Scientists onboard a Zodiac near Siple Island, Antarctica, during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. The area was relatively ice-free at the time of the scientists’ visit, allowing an unexpected opportunity to collect vegetation and geological samples from nearby Lauft and Maher Islands.

© Bradley Markle (CC BY 4.0)

Scientists returning to the ship from Mount Siple, Marie Byrd Land, after drilling an ice core during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017.

© Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Scientists sometimes need a different mode of transport to reach remote test sites in the Bhutan Himalayas. Sonam Wangchuck's project Bathymetric survey of glacial lakes; GPS measurements of lake shoreline; ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of moraine dams and glacier tongues; turbidity and surface temperature measurements was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2018.

© Sonam Wangchuck

Aerial view of the rarely-visited, volcanic Balleny Islands, taken during the second leg of the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE). Their location straddling the Antarctic Circle gave scientists the perfect opportunity to drill the first ice core from Young Island to better understand changes in circumpolar westerly winds.

© Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Marine invertebrate collected from the sea floor during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. Organisms living on the sea floor capture carbon by feeding on microscopic plankton and other animals, playing a key role in the carbon cycle.

© Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Maintenance of the scientific instruments is a daily task for the scientists at Swiss Camp Greenland.

© Konrad Steffen

View of the Bowdoin Glacier and recently-calved icebergs, Northwestern Greenland. Eef van Dongen's project Monitoring of the calving glacier Eqip Sermia, West Greenland, using UAVs was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2018.

© Eef van Dongen

MOCCHA campaign guard ensures the safety of the crew, mainly against polar bears, as it is usual during fieldworks in the high Arctic. Andrea Baccarini's project Participation in the MOCCHA campaign in the high Arctic onboard of the ODEN icebreaker was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2018.

© Andrea Baccarini

Fieldwork was carried out to measure the accumulation rates of Himalayan glaciers. Evan Miles’ project Accumulation via Borehole teLeviewing at high Elevation (ABLE): proof of concept was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2019.

© Evan Miles

Shadows of Mount Nils Larsen does not cover the field camp since the Sun does not set during these beautiful Antarctic summer nights. Akçar Naki's project DEAIS: Changes in the Drainage Pattern of the Eastern Antarctic Ice Sheet through Time was supported by the SPI Exploratory Grant, 2018.

© Akçar Naki

Rocky and snowy Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, is a strategic location for collection of data and samples. Alfonso Ferrone's project Summer campaign at “Princess Elisabeth Antarctica” research station, in the Dronning Maud Land region of East-Antarctica was supported by the Polar Access Fund, 2019.

© Alfonso Ferrone

Launching of the autonomous submersible ROPOS, in the Southern Ocean, during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) 2016-2017. This technology was used to collect samples from the seabed and benthic organisms while filming the process simultaneously.

© Parafilms/EPFL. Photographer: Noé Sardet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)