Click an image for a high-resolution version. | Home The Sverrefjell volcano at 80° N on Svalbard (Norway) erupted through a thick ice sheet about 1 million years ago. Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik/AMASE H.E.F. Amundsen (PGP) and A. Steele (CIW) remove debri to expose blue ice in volcanic vents at Sverrefjell volcano. Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik/AMASE L. Benning (Leeds) monitors sterile conditions in an ice coring tool. Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik/AMASE A. Steele (CIW) examines an ice coring tool protruding into blue ice. Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik/AMASE Trapped mineral fragments associated with microbial communities appear inside blue ice. Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik/AMASE M. Fries (CIW) operates a handheld microbial detection device. Photo: Ivar Midtkandal/AMASE E. Vicenzi (SI), J. Eigenbrode (CIW) and A. Steele (CIW) search for fossil biomarkers in 780-million-year-old sediments (stromatolites). Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik/AMASE