"After a 12-day crossing, and a hard slog through sea ice, the field work on this Antarctic expedition is ready to start."

"After a 12-day journey across the southern seas, the nearly 40 scientists aboard the icebreaker Araon on Wednesday reached Antarctica’s fastest-melting glacier, the Thwaites. An ambitious campaign to study the ice by air, under sea and with boots on the frozen surface is now underway.

The voyage from New Zealand was mostly smooth, at least until Monday, when the ship entered an exceptionally dense area of the sea ice that encircles the Antarctic continent.

For hour after grinding hour, the crew guided the ship through and around the icy sheets, regularly doubling back when the route ahead became impassable. All around was a wild, lunar plain of immobilized icebergs and snow-laden ice floes, sculpted by the winds into peaks and ridges.

The ship listed and shook as it ran up against the ice and broke open new seams of dark water. From the lower decks, it sounded like being inside a washing machine: whooshing, roaring, cascading."

Raymond Zhong reports for the New York Times as part of an ongoing series with photography by Chang W. Lee. [2]

SEE ALSO:

Series portal page (New York Times) [3]