In 1997, “Under Antarctic Ice” filmmaker Norbert Wu journeyed to Antarctica for the first time on a special grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. government’s leading funder of scientific research on the frozen continent. But the United States isn’t alone in conducting research in Antarctica. Currently, 17 other nations — from Russia and China to Brazil and Uruguay — also operate Antarctic research centers. And each year, thousands of scientists (and even a few filmmakers) get to visit these remarkable laboratories, and conduct studies focused on everything from the world’s climate to the land mass locked beneath the ice.

Antarctica has long been a magnet for scientists due to its size, location, weather, and isolation from the rest of world. It is among the most pristine places on earth, making it a perfect spot to study how pollutants travel through the atmosphere. Sadly, polar researchers have found that even deadly toxins, such as mercury, can travel vast distances and end up in Antarctic snow, plants, and animals. And in the 1980s, they realized that chlorine compounds routinely used in aerosol sprays, air conditioners and other products were carried to Antarctic skies, where they ate a hole in the protective ozone layer, letting in dangerous ultraviolet light. Such studies led directly to an international agreement to reduce the use of ozone-eating compounds.

Today, Antarctica is a key outpost for global warming studies. Cores taken from its thick ice sheet hold tiny air bubbles that have allowed scientists to track the historical buildup of the global warming gas carbon dioxide, formed by burning fossil fuels. In essence, the cores are time capsules that reach back thousands of years, to a time when there was less carbon dioxide in our skies. And the continent’s massive sea ice sheets may act as an early warning system for warming’s arrival: Some scientists say the recent collapse of several major sheets signals the beginning of a potentially dangerous warming period. Water locked in polar ice, for instance, could be released, helping raise sea levels and flood coastal cities.

Antarctica is also among the darkest places on earth, with its inky winters lasting nearly half the year, making it ideal for astronomers. They have built state-of-the-art telescopes that sweep the skies for celestial objects created at the birth of our universe. Antarctica’s location at the bottom of the globe also means it sits at a perfect place to study Earth’s gravitational and magnetic fields, making it a haven for astrophysicists. And in the future, the polar ice may help provide a kind of shield for a deep-buried instrument designed to spot neutrinos, mysterious high-energy particles produced by the exploding stars and other objects. Scientists want to bury the instrument, dubbed “Ice Cube,” so that the ice helps sift out unwanted atomic particles. The ice also holds amazing meteorites, including some that started life as rocks on the surface of Mars.

Marine biologists love Antarctica because its seas are filled with remarkable but poorly understood creatures, from fish and crustaceans that make their own anti-freeze to whales and seals that travel thousands of miles in search of food. And on land, researchers are amazed by the ability of some plants and animals to survive the harsh conditions. There is even a huge underground lake locked thousands of feet beneath the ice, called Lake Vostock, that scientists believe may hold specially adapted life forms found nowhere else on earth. They are trying to design a special probe that could drill and melt its way into the lake and collect water samples without contaminating it with bacteria or pollutants from the outside world.

Scientists also value Antarctica because it is a land without borders. Under an international treaty, Antarctica is open to all, and scientific findings are shared. Many projects are multinational, and a visit to any base is often an experience in multiculturalism, with scientists from around the world sharing common quarters.

Of course, getting there isn’t easy. While many of the bases are perched on the continent’s edge, and can be reached by icebreaking ships in the right season, others are inland, sometimes right at the South Pole itself. In places, travel can require special aircraft equipped with skis, helicopters, and rugged snow buggies that crawl across the ice on tank treads. While traffic may be sparse, the drivers still have to be careful, because you never know when a crevasse may appear before your vehicle and threaten to swallow it whole. And even minor breakdowns can be life-threatening if you aren’t prepared for the weather.

Still, most scientists relish the opportunity to work in Antarctica. A hardy few even stay throughout the winter, spending months in near-total darkness, cut off from supply flights. The scientific rewards, they say, are well worth the sacrifice.

The man behind the incredible images in NATURE’s Under Antarctic Ice is Norbert Wu, an independent photographer and filmmaker who has photographed in nearly every conceivable locale, ranging from the freezing waters of the Arctic and Antarctic to the coral reefs and jungles of the tropics. Wu’s work has appeared in thousands of books and films, and been shown in museums. He holds electrical and mechanical engineering degrees from Stanford University, and did doctoral work at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In 1997, 1999, and 2000, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Wu Artists and Writers grants to document wildlife and research in Antarctica — journeys that ultimately resulted in “Under Antarctic Ice.” In 2000, he was awarded the U.S. Antarctica Service Medal “for his contributions to exploration and science.”

NATURE recently touched based with Wu at his studio near Monterey, CA.

You’ve photographed and filmed all over the world — what made you pursue such an ambitious project in Antarctica?

The man behind the incredible images in NATURE’s “Under Antarctic Ice” is Norbert Wu, an independent photographer and filmmaker who has photographed in nearly every conceivable locale, ranging from the freezing waters of the Arctic and Antarctic to the coral reefs and jungles of the tropics. Wu’s work has appeared in thousands of books and films, and been shown in museums. He holds electrical and mechanical engineering degrees from Stanford University, and did doctoral work at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In 1997, 1999, and 2000, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Wu Artists and Writers grants to document wildlife and research in Antarctica — journeys that ultimately resulted in “Under Antarctic Ice.” In 2000, he was awarded the U.S. Antarctica Service Medal “for his contributions to exploration and science.”

NATURE recently touched based with Wu at his studio near Monterey, CA.

You’ve photographed and filmed all over the world — what made you pursue such an ambitious project in Antarctica?

In 1997, I first went down to McMurdo Station in the Ross Sea, the southernmost marine environment in the world, to shoot still photographs. Scientists had thought that Antarctica’s water, like the Arctic’s, supported little diversity of life. But the southern seas are proving to be full of surprises. While the topside life is minimal, the marine life is dynamic, colorful, and extensive. I shot 500 rolls of film, and those photos proved to be tremendously popular. My experience led me to propose a documentary on Antarctica’s marine world to Nature. Fred Kaufman, NATURE’s executive producer, asked me to shoot the documentary in high definition (HD) video, so viewers could “truly experience the otherworldliness of Antarctica.” So I returned to McMurdo in 1999 and 2000 with a film team.

Isn’t Antarctic diving dangerous?

Diving in freezing water — water temperatures were 28.8 degrees Fahrenheit — can be tricky. But its not as harsh on the gear as you might think. There were days where we had topside conditions of negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the saliva in my mask immediately turned to ice (you spit in the mask before diving to prevent fogging during the dive). My drysuit froze up so I could barely move. But since water can only get so cold before it freezes, the underwater environment is relatively warm and at least predictable.

As a teammate, Dr. Dale Stokes, once put it: “There’s this large, active, colorful community under the ice, and then you come up through a hole into a raging blizzard.” We did have a few problems with the gear, but none of them substantial. Also, diving from sea ice was heaven for me, since I detest boats. Sometimes doing a dive was as simple as loading one of our tracked vehicles, driving to a heated hut over a hole in the ice, and jumping in the water.

Was Antarctica the toughest place you’ve ever worked?

I wouldn’t say the toughest. Typically, when people hear we are diving in ice, they can’t believe it. But in Antarctica you have a base and lots of support. The dive huts protect you from the cold, and at the end of the day, you usually have a warm bed and a meal. Tropical locations often present more problems. You’ve got humidity and insects. Every environment has its own set of obstacles.

It took you two years to shoot the film. Why?

If I had done this film in only one season, we might not have seen certain things. There are some sights that don’t change much from year to year, but some do. You might not be able to get out to the ice edge to see orcas, for instance, or find a grounded iceberg. If we’d had only one year, we wouldn’t have gotten any penguin diving sequences. Also, because of limitations down there you can only spend 45 minutes under water before you get out. So you can’t spend hours in the water to film animal behavior. Then, there’s the weather. You have to be prepared to change your plans at a moment’s notice. So you need time and a backup plan.

What made you choose the HDTV format?

Natural history filmmakers like myself are excited about HDTV technology because it has a lot of advantages over film. My biggest problem as an underwater filmmaker has always been the size of the film loads. A typical film load generally lasts for only 12 minutes, which means that I often have to cut short my dives to reload film. But I’m able to shoot 40 minutes per dive with HD cameras. There are other advantages, too. I was able to use zoom lenses, despite the low light levels under the ice. The HD cameras pick up this very dark environment well. “Under Antarctic Ice” represents, to my knowledge, the first time that HDTV technology has been used underwater in Antarctica.

Does the technology have any downsides?

Well, one problem with HD is that your equipment has to be super clean. Any speck of dust or snow has a major effect on the image. We had penguins jumping up in front of us splashing water on the lens, and even the tiniest particles would appear in the picture. With film, particles on the lenses are far less of a problem.

Are you ready to return to Antarctica?

It’s an amazing place, and there are always new places to see. It really is the world’s last wilderness. Everyone who has been down there never forgets the experience. But it’s always nice to leave too.

Beneath Antarctica’s frozen seas lies one of Earth’s most stable and vibrant ecosystems — and one of its most enchanting realms. Visit a fantastic world hidden “Under Antarctic Ice.”

On the surface, it’s the bleakest of lands, with ferocious winds, flightless birds, and enough ice to flood half the planet’s population if it were to melt. But below that frozen mass, a fantastic environment of indescribable beauty teems with life. NATURE takes viewers into the world that is “Under Antarctic Ice.”

This beautiful film was shot in high definition format over a period of two years by renowned underwater photographer Norbert Wu, who has been exploring the waters beneath the Antarctic ice cap for some time.

To prepare for this adventurous exploration, Wu and two oceanographic researchers set up base at the famed frontier outpost of McMurdo Station, within sight of volcanic Mount Erebus. From there, with the help of a dive coordinator at McMurdo, they carefully searched for places where the ice was thin enough to dig access holes and where the environment below was suitable and reasonably safe for a descent. Throughout the film, Wu and his companions find ingenious ways to bring us a world that only a small fraction of humanity will ever witness firsthand.

Online content for Under Antarctic Ice was originally posted Summer of 2002.