This deep-sea dive in Antarctica is equal parts amazing and frightening
Mar 13, 2018, 10:14 AM
Thalassophobia is the fear of the sea or of sea travel. After watching this video of a deep-sea voyage in Antarctica, you may find yourself suffering from the condition.
The video is a part of the “Blue Planet” television series and it followed sea explorer John Copley as he took the deepest dive ever in Antarctica and revealed the sea life below.
“It’s such a mix of emotions,” the narrator said. “It is exciting, it is thrilling. And, yet, it’s also slightly terrifying.”
Copley and the crew were dropped into the ocean in their deep-sea vessel and followed the bottom of an iceberg all the way down to the sea floor, about 3,280 feet under water.
Upon reaching the arctic floor, they were met with an incredible number of deep-sea animals: krill, octopi and sea stars — including a species that they nicknamed “death star.”
The video showed the “death star”, which can have up to 50 arms, use the pincers on those arms to capture prey that came too close.
“You’re just seeing the world with fresh eyes for the first time,” the narrator said. “Just on one rock, I counted more than a dozen species just by eye.”
The video continued on to show the beauty of the underwater, and above water, landscapes and the amazing creatures that inhabit the area.
“What we’re doing right now is exploration in it’s purest sense,” the narrator said. “We are seeing parts of our planet no one has seen before, no one has ever visited before.”