A substantial lead (large fracture) has opened in the Arctic iceshield near the North Pole, revealing the surface of the 4,000-meter deep Arctic Ocean. Leads naturally occur in the shifting Arctic ice, but their numbers have noticeably increased due to global warming. The image was shot in March 2020 from one of the expedition helicopters under challenging conditions (open slide door, -50 °C outside temperature) near the Polarstern, the German icebreaker that served as the logistical hub for MOSAiC, the most extensive scientific expedition to the Arctic in history.