Overlooking the Caldera

Overlooking the vast caldera of Deception Island. This famous island in maritime Antarctica has a wonderful ring shape due to its volcanic origin, with a sea inlet forming a huge bay which is protected from the open sea. Still active, with the last major eruption in 1970, Deception Island attracts lots of researchers working on topics related to volcanism, plate tectonics, soil formation and permafrost dynamics, to just name a few. Two summer operated research stations, one spanish and one argentinian (the latter visible on the picture) provide infrastructure and logistics to enable research on the island.