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magazine / jf08
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January/February 2008 issue |
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FEATURE
Polar vision
Paul Nicklen turns his lens on creatures whose lives depend on the shrinking ice in the arctic and antarctic
Photography by Paul Nicklen with story by Monique Roy-Sole
Photographer Paul Nicklen likes to immerse himself
in his subject. For more than a decade, the 39-year-old
former biologist has gained an international reputation for
diving into the chilling waters of the Arctic and Antarctic to
record the wildlife that dwells — and thrives — on the
margin of ice and sea. At -1.5°C, the water is so cold it
numbs his legs and makes his lips swell so much that he has
trouble prying the regulator out of his mouth. Nicklen is
usually alone underwater, often separated from the surface by a roof of ice up to three metres thick.
top
Sea ice is the matrix that sustains the web of life in the
polar regions, but it is melting at an alarming rate due to
global warming. Although projections vary, recent forecasts
suggest that within a few decades, the Arctic basin could be
ice-free in summer. Such dire predictions have sent Nicklen
on a mission to show the world, through his photography,
how animals such as polar bears, seals and penguins need sea
ice to survive.
For the rest of this story, visit your local newsstand or go to our store to buy this issue.
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