When Stephen Noell ‘15 first opened a book about Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton as a middle schooler in Oklahoma, he didn’t imagine that one day he’d be studying microbial life on a volcano in Antarctica. Today, he explores the unknown in an environment where few others have gone, discovering the wonders of God’s creation in one of the coldest, most remote places on earth.
Stephen’s work as a microbiologist takes him to the geothermal soil near the summit of Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world. Erebus is located on Ross Island — connected to the continent by the Ross Ice Shelf, a permanent ice bridge — and stands at 12,500 feet. Erebus boasts an active lava lake inside its main crater, which generates daily strombolian eruptions and heats the nearby soil to a temperature of 150°F. This hot soil, as well as the hot steam from the volcano, collides with freezing air that never reaches above -4°F.
Some of these sites of geothermally heated soils are partially covered by Cyanobacteria — photosynthetic bacteria that require energy from the sun to survive. However, for four months every year during Antarctica’s winter, sunlight never appears. It is completely dark 24 hours a day, the reverse of 24-hour light in the summers. Other photosynthetic bacteria in Antarctica go dormant during these months, entering a frozen stasis. This is not an option for the bacteria found in that hot soil on Erebus, though. How do these Cyanobacteria survive the months of endless darkness?
This phenomenon is the newest research undertaken by Stephen. When not in Antarctica, he lives in Hamilton, New Zealand, working as a postdoctoral research fellow out of the University of Waikato on a 3-year grant. In January 2025, he received a second grant to continue research on Erebus for another 3-year term.
Field season takes place during the summer months — November through February in the southern hemisphere. For the past two years, Stephen’s team flies to Antarctica before the ice has broken and settles into Scott Base, the New Zealand post for researchers such as Stephen. For five weeks, when the weather is good and the helicopter is available, the team flies up to Erebus to work onsite. When at Scott Base, the researchers enjoy internet connection, electricity, hot showers, and prepared meals. During field season, this base is home to about 110 people, small in comparison to the 1,200-person American base, McMurdo Station, a 30-minute drive away.
From Classroom to Crater
As a student at Geneva, Stephen studied cellular and molecular biology, minoring in chemistry and music. He spent three semesters doing research related to environmental microbiology alongside Professor Emeritus David Essig, PhD. Essig continually emphasized that all parts of God’s creation are important, extending down to the microscopic level.
When exploring graduate schools, Stephen was advised to find a professor doing interesting research and ask to join their lab. Stephen was fascinated by the ocean and found a professor in Oregon working in marine microbiology. This was the only professor to respond to his emails — and Stephen later realized him to be a distinguished figure in his field. He was amazed at the opportunity, especially as a graduate from a smaller school. The professor later told him he shows interest in those who come from liberal arts colleges, as they’re typically much stronger writers than those from traditional state universities.
Stephen earned his PhD from Oregon State University, studying a group of bacteria (SAR11) found abundantly in the ocean. Afterwards, he began the search for postdoctoral research work — partially delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic — applying for positions across the world that would allow him to study microbes in extreme environments. Again the Lord made his path clear, with a singular job offer from the most extreme environment: a volcano in Antarctica.
“I never imagined that I would go to Antarctica,” Stephen says with a laugh. “I have always been fascinated by it, it’s a funny story..."
As a junior high basketball player, Stephen’s coach had the players read the book Endurance, the story of 20th century Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton’s ship was stuck in the ice, prompting his crew to travel hundreds of miles to a remote island, miraculously all surviving. As a testament to its name, the book was intended to teach the boys about perseverance. For Stephen, it also sparked an Antarctica obsession.
“The explorer in me that was fascinated by the ocean was also just fascinated by this place that hardly anyone gets to go to. It’s so different from everywhere else in the world.”
Artistry in Scientific Wonder
Stephen’s work as a microbiologist lends itself to artistry. He creates artwork using alcohol ink, inspired by the places he has conducted research: Oregon, New Zealand, and other marine and geothermal environments. “For me, it’s a creative outlet to try to capture a little bit of the beauty that I see,” shares Stephen. “[But] I really struggle to capture the microbiological world in my art ... It’s so hard to bring the microscopic up into the macroscopic without it looking bizarre.”
He bumps into a problem when attempting to capture Antarctica’s beauty on paper, sharing that it's too complete of an experience to stick onto a 2D page without feeling underwhelmed.
“Antarctica is such an otherworldly place, the color palette is completely different. [In other areas of the world] it’s a riot of color, but in Antarctica it’s very muted ... I had an opportunity to go into this ice cave that was formed in a glacier, and it’s all just blue in there with light filtering through the glacier. It’s amazing how many different shades of blue there are ... and the sounds are completely different inside that cave. If you brush the walls, [there’s this] tinkling that you hear when you knock the ice crystals off ... I’ve never heard that sound before, and you can’t recreate it. And the crystals themselves? They’re formed from the seawater pushing out the salt to make these cube crystals. It’s so mind blowing that I don’t even want to try to capture it with my art because I know it’s never going to match up.”
In Awe of the Architect
While many of his classmates chose to follow paths towards medical sciences, Stephen had always felt drawn to studying the environment. In moments during his PhD studies, he wondered if it was a higher call to research medicinal cures rather than studying microbes in soil. But his time in the classroom at Geneva with Essig taught him that stewarding God’s creation at every level is an important calling.
“The world has tried to impress on us that everything needs to be efficient in art and science ... but the stewardship of creation is important. There’s so much to the microbial world that we still don’t understand ... I feel that I’m taking part in that stewardship endeavor — taking care of God’s creation — by finding what’s there and naming it.”
Stephen encourages those with a desire for environmental science to pursue their calling to the field, stating a desire for more Christians in biology and academia. Though conversations like evolution may make the field seem daunting, he says, "Don't let your passion for studying creation be extinguished by the fear of having a hard conversation with someone sometimes. I’m a faithful, Bible-believing Christian in academia and biology. The more of us there are, the easier it’ll get.”
Stephen’s understanding of God and His control over creation has taken on a whole new meaning through his explorations. Recalling a trip to Bermuda, he wonders at the sense of smallness felt when surrounded by nothing but the vast and deep ocean. In remembering the ferocious winds of an Antarctic blizzard, whipping around his tent at -60°F while camped on the side of a volcano, he reflects, “The God who created this — who is so much more powerful than this storm — is right here with me. He cares about me and He loves me.”
A passage from Job 38 comes to mind, when the Lord answers Job with a powerful statement of His dominion over all things. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding,” asks the Lord. “Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this ... Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?” Stephen cites this as the Antarctic explorer Shackleton’s favorite verse, adding, “And now that I’ve been there ... I can understand why.”
By Erika Kauffman '20
Cover photo credit Matthew Stott
Follow Stephen's research at www.stephennoell.com
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