Antarctica's hidden sea life could be used for washing powders and ice creams

ITV News

18-06-2025

ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew is the only journalist on board the British research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough, as it takes part in an expedition deep within the Antarctic Circle.
No other British ship has made the journey this far south, this late in winter, since the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance voyage, when his ship became trapped in the pack ice and sank in 1915.
Diving in Antarctica is not for the faint-hearted.
First, you often need to chainsaw through the sea ice, then plunge into the dark frozen water.
Divers have special equipment from fleece underlayers to dry suits and lobster claw-shaped gloves which seal to the dry suit - even so, your hands still go numb.
They have to be tethered at all times to a team above the ice to make sure they don't lose the hole to get back out.
There's also the not inconsiderable risk of wildlife, orcas and leopard seals are the Apex predators in the area. But for the British Antarctic Survey marine biologists at Rothera station in Antarctica, the pain is worth it.
They're in a race against time to understand and protect the marine life that can cope with sub-zero temperatures, before it disappears.
It's estimated there are 20,000 species on the sea bed of the Southern Ocean.
More than half of them haven't even been named.
Marine biologists are trying to understand more about these weird and wonderful creatures.
From brittle stars to colourful urchins and sea spiders up to two feet in diameter, the diversity on the ocean floor is incredible.
But these creatures are at risk from climate change.
To simulate the warming of the ocean, scientists have fitted heat pads to the seabed. They warmed areas by just a degree or two.
Even with that limited rise in temperature, most of the creatures initially saw a growth spurt and then started to die.
That's not just an ecological nightmare; it's also a loss of a potential goldmine of biological expertise. These species may hold the key to everything from new medicines to cold water enzymes for washing powders, and even ingredients to prevent ice cream from crystallising.
'If the Earth warms up, the first places to disappear are the cold ones,' Professor Lloyd Peck told me.
'There's no chance of them coming back. You're losing out on potential pharmaceutical discoveries. But don't forget all the animals people care about, the penguins and birds rely on the diverse ecosystem.'
There's another challenge. Iceberg carving, where chunks of land ice break off and fall into the ocean, is a natural phenomenon, but it appears to be happening more regularly as the climate warms.
As the bergs scour across the seabed, they kill much of the life below. When this happens infrequently, it can have a positive effect, boosting life in the long run in a similar way to a wildfire on land.
The worry is, if we see icebergs carving more regularly, will wildlife still have time to recover?
'A little bit of disturbance is good' According to marine biologist Pati Glaz 'because it makes them stronger and grow back in numbers. [But] because it's more frequent they just don't have the time to grow back.'
She does though hold out hope that scientists can meet the challenge in time.
'I think slowly piece by piece every single person can make a difference there's loads of researchers across Antarctica and the world that if work together I think we can do it.'
She and the team are certainly willing to go to extremes to try.