Three months on Deception Island comes with challenges.
On November 23, 2018, the MS Midnatsol ship approached a 28-square-mile island in the South Shetland Islands archipelago. Sheltered by the Neptune’s Bellows glaciers, it's the caldera of an active volcano, with black asphalt sand steaming along the coast. Even in the summer, the waters of this former whaling port are below freezing and the average yearly temperature on land hovers around 26.6 degrees F. Blizzards and high-knot gales are daily occurrences, penguins far outnumber people, and bar lichen and moss, the patch of land is completely devoid of vegetation. This is Deception Island. On that early-summer day, the ship dropped off two Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) scientists: Andy Lowther, 46, an ecologist of polar ocean biology and Heidi Ahonen, 35, a doctor of underwater bioacoustics. The pair, a couple both professionally and romantically, will stay on the island for three months. “Once we drop them off they’re left to their own devices, though every few weeks they’ll have ships like us passing by,” says Martin Iversen, the ship’s captain who’s based in a small Norwegian fishing village when he’s not heading Antarctic expeditions. The couple is isolating themselves in the name of sustainability. Their mission is to document population changes in krill, a tiny crustacean that plays a major role in the global food chain by feeding penguins, seals, whales, and other sealife. But as people become more aware of their omega-3-rich oil and cosmetic companies claim they give you brighter skin, unsustainable krill farming and hunting have boomed. (Always support beauty brands with sea-friendly practices, like La Mer.) To do their work, Lowther and Ahonen will attach sophisticated trackers to penguins and monitor how challenging it is for them to get their daily dose of the crustacean. Their research will determine how, where, to what extent, and in what ways krill are hunted and hopefully inform more sustainable fishing communities globally. The couple has previously worked together in remote places such as the Australian Outback and the North Pole, so in a sense, they’re prepared for the isolation. “It helps enormously that we know each other so well,” Lowther says. “After spending 90 days in a tent together, you either love or hate each other.” It’s no easy feat to spend three months in extreme Antarctic conditions. During their venture on Deception Island, they’ll sleep in a tent (with a second on hand in case it breaks) and be completely unplugged, with only a satellite phone network for emergencies. Here are some of the other mental and physical challenges the couple will face on the island.
Bland flavors
Polar plunges and long, daily hikes will keep the couple fit, but diet plays a huge part in staying healthy in isolation. While early expeditioners would hunt whales, seals, and even albatrosses for food, the couple isn’t taking from the land. They need to eat almost double the calories they normally do because the body uses them up more quickly in the cold, so they’ll be consuming lots of bland flavors, Lowther notes. “We’ll eat 3,900 calories a day from dehydrated food.” They have 24 options on rotation, including freeze-dried meats that are prepared with boiling water.
Predatory wildlife
The island has no shortage of animals, including birds, penguins, and seals. Antarctica isn’t owned by any one country—instead, the Antarctic Treaty serves as its government. Some of its rules, like the requirement to walk slowly and speak with low voices, were put in place for the safety of both people and wildlife. Still, every day is a chance for surprise. “No trip to Antarctica has ever been the same and I have no idea what we’ll walk into,” Lowther says. “I’ve seen penguins walking past the yawning mouths of [notoriously predatory and dangerous] leopard seals without being destroyed.”
Low moods
With a weather forecast dominated by grey clouds, Deception Island puts the couple at risk of seasonal affective disorder. The lack of things—people, change of scenery, luxuries—can be seen as both good and bad. “The simplicity of life here is a lovely feeling,” Ahonen says. Still, research details the effects social isolation has on the body and mind: It can shorten your lifespan and leave you vulnerable to depression. The couple has each other, so loneliness isn’t necessarily a given. “At home, we have three dogs who take up our time,” Ahonen says. “We’ll probably talk more on the island, like you would on vacation.” Read more about the NPI’s science studies here.