Researchers with the University of Minnesota wanted to study optical characterization of glacier ice in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide. They were in need of a fully motorized microscope lens under 3.5" in diameter that could withstand high pressure and extreme cold temperatures.

Navitar's motorized Zoom 6000 lens system, mounted on a UI-336OLE USB 3 camera and accompanied by a computer for controlling the zoom and fine focus controls on the lens, was encased by 0.5" of steel and 0.75" of controlled liquid, and lowered into a borehole 3400 meters deep into ice. Three sets of these imaging systems fit within the 3.5" wide inner cavity.