Renowned underwater photographer Becky Kagan Schott set off to explore a Glacial Moulin in Alaska in association with Seiko Luxe USA.
Moulins are sinkholes in a glacier and are, for lack of a better description, a glacier’s plumbing, which moves surface meltwater deep into the glacier.
Diving these moulins can be challenging since they can often be empty of water. They are also known to fill and empty quickly and forcefully, making them dangerous to explore. Exploring the moulin involved the team cutting a hole through 14 inches/35.6cm of ice on the surface. Pleasantly, it was much warmer once in the water than the surface air temperature.
Even with exceptional safety plans and equipment, the incredibly harsh conditions took their toll: Inflators froze, seven regulators failed in the cold, and even the safety rope froze to the ceiling at one point during the dives.
Over the course of the expedition, Kagan Schott and her team spent four hours underwater throughout four dives.
You can check out a video of her in the Glacial Moulin below.
