Image

Arctic inchworm

Photographer Chris Linder and writer Helen Fields accompanied scientists studying the Bering Sea ecosystem in April and May 2009. Together they chronicled the cruise aboard U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy, for the online expedition feature Polar Discovery, highlighting WHOI polar research. Fields wrote, “This bearded seal pup’s mother slipped into the water when we came along. In a 420-foot diesel-powered ship, we are not exactly stealthy. Adult seals see us and take off with a galumphing, bouncing wriggle. They move like inchworms. Extremely overweight inchworms. They may be trying to draw our attention from the babies, which are often pretty well hidden in the rough ice.” (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)