I get chills just looking at the series of photos from a National Science Foundation photography mission and thinking about the survival gear necessary for a human.

The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs sponsored an underwater photography team to dive out of the US Antarctic Program’s base at McMurdo Station, on Ross Island in Antarctica. For three visits in late austral spring, photos were taken on scuba dives and field excursions at locations around McMurdo Sound: Ross Island and the Antarctic mainland. The team was led by Norbert Wu, a professional underwater photographer/cinematographer.

Here is a very small crop from my favorite photo of the entire series. You can probably guess why.

The Norbert Wu collection says it holds more than 6,000 research images and he has been awarded the “Antarctica Service Medal of the United States of America ‘for his contributions to exploration and science in the U.S. Antarctic Program.'”