Beaufort Sea, Alaska while on a scientific expedition Photography

Photograph by Paul nicklen

 Beaufort Sea, Alaska while on a scientific expedition 

It can be extremely dark when diving under multi-year ice. To add to the darkness, the ice is constantly shifting and the currents gently push you in directions you do not want to go. Due to these challenges, we occasionally dive with safety lines so we can find our way back home. I took this photograph in 2002 in the Beaufort Sea, Alaska while on a scientific expedition. The scientists at the time were reluctant to make any statements on climate change. That was just 14 years ago. Now, as we watch multi-year ice disappear from the Arctic, I can go back to those same climate change scientists and they will openly discuss the urgency, cause and threats due to human caused climate change.