Returning 45 minutes later, Marta Lukasik taps the summit of the ice, a sign for divers to say “I’m fine”.
On the frozen Lake Kilpisjärvi, amidst snowy hills near the meeting point of the borders of Finland, Sweden, and Norway, 12 divers took part in a scientific polar diving course in March.
“It’s just incredible, every little detail we see in the water,” exclaimed Marta Lukasik, a 41-year-old doctoral student and diving inspector at fish farms in Norway.
For ten days, a group of international divers with varying backgrounds trained in polar region diving under an 80-centimeter layer of ice covering the lake.
The goal is to train divers for scientific purposes “in an extreme environment,” explained Erik Wurz, a diver-researcher, instructor, and program coordinator organized by the University of Helsinki.
Climate change is transforming the environment in the Arctic and Antarctica at a faster pace than the rest of the planet.
“There are still many questions to be answered in polar regions, with very limited access,” Mr. Wurz declared.
“The number of scientific divers capable of diving under the ice is even more limited,” he added, estimating it at 100 to 200 people worldwide.
