In an adventure of a lifetime, underwater photographer Matthew Meier joined an expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula, where he observed captivating wildlife and large, sculptural icebergs, both above and below the surface. During the journey aboard the research vessel, he also participated in a citizen science program under the guidance and supervision of scientists conducting studies and collecting samples.

Award-winning underwater cinematographer and documentary producer Nathalie Lasselin reflects upon her dive expeditions in the Arctic and her epic project to raise awareness about the state of fresh water in the St Lawrence River, closer to home in Montreal.

On our journey north of the polar circle, my fellow adventurers and I were greeted by an astonishing spectacle. Over 20 orca were hunting an animal so rare that few people have seen them in the wild, let alone had the chance to study them. Using immense strength, agility and cunning intelligence, the orca worked as a team to hold the Arnoux’s beaked whale under water to drown it. This was a story of nature at its most raw, untouched and unforgiving—a story that encapsulated wild Antarctica.

At 2:00 am, it is already daylight on Pléneau Island, a place where floating icebergs become grounded, a graveyard of diverse towering structures of ice articulated in extraordinary forms. In a quintessential snowy landscape, snowflakes of perfect shape fall over me, a moment of utter isolation. I am the only one awake among the few that have chosen to sleep on ice with a sleeping bag, our way of bonding with the final wilderness—Antarctica, the last of our planet’s pristine milieu.