The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star leaves a channel through the ice in the Ross Sea below the Antarctic Circle on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. The crew of the Seattle-based Polar Star is on its way to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2018, the U.S. military’s contribution to the National Science Foundation-managed U.S. Antarctic Program. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen.