1000m beneath the Antarctic ice, where no human has gone before

Travel to the depths of Antarctica, 1000 meters (3281 feet) beneath the ice in a state-of-the-art submersible: The Alucia‘s Deep Rover. In this BBC Earth clip, we travel with marine biologist Dr. Jon Copley into the Antarctic’s deep sea, a place where humans had never been.

A fascinating note from Copley in The Conversation:

Much of the life-giving oxygen in deep waters across the world begins its journey from the atmosphere here. As seawater freezes around the white continent in winter, it leaves behind very cold and salty water that sinks and flows into the depths of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans – even the deepest water in the ocean, at the bottom of the Marianas Trench 14,000km away, came from here. As this deep water flows out from the Antarctic, it carries oxygen, dissolved from the atmosphere at the surface. So the Antarctic is where the world’s deep oceans breathe in – and its waters are among the most oxygen-rich on our planet.

In case you missed it: Blue Planet II, a prequel set to music by Hans Zimmer and Radiohead. Plus: Collecting the deep sea animals of Monterey Submarine Canyon, more deep sea, and more from Antarctica.