Commute to our dive site: Helicopter version!

Helicopter ride to our scuba diving site?

Not on our original plans either but here we go!

Cape Evans, one of our main study sites with a collaboration with scientists from New Zealand, became an open water site earlier in the diving season. Because of this, we could not drive our trusty Pisten Bully, Sheila, to our site, and instead planned to fly over!

An unexpected early break off the sea ice took the entire team by surprise. Here we can observe the study site completely covered by sea ice in late November in 2023 versus now in 2025.

Images by NASA Worldview Earth Data 2025. To the Left: Ross Island, Antarctica, November 30, 2023. To the right: Ross Island, Antarctica, November 30, 2025

While not new to most of the team, everyone shared Dexter and I’s excitement for our first helicopter ride!

The views are breathtaking; Antarctica truly does not stop surprising us - from the penguins diving into the water to the strong contrast of blues from the sea ice and seawater with icebergs shinning along. It was amazing to have our ride with Andrew and the rest of the dive team pointing out different features of the region along the way as the Antarctic continent welcomes them back as their second home.

After a 15-minute ride, we were welcomed by our New Zealand collaborators and amazing scientists led by Dr. Sarah Seabrook. More science to come!