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!

Website Launch - FollowNorth.com

Greetings,

My name is Paul North. This website launches my effort to share the explorations and adventures of diving in some of earth's most remote and wondrous marine ecosystems.

With the privilege of working with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic as an Underwater Videographer and Naturalist, my job is to film what I find on my dives and present the natural history of the experience to the guests on-board.

2015 is well booked. Antarctica. Baja California. Alaska. Iceland. Greenland. The Canadian Arctic. Fiji. Tahiti & Easter Island.

Lots to explore on the site currently. Recent trips to Antarctica, Baja California, and Alaska are posted now.

FollowNorth.com

The blog is featured on the website and will update often with stories of marine wildlife encounters.

To begin, a link to Diving Alaska - a video collaboration using my footage and the music of the very talented composer - Vin Gast

Follow along to join me in the experience.

Join FollowNorth's email list for updates.

Inhale. Exhale. Evolve. - 2014 in Review

Greetings, my name is Paul North and I work as Undersea Specialist with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic filming and photographing some of our earth's most vibrant underwater ecosystems. 2014 has been a year of great adventure and the coming year looks to be much the same. What I hope to share with this blog is a continued view toward our ocean as a whole.

Increasing our understanding of the creatures inhabiting these waters is the only way to strike back against the damage already done. Thus here I will be sharing photos, videos, and the natural history of my encounters. Follow with me in 2015 as I venture from Alaska to Antarctica, Fiji, Tahiti, the Arctic & beyond searching for life and meaning within the water.

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