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What is it like scuba diving under the ice in Antarctica ? Cold and dark .....
and an epic experience ! Antarctica ..... the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent ..... but what is it like to a scuba diver underwater? An underwater photography team went to document it photographically in 1997, 1999, and 2000, conducting over 150 dives. Led by Norbert Wu, an underwater photographer/cinematographer, a team effort was needed to support Norbert's underwater photography in the difficult working environment of Antarctica. Topside before leaving for a dive site, team members prepped the underwater cameras, pulled together and loaded up the dive gear, survival clothing and gear into a Spryte tracked vehicles or snowmobiles towing Nansen sledges. At the dive site, team members unloaded gear and prepared dive gear and cameras for use. Up to seven underwater cameras were taken underwater at one time, so all team members had to hand camera gear in and out of the water and carry additional cameras. In addition, team members would pose as models for shots. Topside after a dive, team members would load up gear into the vehicles. After returning to the base or camp, tasks included reloading the cameras with film, general camera maintenance, unloading and washing off the dive gear. All this activity made for a long day. The total time to support three dives of underwater photography typically was ten to twelve hours. In the first few weeks of a season, however, Norb was dealing with camera and setup problems, and he was typically up at 5AM and finished by midnight.
Norbert Wu's underwater photography team did its diving in the Antarctic
spring season (largely October and November) before Antarctic summer. In
McMurdo Sound, where all the diving took place, visibility is far better in
spring before plankton blooms reduce it during late summer. Underwater
visibility looked in the hundreds of feet. Rob Robbins, the Scientific Diving
Coordinator at McMurdo Station, estimates average underwater visibility in
spring at 300 - 600 feet (91 - 183 meters) [2]. Antarctic
waters are amongst the world's clearest because phytoplankton biomass is low and
because there is little particulate and dissolved material of terrestrial origin
[1]. Jim Mastro, a former Scientific Diving Coordinator,
measured one aspect of underwater visibility in McMurdo Sound by scraping off
snow from the sea ice at measured intervals. He could see light marks up to 800
feet (244 meters) [3]; however this differs from seeing
reflected light from a distant object because it blasts light down through the
sea ice ceiling like spotlights. As a diver looks off into the distance
underwater, visibility seems to be reduced by the dim light coming through the
sea ice ceiling, rather than the more usual reduction of visibility experienced
by divers due to particles in seawater.
Where Did We Dive in Antarctica ? click to read more |
Diving Operations click to read more |
Getting Under the Ice & Into the Water click to read more |
Gearing Up click to read more |
Photography & Cinematography click to read more |
What's It Like to Work on a Diving Project There? click to read more |
Early Diving Under Antarctic Ice click to read more |
Are You Interested in Diving in Antarctica? click to read more |
| Other Sites on Underwater Antarctica |
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 The National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs sponsored Norbert Wu on an Artist's and Writer's Grant; this Antarctic Diving page is a direct result of that sponsorship and Norbert Wu's efforts. Click here for a look at other work of Norbert Wu. |
| Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Photographs © Norbert Wu, Peter Brueggeman, & M Dale Stokes. Photographs may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Norbert Wu, Peter Brueggeman, & M Dale Stokes. . Norbert Wu no longer grants permission for uncompensated use of his photos under any circumstances whatsoever; want more info? |
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