Scientist at Work Blog: A Tale of Two Frozen Lakes

(Michael Becker, a doctoral student at McGill University, was a scientific diver on an expedition to Lake Untersee in Antarctica): We lost about 20 days of our expedition because of bad weather. Blizzards pushed back our plan to land on the continent by 10 days, and once here, they prevented us from arriving to our field camp by another 10. These sorts of hiccups are endemic to any polar excursion, and they can seriously alter the best-laid plans.