ARCTIC OCEAN – U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Lisa Densmore walks on the ice Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, about 350 miles northeast of Barrow, Alaska, in order to stand polar bear guard. Densmore is a crew member aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) and is armed with a rifle to protect crew members and scientists on the ice from polar bears. The Healy is underway in the Arctic with about 100 crew members and 30 scientists to deploy sensors and semi-autonomous submarines to study stratified ocean dynamics and how environmental factors affect the water below the ice surface for the Office of Naval Research. The Healy, which is homeported in Seattle, is one of two ice breakers in U.S. service and is the only military ship dedicated to conducting research in the Arctic. (NyxoLyno Cangemi/U.S. Coast Guard)