Jyotika Virmani

Thank you very much for inviting me, Dana.

Thank you very much for inviting me, Dana.

So this was the first time that Schmidt Ocean Institute has been down to Antarctica as part of our first Antarctic field season. And so the team that was on board was, of course, monitoring the ice movements and on a regular basis from satellite imagery. And they saw the crack of this big, big iceberg from the George VI ice shelf. And of course, they were monitoring it. And normally it takes...

So this was the first time that Schmidt Ocean Institute has been down to Antarctica as part of our first Antarctic field season. And so the team that was on board was, of course, monitoring the ice movements and on a regular basis from satellite imagery. And they saw the crack of this big, big iceberg from the George VI ice shelf. And of course, they were monitoring it. And normally it takes...

a while for such a large iceberg to break away but this one started to move quite quickly and they realized that this was an amazing opportunity a once in a lifetime opportunity because they were only a day or two away from that location And normally it takes scientists months, if not longer, to get to a location where a piece of the ice has broken away.

a while for such a large iceberg to break away but this one started to move quite quickly and they realized that this was an amazing opportunity a once in a lifetime opportunity because they were only a day or two away from that location And normally it takes scientists months, if not longer, to get to a location where a piece of the ice has broken away.

So it was a really fast decision, but it was really serendipitous and we really all needed to do that.

So it was a really fast decision, but it was really serendipitous and we really all needed to do that.

I think the most surprising find was that there was so much life under this location. So imagine this is an iceberg that's 150 meters thick and it's been there for decades, if not centuries, and it's dark down there and sunlight doesn't get down there. So where is this life coming from? Where is it getting its nutrients?

I think the most surprising find was that there was so much life under this location. So imagine this is an iceberg that's 150 meters thick and it's been there for decades, if not centuries, and it's dark down there and sunlight doesn't get down there. So where is this life coming from? Where is it getting its nutrients?

So the fact that there was so much life and not just one type of life, but a variety of life, sponges and corals and sea spiders and just a whole range of life shows that it was a really mature ecosystem. And it's been there obviously for a long time. So that was the biggest surprise, I think.

So the fact that there was so much life and not just one type of life, but a variety of life, sponges and corals and sea spiders and just a whole range of life shows that it was a really mature ecosystem. And it's been there obviously for a long time. So that was the biggest surprise, I think.

Some of the species we know about already and we see them in other parts of the ocean, but there are definitely new species and it will take a little while to identify

Some of the species we know about already and we see them in other parts of the ocean, but there are definitely new species and it will take a little while to identify

what they are exactly but there are so many yet unknowns about the ocean not just about what lives there but also the sea floor itself and what the shape of the sea floor is if you like all of this contributes to that knowledge that we will help us to better understand the ocean

what they are exactly but there are so many yet unknowns about the ocean not just about what lives there but also the sea floor itself and what the shape of the sea floor is if you like all of this contributes to that knowledge that we will help us to better understand the ocean

We know how deep some of this life form is because we have on board our research vessel a very sophisticated underwater robot called ROV Sebastian, which we can put down to about 4,500 meters depth. So in this case, we took it down and we found life as deep as 1,300 meters below the sea surface, which is amazing.

We know how deep some of this life form is because we have on board our research vessel a very sophisticated underwater robot called ROV Sebastian, which we can put down to about 4,500 meters depth. So in this case, we took it down and we found life as deep as 1,300 meters below the sea surface, which is amazing.

How these creatures have thrived is one of the active regions of research now because it's not had direct sunlight and normally the nutrients come from the surface and they fall down through the ocean to these vast depths. So life thriving at over a thousand meters depth is part of the question of where are these nutrients coming from?

How these creatures have thrived is one of the active regions of research now because it's not had direct sunlight and normally the nutrients come from the surface and they fall down through the ocean to these vast depths. So life thriving at over a thousand meters depth is part of the question of where are these nutrients coming from?