He will fly to Scott Base in the Antarctic early next month, to undertake physics studies at McMurdo Sound as part of a joint research programme on the growth of winter sea ice.
Leaving behind a Dunedin summer, he will experience temperatures ranging from -5degC to -15degC during the Antarctic summer - with worse to come.
Mr Gough, along with Otago physics postdoctoral student Dr Andy Mahoney and project field assistant Brian Staite, will spend the next eight months in the Antarctic.
During winter, temperatures drop to -50degC and wind speeds can exceed 100kmh.
Most Antarctic field research is done in summer and undertaking research there during winter is relatively rare.
Otago University physicist Associate Prof Pat Langhorne, who is one of three project co-leaders, said Otago scientists hoped to shed new light on the crucial role of "clandestine ice", which is formed under the existing sea ice by supercooled water flowing from nearby ice shelves.
The presence of salt in sea water means that sea ice starts forming in the Antarctic about -1.9degC.
Prof Langhorne said although supercooled water was only a few hundredths of a degree cooler than other water, it was believed to play a key role in triggering sea ice formation.
The research also aims to provide new insights on one of the toughest problems in Antarctic science - determining the depth of the continent's sea ice.
More accurately estimating this is important in analysing global climate change, with sea ice thickness also a concern to Antarctic navigation, including by ship-based tourism operators.
The project is backed by more than $900,000 from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
Also participating are scientists from Industrial Research Ltd, including research co-leader Dr Tim Haskell, as well as from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, with co-leader Dr Mike Williams, and fromVictoria University of Wellington.
Mr Gough, an English-born Oxford University physics graduate, recently spent two years living in the Antarctic as an employee of the British Antarctic Survey.
After staying for some time in an uninsulated student flat last year, he jokes that the Antarctic "shouldn't be too bad".
"A student flat in Dunedin is probably the coldest place in the world."
He has learned to take the relatively dry Antarctic cold in his stride, given warm clothing and well-insulated buildings, and is looking forward to spending the winter with "a good group of people".
"I'm quite excited.
"It's really a good, fun time."
