Under Antarctic Ice | About | Nature

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.

Production Credits

Web Credits

Producer
RONNIE GODEANU

Art Director
SABINA DALEY

Designers
LENNY DROZNER
KAREN MATTSON
RADIK SHVARTS

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
DAVID MALAKOFF

Production Artist
RUIYAN XU

Intern
KELLY WOO

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Content Consultant
SUSANE LEE

About the Writer
David Malakoff is a journalist covering research discoveries and the politics of science for SCIENCE MAGAZINE in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in a wide range of venues, including THE ECONOMIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, and ABCNews.com.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs.

Television Credits

Narrated by
HILARY SWANK

Producer and Director of Photography
NORBERT WU

Edited by
PATRICK GAMBUTI, Jr.

Written by
MICHAEL PARFIT and NORBERT WU

Music Composed and Produced by
PETER FISH

Associate Producer
DAN WALSH
PATTY JACOBSON

Second Camera
D.J. ROLLER
CHRISTIAN McDONALD
DALE STOKES

Additional Cinematography
ROBERT “BEEZ” BOHNER
PETER BRUEGGEMAN
DOUGLAS “DUG” COONS
ANDY DAY

Stock Footage Provided by
RANDALL DAVIS, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, GALVESTON, TEXAS
ROB ROBBINS

Sound Recordists
DOUGLAS QUIN

Scientific Consultant
JIM MASTRO

Audio Mix
ED CAMPBELL

Sound Editors
PATRICK GAMBUTI, JR.
ED CAMPBELL

Music Mix
JOHN ARRIAS

Assistant Editor
RICH PORTNER
MICHAEL H. BEER

On-Line Editor
BRIAN LONGNECKER

Assistant On-Line Editor
AKWASI PREMPEH

Colorist
RON STETLER

Production Facilities provided by Thirteen/WNET New York:

Director of Engineering
MAC PRIVETTE

Associate Director of Engineering
JEFF DOCKENDORFF

Director of Post Production
MALCOLM BRAXTON

Assistant Chief Engineer
VINCE LANCELOTTI

Logistical support for this project was provided by
United States Antarctic Program,
National Science Foundation

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Post Production Producers
PATTY JACOBSON
JILL CLARKE
SUSANE LEE

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Associate Producer
GIANNA SAVOIE

Production Assistant
IRENE TEJARATCHI

Production Secretary
AUSTIN RIPLEY

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Special Thanks To:
Underwater Camera Housings Supplied by Pace Technologies
Kenn Borek Air Ltd.
Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.
Raytheon Polar Services
U.S. Air Force, Air Mobility Command (AMC)
109th Tactical Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard
U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Detachments 146 and 149, Polar Operations
Division
Robin Abbott
Dr. Samuel Bowser
Bob and Cathy Cranston
Jeffrey Cree
Dr. Art DeVries
Howard and Michele Hall
Kevin Hoefling
Chuck Lee
John Losure
Teri McLain
Dr. Paul J. Ponganis
Robert Poole
Rhonda Rodriguez
Robbie Score
Dr. James and Mei Wu
Anton/Bauer, Inc.
Backscatter Photo and Video
Camera Tech
Canon USA, Inc.
Dive Discovery Travel
Diver’s Alert Network
Diving Unlimited International, Inc.
Extron Electronics
Fujinon Inc.
Ikelite Underwater Systems
Sony Electronics
Light & Motion
Lowepro USA Inc.
Oceanic USA
Pelican Products, Inc.
URPRO Filters