At world’s end

A thick film of below-freezing air nips at Regina Eisert’s face as she steps off a helicopter onto frozen planes stretching hundreds of kilometres around her. As the chopper lifts off, an eerie silence envelops her; nothing can be heard expect for the crack of ice and the beating of a scientist’s heart.

Regina is in Antarctica, on her sixth mission to research the impacts fisheries and climate change is having on seals, killer whales, penguins and toothfish.

Spending between three weeks to five months away at a time, Regina says an inquisitive mind has taken her to the edge of the ice and beyond the edge of her comfort zone. 

“It’s about the spirit of enquiry. I get to see more than most people and work on compelling science questions that provide important information to New Zealand as a nation,” she says.

Regina works as a research scientist at Christchurch’s Canterbury University when she’s not on the ice. Her time in Antarctica is made up of on-site research at Scott Base and fieldwork out on wild and icy terrain. 

The ever-changing face of the landscape can be frightening. As soon as the sun slips behind a cloud, it can be like a blank white field, easily disorientating those who step onto it.

“This place can kill you. We always have to be with someone, even if
we just want to go out on the ice to take photos. If we’re around Scott Base we need to take a radio with
us to let others know where we are
at all times,” Regina says.

Working in temperatures reaching below 20° is gruelling and the sheer chill of the atmosphere is enough to make ice particles form on tiny hairs all over Regina’s body – even in her nostrils.

“If you pour water out of a bottle, it will freeze mid-air before it touches the ground and packing necessities like toothpaste or baby wipes is tricky because contents will freeze so you can’t use it,” she says.

It can also make work complicated.

“I was taking samples from seals one day and the blood was frozen by the time it reached the syringe.”

Regina is clearly curious about the lifestyle and future of Antarctic wildlife, but the animals are as interested in her. Penguins cock their heads as she takes photos and seals bob like corks in the waters below where she drills holes, their eyes tracing her every move.

“Emperor penguins are very stately, while the black and white Adelie are hypo and will come right over to you, flapping their flippers. It’s pretty damn awesome,” she says.