Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
about 11 hours ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
about 12 hours ago
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
1 day ago
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Antarctica McMurdo Station Observation Tube

Observation Tube

A vertical tube that allows you to see what's going on underneath the Antarctic sea ice.

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Added By
Michael Reinhardt
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Looking down into the Ob Tube   Eli Duke / CC BY-SA 2.0
Looking down into the Ob Tube   Eli Duke / CC BY-SA 2.0
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
A jellyfish under the sea ice   Eli Duke / CC BY-SA 2.0
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
  Michael Reinhardt / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Observation Tube, better known as the "Ob Tube" offers one of the most fascinating views at Antarctica's McMurdo Station. Installed annually into the sea ice, the tube descends 20 feet into the frigid ocean below. Glass windows at the bottom let viewers see the fish, seals, jellyfish, and other wildlife swimming. Looking back up, the underside of the sea ice appears blue-green because of the algae growing on it.

From the surface, the Ob Tube looks a little like one of the pipes that Mario jumps into. The opening measures just three feet across, so only one person is allowed down at a time. (Several people have gotten stuck and needed to get rescued!)

After climbing into the Ob Tube, you'll find metal hand and foot holds for most of the 20-foot journey, followed by a short section of rope ladder. Once you reach the bottom, windows allow you to see out in every direction.

The Ob Tube is also an excellent place to hear Weddell Seals. Their otherworldly trills and chirps, which to some sound like robots or even aliens, travel far underwater.

Related Tags

Underwater Tunnels Oceans Ice Research

Community Contributors

Added By

Michael Reinhardt

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

March 15, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/blog/2015/11/ob-tube
  • https://icyseals.com/journal/2017/12/2/the-observation-tube
  • https://blog.helenglazer.com/2016/03/22/the-ob-tube-a-peek-beneath-the-sea-ice/
Observation Tube
McMurdo Station
Antarctica
-77.849174, 166.662689

Nearby Places

Volcano Sponge of McMurdo Sound

Antarctica

miles away

Chapel of the Snows

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

miles away

Derelict Junction

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station

Antarctica

Places 9
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Volcano Sponge of McMurdo Sound

Antarctica

miles away

Chapel of the Snows

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

miles away

Derelict Junction

McMurdo Station, Antarctica

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station

Antarctica

Places 9
Stories 1

Related Places

  • Mantaray Sculpture and Merperson

    Playa Herradura, Costa Rica

    Playa Blanca Underwater Museum

    These submerged sculptures create a new habitat for marine life and exciting diving experience.

  • Busselton Jetty

    Busselton, Australia

    Busselton Jetty

    The longest timber-piled jetty in the world has an underwater observatory.

  • A Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) rises up, displaying its impressive leg span.

    Monterey, California

    Into The Deep/En lo Profundo Exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium

    Enormous crabs, bioluminescent jellies, and other amazing creatures from the ocean’s depths—some of which are in an aquarium for the first time ever.

  • A sculpture in the 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef.

    Riviera Beach, Florida

    1,000 Mermaids Artificial Reef

    Off the Florida coast, a whimsical world of marine sculptures are revitalizing coral reefs.

  • Eysturoyartunnilin’s roundabout

    Hoyvík, Faroe Islands

    Eysturoyartunnilin (Eysturoy Tunnel)

    Located more than 600 feet beneath sea level, this tunnel boasts the world's first undersea roundabout.

  • 816 Underground Nuclear Plant.

    Fuling, China

    816 Underground Nuclear Plant

    This top secret Chinese military megaproject is the world’s largest human-made tunnel structure.

  • The Lake Michigan crucifix under water and ice.

    Petoskey, Michigan

    Lake Michigan Crucifix

    Winter weather reveals a large Italian marble crucifix drowned beneath Lake Michigan.

  • Park Tunnel entrance.

    Nottingham, England

    Park Tunnel

    An engineering error ensured this cavernous 350-foot-long subterranean thoroughfare was never used as intended.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.