My First Dive in Antarctica - Neptune's Bellows

December 2014 - 62°58′37″S 60°39′00″W

After a two day crossing of the Drake Passage, the National Geographic Explorer came upon Deception Island. Part of the South Shetlands archipelago and one of the safest harbors in the Antarctic, the island fooled whaling boats for many years. Causing them to sail on by without knowledge of the narrow entry and the safety therein.

The islands hidden nature is caused by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. Known as caldera, you may already be familiar with this geological phenomenon if you know of Oregon's Crater Lake. But whereas that is filled with crystal blue fresh water, Deception Island is open to the changing tides of the Southern Ocean.

Joined by my team of divers, Oscar Johansson and Jesper Westermark, the Baker and Head Chef onboard our vessel, we set off to dive the narrow entrance to Deception Island known as NEPTUNE'S BELLOWS. With a strong current and 30F water (-1C) it was not a place for any tomfoolery. Not to mention the potential traffic of large ships passing through.

Whereas Antarctica itself is considered a desert we quickly found that not to be the case underwater. Large Frond Tang (Kelp) stretched up to 8 meters curtaining down from the vertical walls leftover from the volcano's collapse.

Barely an inch of the islands substrate was visible. Covered entirely by sponges competing for real estate.

It was not until the late 1800's that we even realized that sponges were part of the Animal Kingdom. Now, the more we study them the more we learn how vital the role they play is in filtering our ocean's water. Here we see a magnified close up I was able to capture off of Haida Gwaii last summer. Note just how many canals there are for water to pass through which feeds the sponge and cleans the water simultaneously.

Descending to 92 feet, we found all manner of invertebrates. The most interesting being this isopod measuring nearly 5 inches as he reached out with antennae to see who was obstinate enough to put a camera in his face. Many more Antarctic dives to be posted, but there is nothing like the first!