability energy practices in best ways that they can," Culver said.

Participants in the expedition are encouraged by 2041 to join a worldwide Voyage for Cleaner Energy led by Swan. The voyage set sail from San Francisco last week and is estimated to dock on the East Coast in the fall. Ziegler and Gould will join the voyage on the East Coast to speak on sustainable energy on college campuses. The two are already scheduling individual presentations for groups or organizations locally.