The Scientists at Work blog on the New York Times website featured an article by a scientific diver who ventures under the ice covering Lake Untersee in the Antarctic to collect samples of microbes that live there. Ice diving is uniquely hazardous, but the divers who venture below the ice are privy to a strange, magnificent world of crystal clear water and miraculous light patterns. Paul Nicklen has some underwater photographs taken at the ends of the earth in his book, Polar Obsession.
Included with the article – which gives a good idea of the nitty gritty of what is involved in this kind of expedition – is this otherworldly video that made me very happy:
Read the article here.
