Diving in Antarctic waters

Abstract

The traditional methods of studying the marine biology of any coastline almost always involve the collection of plants and animals when the shore is exposed by the fluctuation of the tides. In the Antarctic, however, intertidal collecting is generally impossible due to the continuous abrasive action of floating ice, which scours this zone clean. Further difficulties are encountered in areas where fast ice extends out directly into the water, leaving no intertidal zone exposed. Thus our knowledge of the marine plants and animals of the Antarctic has been obtained largely through the use of the dredge. Skottsberg, in 1906, provided the first indication that there was, below the action of the ice, a rich growth of large marine algae. Unfortunately the bulk of his collections were lost when the Antarctic, the ship of the ill-fated Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1901–03, was crushed and sunk by pack ice.