Extreme diving, crucial to Arctic research

Scientific divers work in the icy waters of the Kongsfjorden, near the scientific base of Ny Alesund, on the Spitzberg island of the Norwegian Arctic Svalbard archipelago on July 22, 2015. -AFP

NY-ALESUND, Norway: How do algae react to the warming of the Arctic Ocean? How is it affecting wildlife in the fjords? To find answers, researchers rely heavily on divers who brave the icy waters to gather samples.

“Without them, we wouldn’t be able to successfully complete our projects,“ admits Cornelia Buchholz, a marine biologist who is working at Ny-Alesund on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago in the heart of the Norwegian Arctic.