After setting sail on the 7th of January 2026, the crew onboard the Malizia Explorer research vessel headed south, the bow of the vessel pointed toward the Western Antarctic Peninsula. While some team members were still tucked away below deck, recovering from their first days of finding their sea legs, Dr. Lea Olivier from the Alfred Wegener Institute was keeping a close watch on the horizon. She was looking for fog, which often accompanies the “Antarctic Convergence” and signals the transition into polar  waters.

by Remy Johannsen