SCUBA MEDIA
Who knew that ice could be so active , aggressive and seemingly alive ?
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A POLAR SERIES ?
Four years in production A record 2,356 days in the field 1.5 years at sea Over 6 months out on the sea ice 134 hours filming under the ice 38 sled dogs 33 skidoos 28 Helicopters 22 boats 12 reindeer 10 Quad bikes 8 sets of snow shoes 5 amphibious vehicles
2 powerful icebreakers – one in the North , the other in the South
1 Royal Naval ice patrol vessel – HMS Endurance 2,118 dehydrated meals eaten 35 days trapped in tents by blizzards 425 days at temperatures below -15 ° C 598 pair of thermals 38 cameramen Longest time in the field – 124 days
Lowest temperature experienced on the ground – 50 ° C within the ice at the South Pole
Highest winds experienced – 148mph g“ He used three still cameras in housings and a rig of housed flashlights , and he created this amazing complex photographic rig – a large scale underwater time-lapse studio .”
The speeded-up footage is astonishing – the cascade of super-cool brine at first forms an ice nodule near the surface , and then expands into the brinicle proper . As the unknowing invertebrates whizz around on the seabed , the sinister column of ice gradually descends until it meets the bottom and begins to meander across the substrate , killing everything in its path .
Kathryn said : “ Who knew that ice could be so active , aggressive and seemingly alive ? For me , the winter film was all about the battle between life and death , and this sequence encapsulated both those themes .”
For the crew , working on such complex shoots necessitated top quality thermal protection . The water may have been much warmer than topside conditions , but as we all know , water conducts heat away from a living body much faster than air . “ We relied on really good layers of insulation below crushed neoprene drysuits ,” says Kathryn . “ We looked at using dry gloves , but they were awkward to use with the camera kit , so we settled for neoprene gloves topped off with hot water and then secured to the wrist with neoprene cuffs to prevent flushing . We had to use freeze-resistant regulators , but even then I got a free-flow on my first dive .” g
RTop : an ice brinicle which grew in just
three hours from the ice sheet above , reaching two metres down to the sea floor .
RAbove : brinicle under ice sheet ,
McMurdo Sound , Antarctica .
Photos © BBC
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