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(upbeat music)

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(speaking foreign language)

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We're about to land in Antarctica,

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a mysterious and unexplored continent.

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Here we are.

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We're stopping for a little bit

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to see what the scientists are up to.

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My name is Rosario Jimenez Gili.

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I'm a filmmaker and science communicator.

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Please join me on this journey.

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Antarctica is a very precious continent

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to the scientific community

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for being both a remote, unexplored land

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and a place to study signs relating to climate change.

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Thanks to the Chilean Antarctic Institute

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and the research center Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems

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of High Latitudes, I'm luck enough to accompany

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a group of scientists during the expedition known as ECA55.

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We're right in front of

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the recently-christened iceberg, Oscar.

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We'll be staying at King George Island,

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at the Chilean research station Julio Escudero,

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on the shores of Fildes Peninsula.

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We're having lunch as Escudero Base.

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They made potato pie.

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How's the food, guys?

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Are you having a good time in Escudero Base?

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Sure.

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I saw firsthand what was required

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of scientific research, as well as all of the human aspects

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that are required for an expedition to Antarctica.

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That, less than a month.

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Less than one month?

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Wow.

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And will it eventually melt?

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(delicate piano music)

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Antarctica, the inhospitable white continent

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that we see today was once a land of lush,

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subtropical forests full of palm trees, ferns and conifers.

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Forests began to gain a foothold in Antarctica

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298 million years ago, during a period known as the Permian,

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when the weather turned warmer

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and the glaciers of the Ice Age began to recede.

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In more recent eras, fossils have revealed

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the existence of others forests of ferns and conifers,

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home to the majestic dinosaurs who roamed

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during the beginning of the Jurassic Period.

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(dinosaur growls)

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(bright music)

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How these forests, similar to ones

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we see in today's temperate zones,

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survived in the polar winter's darkness

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is a mystery scientists have not been able to solve.

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Pangea was a supercontinent that formed

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during the end of the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic Eras.

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(mysterious music)

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Formed by the movement of tectonic plates

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300 million years ago,

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it united all the continents into one.

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100 million years later, it began to fracture and disperse,

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creating the continents we see today.

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35 million years ago, the Southern Ocean is formed,

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when South America separates from Antarctica,

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allowing the merger of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

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through Drake Passage.

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Here, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is born.

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One of the most important marine currents

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is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current,

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which carries water around Antarctica.

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Since there's no continental barrier in this region,

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we can say it's the only current

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that circumnavigates around the entire planet.

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The Antarctic Circumpolar Current

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is the current responsible

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for connecting the major ocean bodies:

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the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans,

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flowing eastward in a clockwise direction.

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This current is generated by wind,

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and it's by far the most intense current on the planet.

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Very deep water is formed, known as Antarctic bottom water.

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This water mass, when it's in contact with the atmosphere,

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achieves a type of equilibrium, balancing CO2

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and balancing other greenhouse gases.

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When this water ultimately sinks,

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it then takes those gases from the atmosphere

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and carries them to the ocean floor.

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As a result, it mitigates global warming

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and slows increases in atmospheric CO2.

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This is already my sixth day in Antarctica,

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and I must admit, it's the first

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that I'm really enjoying it.

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There were several groups of scientists

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studying different aspects of climate change,

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from marine biology, glaciology,

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and oceanography, among other subjects.

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(upbeat music)

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I'll start sharing my experience

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with a group of physical oceanographers,

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where I was lucky enough to embark on the Carpooch,

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a vessel belonging to the Chilean Antarctic Institute.

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(moving string music)

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Planet Earth, perhaps mistakenly known

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as planet Earth, is mainly covered by water.

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Around 70% belongs to the oceans,

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and the Southern Ocean is one of them.

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My name is Andrea Pinones.

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I am an oceanographer and a professor

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at the Austral University of Chile in Valdivia.

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And in recent years, I have been dedicated

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to studying the oceanography of the Southern Ocean.

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This year, I started my own research project,

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taking measurements of the currents

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within the oceanic circulation of Maxwell Bay.

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We're about to board a ship called Carpool

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and see firsthand the research of Andrea Pinones

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and her team, as we spend the night at see.

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So, tomorrow we have to try to leave at dawn

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at around four in the morning

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so we can take CTD measurements.

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CTD is an instrument that measures ocean salinity,

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temperature, and depth.

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I'm Oscar Pizarro, and I'm an oceanographer.

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The vessel will travel

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within 15 measuring points within Fildes Bay,

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starting at the furthest point from the coast,

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near the passage of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

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(speaking in foreign language)

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It's my first time

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doing this type of measurement here in Antarctica,

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and I always like new challenges, so I'm excited to be here.

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The CTD takes measurements

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of conductivity, temperature, and seawater depth,

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and also has sensors that measure oxygen and fluorescence.

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This allows us to understand how the surface

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of waters of the bay are being oxygenated and nourished,

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allowing for the existence of algae and other organisms

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responsible for producing photosynthesis.

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With this survey we'll know how bodies of water change

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and how currents move water

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from other regions of the Antarctic.

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The observations that we're taking

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will help validate the circulation model

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that we're studying.

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Once we know that the model works,

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that the simulations and projections are correct,

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we can then use that model to see

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the effects of climate change.

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We can see how the model changes due to the wind

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or air and ocean temperatures,

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giving us insight about the future circulation.

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(gentle music)

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The Southern Ocean is the first link

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that sustains life on this continent.

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Microorganisms, algae, and different types of animals

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live in this ecosystem, all connected and affected,

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in one way or another, by climate change.

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Understanding more about marine currents

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and their importance in the oxygenation of the planet

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gives us new insights on how to care for our ecosystem

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and the critical role played by the sea

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in the balancing of our planet.

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(upbeat music)