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Every morning the scientists had to make sure that their experimental ice holes were cleared, as overnight they would refreeze. This meant clearing away the ice that formed on the surface with a sieve or shovel and also chipping away the sides with an ice chisel.

It was thought that the ice acted as a lid, preventing carbon dioxide from being absorbed into the ocean below. New research suggested that gases traveled through the ice. Here, Dr Helen Findlay measured the flow of carbon dioxide through the ice.

Dr Findlay needed to make sure she did not get frostbite when operating the tools to gather the data. Imagine tying your shoe laces whilst wearing massive gloves on the coldest day of the year. Not easy!

The peeper is a plastic cylinder, used to measure changes in gas as it moves through the ice. Kristina Brown places the peeper into an ice hole and leaves it. The gas in the plastic chamber will equilibrate with the gas levels in the ice, and measurements can then be taken.

Kristina Brown is working in one of the lab tents. With all the equipment, the lab tent looks like it could be anywhere. The socks hanging up to dry and the big polar mitts give away that this is no ordinary science lab. Kristina probably wouldn't be wearing a big fleece and woolly hat in her normal office either.

Two teams of scientists took turns to twist the corer into the ice. The corer had a hollow chamber where the ice core was stored. Sometimes when the corer was lifted from the ice, the ice core broke and one of the scientists had to reach into the hole and pull up the remaining ice with bare hands. Brrr....

The ice hosts many plants and animals. They live in the small channels created by retreating salt during the freezing process. Most of the life in the ice is concentrated near the bottom, closer to all the nutrients in the ocean. Dr Victoria Hill is investigating the amount of algae growing in the bottom of the ice. For her field work, she needs two instruments: a saw and drain pipe cut in half. She uses the cut pipe to place her ice cores and cut them up. She saws the ice core into 15 cm to 20 cm sections. She later places them in glass jars where she will melt them before filtering in the lab.

The scientists at the Ice Base only have a limited time to collect their data. After the expedition finishes, they may have to wait several years before they can return. Dr Victoria Hill had been waiting for seven years for an opportunity to collect data at this time of year in the Arctic. The scientists conducted some basic analysis during the expedition, often working late into the night to fit everything in.

For the scientists to work at the Ice Base, they set up a temporary science lab in a tent. Does this look like your science lab at school? What are the similarities and differences?