Retreat To The South

As the ice in Antarctica retreats, divers have access to places and species that few have ever visited before. But how long will these treasures survive in our rapidly changing world?

- Peter De Maagt

YOUR FACE STINGS from the cold Antarctic water when you take that first plunge. Any exposed skin quickly becomes numb and your heart rate increases. Due to the high salinity, the seawater remains at a stable and frigid minus one degrees Celsius. Reality kicks in: We are diving in Antarctica.

Most people only dream of visiting this magical place. The people that live this dream are few and those that dive it are even fewer. Antarctica is a continent of extremes: the coldest, the highest, the driest and the windiest continent on Earth. Antarctica is so vast that only a small portion of it can be explored, and that only during a period of a few weeks. Most visitors explore the Antarctic Peninsula. It is a landmass covered with a huge quantity of ice; 90 percent of the all the ice on Earth can be found on Antarctica. The effects of environmental changes on Antarctica, although not as obvious as those in the Arctic, are emerging. The annual and seasonal trends show a lot of variability and given the vast expanse that this continent covers, it is sometimes difficult to see the big picture.

THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE 

Nonetheless, change is evident: As the ice melts, more navigable channels of open water are formed. During the Antarctic summer, divers can explore regions much farther south than ever before because the ice is retreating.