Mystery Beneath the Ice

Under the south Antarctic ice pack, whales, seals, and penguins are nurtured by a tiny, shrimp-like creature known as krill. Antarctic krill sometimes number as many as 500 trillion (a whale can consume one million krill in a single meal), but in recent years it is estimated that the krill population may have declined by as much as 90 percent. Filmmaker David Sington's PBS-aired NOVA documentary joins 50 scientists on an ice-breaking ship bound on an urgent quest to determine why krill numbers are declining, and what, if anything, can be done about it. The conditions are forbidding, with wind chill sometimes exceeding 50 degrees below zero. The project will involve cutting a hole in the sea ice, and hopefully locating the krill's massive red clouds near the surface, where they feed on algae and microscopic life-forms known as phytoplankton. The health of the krill depends on adequate ice coverage, which is needed to breed as well as feed. However, due to climate change, the ice is freezing later and melting earlier. After the divers descend they find that, far from being a desolate world, the sea teems with life. One diver calls it an "out of body" (almost psychedelic) experience, and the cameras capture stunning, multi-colored views of this cathedral of ice. Apparently, the underside of the ice provides a "phytoplankton popsicle" for the hungry krill. Scientists struggle to remain optimistic, but climate change is a long-term problem and since krill are not likely to change their breeding and feeding habits, the question now is whether humankind can change (notably by lessening our addiction to fossil fuels) in time to save the krill and the web of life it sustains. An informative documentary that carries an urgent environmental message, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)