Surrounded by ice. When Barbara Seth looks around, she is overcome with a feeling of awe: “There are almost three kilometers of ice beneath me and it’s 1,500 kilometers to the coast.”

In November, she embarked on an adventure at the end of the world – a research project in Antarctica. Together with an international research team, she searched for the oldest ice in the world – and with success. After just four drilling seasons, the team was able to pull up an ice core dating back 1.2 million years. “Holding this ice in your hands is a unique experience,” says Barbara Seth. Trapped bubbles of air provide insights into climate history more than a million years ago.

She discovered her enthusiasm for working in the laboratory, and later for ice, during her time as a postdoctoral researcher. And so she found her niche as a laboratory technician in climate physics. “The Beyond EPICA project in Antarctica combines everything I so appreciated about research: the opportunity to travel and experience the technique of ice drilling first hand,” she says.

In addition to her scientific work, there is another matter that is very close to her heart: equality in science: “The higher the academic level in academic careers, the lower the proportion of women will be.” She sees social expectations and inflexible structures as key challenges. It makes her all the more proud that almost half of the research team in Antarctica is made up of women.

At the end of the world, between ice and snow, Barbara Seth sometimes feels very small – but with her work she is making a major contribution to unravelling some of the mysteries of climate history.