Katie MacIntosh had dreamt of visiting Antarctica her whole life, but the first time she set foot on the world’s southernmost continent, things did not go as planned.
She decided to snorkel from her zodiac to land, but immediately realized her wetsuit was leaking.
“So there was a mix of physical pain, but also the internal emotion of just stepping foot on a continent that so few people will ever step on … especially women, women who work in science. So few have been there. So it was really an emotional day for me,” she said with a laugh as she recalled the feeling.
The moment was one of many that three geoscientists from Nova Scotia experienced during a month-long research expedition to Antarctica.
Two dozen women from around the world who are experts in a variety of fields made the trip, led by Sea Women Expeditions, to study the effects of climate change.
These women went on a research trip to Antarctica. Here’s what they want others to know
By chance, three of the four people leading the underwater robotics work were from the province. The women say it’s a reflection of Nova Scotia’s strong work in ocean science.
“Really for explorers and anyone who works in ocean sciences, it’s the dream,” said MacIntosh, who is from Antigonish but works in London, England.
She’s a marine geomatics engineer who looked after the planning and technology on the trip.
“To be able to go as part of an all-female team and successfully conduct science in such a remote place, with really harsh environments and to deploy equipment there when most places never even see this equipment there was really special to me.”
The team spent weeks scuba diving and snorkelling while collecting data under the water.
The scientists studied the behaviour of leopard seals, tested whale bones and mapped glaciers. While the work was serious, they also wanted to represent their home, deploying robotic gear from a zodiac while playing Maritime tunes on a speaker.
“We had a kitchen party on our zodiac every day so it was really, we brought our Maritime spirit with us down south,” joked Heather Pearce, who is from Chester.
She works as a geoscientist consultant with WSP Canada, and was tasked with scuba diving along the glaciers to gather data on benthic marine life — organisms living near the sea floor.
“To be able to get off the boat and slowly descend into the water, it was something that I will hold so dear to my heart.”
Denise Brushett, who is originally from the Lake Ainslie area but now lives in Halifax, specializes in mapping.
She entered the field because of her love of glaciers, and said seeing the ice in Antarctica was a life-changing moment.
“Everything was so bright and I guess I cried. It took your breath away. And then there was whales jumping and big icebergs and it kind of set this really surreal picture.”
She said it was shocking to compare old maps of the remote part of the world to the current reality, a result of melting ice.
She said they came upon newly formed lagoons.
“You could see a lot of recent retreat. That was marked with fresh ridges and fresh boulders.”
Brushett said she now feels a responsibility to talk to people about what they witnessed on the journey.
They’ll spend the next year analyzing the data and speaking in schools to help raise awareness about climate change.
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