A cruise ship scientist who has been sailing into the most barren, remote continent in the world is still moved close to tears by the sheer beauty of the place.
Dr Verena Meraldi has a job most people can only dream of. She is the cruise industry’s first chief scientist, overseeing the Science and Education program at Hurtigruten Expeditions (HX). Since 2007 she has been sailing aboard the Norwegian cruise line's ships down from the coast of South American, through the fearsome Drake Passage and on to Antarctica.
The population of the remote continent is very different to that of the other six. No native people live there, only scientists bunked up in a few, internationally run bases. The only planes that fly over are dropping off supplies or ferrying well-to-do Australians on circular flights designed purely to survey the majesty of the place. The researchers' only other company comes in the form of cruise ship passengers who have bravely chugged into the icy wilderness.
Over the past three decades interest in the world's least visited continent has increased enormously. Between 1992 and 2020, the number of tourists arriving rose ten-fold, reaching 75,000 in the 2019-20 season and then 104,897 a year on, reports the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Since the first adventurous sightseers hitched lifts aboard research station supply ships in the 1950s, tourism to Antarctica has been a little unusual. The roughness of the sea and changeable nature of the weather means holidaymakers have to brave seriously massive waves and a possible bout of seasickness. There is very little to take home with you as memorabilia beyond little penguin statuettes sold at the souvenir shop at Bellingshausen Antarctic research station on King George Island. Due to strict international limits, half of tourists don't ever make it off their cruise ships onto land, while many others opt to punish themselves by plunging momentarily into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean.
In short, it is not your normal holiday.
Dr Meraldi has been involved in this unusual tourism market for 17 years, playing a key role in a part of it that is core to the appeal of an Antarctic holiday for many. A large number of Antarctic tourists end up getting involved in citizen science projects whereby they help collect invaluable samples that contribute to verified studies or head out on special exhibitions with the professionals.
"When we decided to bring some microscopes onboard it was amazing to see the excitement among the guests, to see what is in a drop of ocean water for example. I have found that people are so open to learning in different ways," Dr Meraldi said.
"My role has been to oversee the creation of these science centres, and also to establish scientific collaborations with research institutions so they can come onboard to observe and collect samples. In exchange we ask them to speak to our guests."
The Norwegian cruise company has three ships in the region for five months of the year, meaning it's in an ideal spot to help the huge number of scientists keen to conduct research there who do not have specific vessels to take them down to the frigid depths of the Southern Hemisphere.
Many of them are in the region to observe the moving ice sheets of a continent which is changing far faster than most predicted. "The most striking thing I have observed is the shifting of the penguin populations. Adélie penguins are susceptible to sea ice conditions and they feed mainly on krill," Dr Meraldi continued.
"The populations have been moving further south. One good example is Peterman Island.The first time I was there there was a colony there, now there is barely a pair. Gentoo penguins have taken over as they are more general feeders.
"Also, the ice caps have been retreating. Last year, there was the lowest sea ice ever recorded in Antarctica. It has an impact on everything else. We have also seen huge tabular icebergs and ice sheets collapsing. We thought Antarctica, being so big, was more or less protected from climate change. That it was not warming up as quickly. We now know it is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet."
Dr Meraldi says that most cruisers have similar reactions when in this most inhospitable, awe-inspiring and increasingly vulnerable part of the world for the first time. "The first thing that happens to you when you get to Antarctica is you're overwhelmed by its sheer beauty," she continued.
"It is wild, there is no human infrastructure. It is a very strong personal experience. It is still covered in ice and you see penguins. We try to explain the ecosystem through the trip, the wildlife, the effects of climate change, so passengers understand better what is happening.
"Then we see them asking themselves 'is it okay for us to be here or should we avoid coming?'"
When it comes to answering that difficult question, Dr Meraldi finds guidance in the words of David Attenborough: “No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced”.
The scientist continued: "When you see the effect it has on people, they want to do something at home. We are slowly but surely destroying our planet, but this life changing trip makes people want to do something about it."
When it comes to the specific Antarctic experience that has moved her the most, Dr Meraldi recalled the time she witnessed a truly magnificent display of whale activity. "Humpbacks work in groups when they're feeding," she explained, also noting how passengers often take part in a spotting project called Happywhale.
"They dive and then they start blowing air and swimming in circles towards the surface. They trap the krill and then swim upwards. It is amazing. It makes you really want to cry to see how whales can be."
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