The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News » Nature

20 Million Years Old Antarctic Lake Drilled

EU Times — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:06:31 +0000

It took researches 30 years of drilling through a four-kilometer-thick ice to reach the renowned subglacial lake. Most importantly, million years-old secrets will be unveiled without causing harm to the lake’s ecosystem.

“Yesterday [on Sunday] our scientists at the Vostok polar station in the Antarctic completed drilling at depths of 3,768 meters and reached surface of the subglacial lake,” RIA Novosti quoted unnamed Russian scientist.

Lake Vostok is a unique aquatic ecosystem hidden under some four kilometers of ice. Its water has been isolated from the atmosphere – and therefore from the outer biosphere – for millions of years. Scientists believe that surveys of the lake can provide invaluable details on past and future climate changes.

It is not yet known whether the lake’s waters are inhabited – certain bacteria and, perhaps, more complex creatures, could potentially live – but scientists have everything now to find this out. The importance of such potential discovery is difficult to overestimate.

Drilling works around Vostok Station in the Antarctic began in the 1970s, at a time when scientists still had no idea that a lake lay under the four-kilometer-thick ice shield. It was only in 1996 that Russian specialists, supported by their British counterparts, discovered what later proved to be one of the world’s largest freshwater reservoirs.

However, in 1998 drilling was halted only 130 meters from the lake’s surface when the international community voiced concerns that its ancient waters risked being polluted if special precautions and technologies were not employed.

The relevant technology was developed in 2003 in St. Petersburg, and the international working group conceded that it was now safe to continue drilling.

Work resumed in 2005.

Source

Europe cold spell kills 223 with colder days expected

EU Times — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:05:29 +0000

People take pictures of waves on a frozen sea in Constanta, 230 kilometres east from Bucharest, Romania on February 1, 2012

At least 223 people have died during a seven-day cold spell in eastern and central Europe where temperatures are expected to plummet even further over the weekend.

Most of the victims are from the European Union’s poorest countries, including Ukraine with as many as 101 people killed. Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia have also suffered large casualties.

The villagers were found frozen to death on the side of the road or in their unheated homes as temperatures dropped to as much as -38.1 degrees in some parts of the continent.

While Eastern Europe struggles to cope with record low temperatures, the severe cold has claimed lives in other parts of the continent as well, including three people in Austria and Greece.

France recorded its first death after an 82-year-old man died of hypothermia.

Thousands of people are still trapped in snow-blocked mountain villages in countries like Serbia and Bosnia.

Italy is also witnessing snowfall not seen in over a decade, with many Venetian canals frozen and Roman tourist sites closed.

Source

The Bacillus of Immortality found in Siberia

EU Times — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:04:58 +0000

In mountain permafrost in Mamontovaya, Yakutia (Siberia), Russian researchers discovered a previously unknown species of bacteria. Mice injected in the body with a solution containing these organisms, were healthier and lived longer than their counterparts. Have the scientists discovered the secrets of immortality?

The strange bacillus found in mammoth Mountain in the Siberian Republic of Yakutia is three million years old and appears to have special mechanisms which allow it to stay alive in the most inhospitable temperatures and conditions. It successfully shares at temperatures of five degrees Celsius above zero.

The Bacillus, Bacillus F, was injected into mice and increased life expectancy, having a positive impact upon the quality of life indicators of older specimens. The scientists involved in the study suspect that the Bacillus has properties which allow it to survive and create specific immune systems, according to the team leader, lead researcher of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine Academy of Sciences of Russia, Nadezhda Mironovoa.

In addition, the researchers examined mice that were injected with this Bacillius F, using MRI and found the existence of two types of mediators that were significantly higher: this is glutamate and taurine, and have properties of immune regulation and prolonging life expectancy the cell.

In this case, the first mediator is “responsible” for psychic stimulation, and second – by energetic processes. Thus, the metabolism of the vaccinated mice was accelerated, and if calculated according to age, in animals injected with bacteria, is 20-30% higher.

Source

Cold spell kills 83 in Europe

EU Times — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:35:54 +0000

Seagulls fly over frozen sea as icicles covers a fence in the city of Constanta, 230 kilometers east of the Romanian capital Bucharest, on February 1, 2012.

Severe cold spell has killed at least 83 people in Europe as temperatures dropped to below minus 30C (minus 22F) in some eastern regions of the continent.

Ukrainian officials on Wednesday reported that the number of the deaths attributed to the cold weather had risen to 43, with 28 people having been found dead on the streets, eight dying in hospitals, and seven in their homes.

The country’s Emergency Situations Ministry said more than 720 Ukrainians had also been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite.

Extremely low temperatures also caused schools and colleges to be closed in the capital Kiev.

In Romania, where parts of the Black Sea froze near the coastline, the death toll from the cold weather has risen to 14. Officials with the country’s Health Ministry say hundreds more were hospitalized with hypothermia.

Four more people died from hypothermia in Bulgaria, where 16 towns recorded their lowest temperatures in 100 years.

In Poland, five more people died because of cold snap, bringing the overall number to 20 since Friday.

German media reported that ice and sub-zero temperatures had led to the deaths of two women.

In Turkey, three crewmembers from a ship that sank during a storm in the Black Sea were saved near the northwestern port of Eregli, but eight people are still missing.

Many schools also remained closed across Hungary.

Other cold-weather-related deaths have been reported across the region, including in Russia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Source

Sumatran Elephant on brink of Extinction

EU Times — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:59:32 +0000

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has warned that the Sumatran elephant could be extinct in less than 30 years as half of the species’ population has been lost in one generation.

According to a statement issued by WWF, an estimated number of 2,400 to 2,800 Sumatran elephants are alive that is down about 50 percent from a 1985 estimate.

“The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered, including the Sumatran orangutan, the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and the Sumatran tiger,” added Carlos Drews director of WWF’s Global Species Program in the statement.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently raised its listing of the Sumatran elephant subspecies from ‘endangered’ to ‘critically endangered’.

Experts say the major cause of the situation is the deforestation of the species’ habitat in order to use it for agriculture.

In central Sumatra’s Riau Province only, the rapid deforestation has cut the number of the elephants by 80 percent in less than 25 years.

The organization has called on the Indonesian government to ban any kind of deforestation in the elephants’ habitats until a conservation strategy is devised.

Source

Hot Rain: High Radiation Levels Recorded In Michigan

EU Times — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:00:49 +0000

Radiation readings from the EnviroReporter have revealed high levels of HOT particles in Michigan, possibly from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Radiation levels after a storm in the area read 561% over normal background levels. Then, after a second storm, the levels were even higher, 6.5 times higher than normal accepted levels to be exact.

Michael Collins, the founder of EnviroReporter recently published a detailed article on the readings:

It was with no small amount of trepidation that we traveled to Michigan to be with our family. The thought that the cyrstalline white fluffy snows that make Michigan so charming during the holidays could be infused with cesium-137 and strontium-90 was horrifying.

What we found over our ten-day holiday confirmed that the Midwest was indeed getting pelted by high radiation but in ways we had not anticipated. Places that we thought would be impacted by fallout turned out to be rad-free while others were even hotter than we thought. Even with knowledge and experise, much gained through conducting over 1,500 radiation tests of rain, fog, food and drink since Radiation Station started March 15, we were still emotionally affected by testing hyper-hot rain falling on the family homestead.

*****

(On radiation levels on the plane ride to Michigan) – Our reading was 1,035 CPM which was over five times higher. Two hours later we took another ten-minute average approaching the Missouri River north of St. Charles, Missouri – 1,238 CPM or over 36 times the background in the jet at the terminal. Descending into Chicago the count was 586.2 CPM or 17.40 times previous background in the jet.

*****

The Dec. 30 storm’s first sample taken tested at 561% of normal. The second sample was even hotter coming it at 6.5 times background. Fukushima had arrived in earnest.

You can view the videos of the readings below:

Source

Megaquake Warning Issued For US-Mexican Pacific Coast

EU Times — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:20:31 +0000

A disturbing report prepared by the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth (IPE) in Moscow that is circulating in the Kremlin today warns that the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the Chiapas region of Mexico yesterday is a ‘potential precursor’ to a ‘megaquake’ of at least 7.5-8.3 expected to hit the US-Mexican Pacific coastline within the next fortnight (+/- 7 days).

According to this IPE report, concerns were raised about this region after a 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Mexican Baja California peninsula on 18 January and emitted in the “4.433–4.498 micrometre range” “extreme” atmospheric temperature variations normally not associated with such a quake and that was verified yesterday as occurring again in Chiapas.

Important to note about this region, this IPE report says, fears were heightened after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit on 4 April 2010 and was the first big earthquake to occur on this particular fault system since 1892, links Mexico’s seismic zone to California’s massive fault system, and points to a “reawakening” of this areas potential for catastrophic seismic/volcanic occurrences.

Equally important to note are that extreme and/or rapid heating of the atmosphere above earthquake zones is now believed to be an accurate predictor of major earthquake activity as was documented prior the Great Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 when before the 11 March quake struck the total electron content in a part of the upper atmosphere, called the ionosphere, increased dramatically over the earthquake’s epicentre, reaching a maximum three days before the quake struck.

This IPE report further states that their conclusions have been confirmed by their using the latest information obtained from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite operated by NASA and available for viewing [Note: this is a high-level US government site that utilizes keystroke monitoring] by the international scientific community.

IPE scientists and their British counterparts are among the world’s top earthquake experts utilizing this type of date and are currently working on the TwinSat Project that will put one micro-sized and one nano-sized satellite into low earth orbit some 400 kilometers apart, which will work in unison to collect and interpret electromagnetic signatures from the ground to predict earthquakes.

In our analyzing news coming from this region that could further substantiate this IPE report we came upon a 4 January report ascribed to Mexican communication giant Conciencia Radio that, in part, says:

“Conciencia Radio is currently conducting an investigation on something massive that occurred in the port town of Ensenada, Baja California Mexico. In or around August 2011, a very big secret meeting took place among the scientific elite at the number one scientific research center in Mexico known as the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE). This preliminary report, not be published as of yet, is being developed to ascertain why prominent scientists from different parts of the world that work at CICESE have decided to suddenly relocate or flee from the Baja California peninsula due to an impending geophysical event of great magnitude.

We spoke a series of anonymous sources. Among them a woman who yesterday revealed to us what transpired at the CICESE. She and a professor of hers arrived to the CICESE to attend an astronomy workshop. When they arrived to the center, the saw that the Mexican Military had closed all vehicle access to the center. They thought they were removing radioactive substances that are used in the labs, which is not uncommon to see because the removal of hazardous substances such as chemicals and radioactive compounds are ascribed to the Military. Later they realized why the Military was there and it was not for this purpose but to protect important visitors that were present at the CICESE at that same moment.

The two women, who wish to remain anonymous, decided to park behind the center and ingress from the back of the facility. They parked their car on one of the hills and managed to get inside the complex. Once in, they went to the auditorium were the workshop was supposed to be held. To their surprise, the main access to the auditorium had been sealed off. They decided to go around the building and found an access door that led them inside. They expected very few people attending the event in question. To their surprise, the auditorium was full of people and it was not in any way related the astronomy workshop/conference that they planned to attend.

To their amazement, they saw scientists from different parts of the world having a very heated discussion over a definite problem of enormous proportions. They saw Japanese, Russian and other European nationals present at the event. They were all discussing in a very high tone of voice. They even saw things being thrown and tables being banged. Another source whom which we spoke to informed us that at least a top-level Cabinet member from the Calderon government attended the event as well as possibly the Governor of Baja California (the latter has not been confirmed) who was in Ensenada on that day.

The topic being discussed by the scientific elite is the fact that they now have confirmation that a huge cataclysmic geological or geophysical event is about to occur any moment now that would at least destroy the port city of Ensenada Mexico. Ensenada is located at just 68 miles south of the Tijuana/San Diego border. At least 300,000 people reside in Ensenada. Among other things discussed was that they leave the city as soon as possible. It has been revealed to us that in fact many of the foreign scientists working at the CICESE and other well-connected individuals in the Baja California elite have left Ensenada. Our direct source mentioned in the interview we conducted with her on January 3rd, 2012 that the antendees mentioned that they were expecting the event to occur any moment now and that they referred to it as a “geophysical event”.

To if the final outcome of this report will be as the IPE scientists predict it is now in our knowing, other than to mention that as global natural disasters cost our world $109 billion in 2010, and rose to $366 billion in 2011, the trending line of catastrophes hitting our world is, most assuredly, not going in the direction anyone would choose.

Source

Cargo Ship Sinks in New Zealand’s Worst Environmental Disaster

EU Times — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:51:20 +0000

The grounded cargo ship Rena slips off the reef after its hull split into two, caused by heavy swells, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.

One half of a cargo ship that ran aground on a New Zealand reef three months ago has started sinking into the ocean.

The stern section of a stricken cargo ship is slipping off a New Zealand reef where it has been stuck for three months and is sinking, authorities said, complicating salvage efforts in one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters.

The rear section of the 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged Rena, had moved to the edge of the reef, about 22km (12 miles) off Tauranga on the east coast of New Zealand, where it has been wedged since early October, and is almost totally under water.

“The foremost part of the stern was still sticking up out of the water, with the rest – including the bridge – submerged,” Maritime NZ said in a statement on Tuesday.

A tug has a line attached to the stern to stop it drifting into shipping lanes. The water around the sinking section is up to 30 metres deep, which experts have said previously would make salvage operations more difficult.

The bow section of the 236-metre (775-foot) ship is still upright and wedged on the reef.

The Rena finally broke in two on Sunday after being pounded by waves of up to 6 metres (20 feet), spewing more oil and more than a hundred containers into the sea.

Maritime authorities and salvage crews had removed most of the thick, toxic fuel oil and nearly 400 containers from the ship, which ran aground in calm conditions on 5 October. But fuel and cargo have continued to leak in rough seas, causing New Zealand’s worst environmental disaster in decades.

A large amount of cargo – timber, plastic, and bags of milk powder – has washed up on beaches as far as 60km from the ship, and more than 20 containers have washed up on a nearby island.

Some have been tagged with transponders and the New Zealand navy is scanning the area with sonar to ensure nearby commercial operations at the Port of Tauranga, the country’s biggest export port, are not interrupted.

Thousands of birds were killed by the earlier spill and it has taken months to clean up the shore in an area popular with holiday makers and surfers .

The Rena’s captain and navigation officer, both Philippine nationals, have been charged with operating a vessel in a dangerous manner, and releasing toxic substances, which carries a maximum fine of NZ$300,000 (£152,000), or two years in prison.

They also face charges of attempting to pervert justice by allegedly altering documents after the grounding.

They are due to appear in court again next month.

The vessel is owned by Daina Shipping, a unit of Greece’s Costamare Inc. and was under charter to Mediterranean Shipping.

Source

Brazil storms kill 7, displace 1000s

EU Times — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:04:38 +0000

A destroyed car is seen in the main street of Teresopolis' Campo Grande neighborhood, some 100 km from Rio de Janiero, in the southwestern state of Rio on January 16, 2011 following a landslide of mud and rocks caused by heavy rains.

Storms in the southwestern Brazil state of Minas Gerais have claimed the lives of seven people and left some 13,000 others homeless.

At least five of the victims are believed to have either drowned or been killed by the mudslides, which were caused by the heavy rains on Wednesday. Another three people are reportedly missing.

Meanwhile, Brazilian authorities declared state of emergency in 50 towns across the state due to the severe damages caused by the storms.

Bridges, highways as well as energy and water networks have been damaged in a number of the towns.

Brazil generally experiences flooding during the rainy season months of December and January.

Last year, storms left more than 900 people dead and thousands others homeless in the southwestern state of Rio during the rainy season.

Source

Dead Birds Falling from the Sky Again in the US

EU Times — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:37:04 +0000

Rain of dead birds: Is Beebe Arkansas haunted or bewitched? Now this cannot be a coincidence. Almost a year to the day after we reported in this column a rain of thousands of dead birds in Beebe Arkansas, there are reports of a repeat of the event in 2012. The birds seemed to be crazed, as if they were driven by super-natural forces. What is happening in Beebe?

Remember the story “What is going on?” on January 5, 2011? (*) Almost a year ago to the day, we reported several strange incidents in the United States of America – 5,000 red-winged blackbirds plummeting to the ground in Beebe, Arkansas, 100,000 drum fish 160 km. away also in Arkansas and a further group of 500 birds just south of Arkansas.

Then there were other incidents in Chesapeake Bay, between Virginia and Maryland (a mass of two million fish floating belly up), Volusia County, Florida (thousands of fish) and a further mass kill of thousands of fish in Lake Azuei, Haiti. Then there was a reported incident in Canada, in which the authorities tried to cover up a bird incident and others in Brazil, the UK, Japan, Sweden and Thailand.

This year, back to Arkansas again and another mass bird kill incident and again, precisely in Beebe, and yet another rain of dead birds falling indiscriminately over the city. The first rain of dead birds occurred at around 19.00 on December 31, according to the local authorities.

Ah right, it was the fireworks. And the fish? Or was it a weather balloon?

Just what is going on in Beebe?

Source

Iceland’s Stunning Tallest Volcano

EU Times — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:50:16 +0000

Glistening in the setting afternoon sun of an Icelandic winter, the Crystal Cave of Svmnafellsjvkull (CORR) in Skaftafell national park, highlights nature’s beauty.

Created by the awesome forces of the Vatnajvkull ice cap in the south of the volcanic island, the deep blue cave was formed by the glacier meeting the coastline.

The centuries old ice that has come from the slopes of 6,921 feet tall Vrffajvkull, Iceland’s tallest active volcano, has compressed all air out of the ice adding to the texture and colour of the cave.

Accessible through a 22-foot entrance on the shoreline, the cave tapers to a tight squeeze at the end no more than four feet high.

‘Blue ice like this deep blue occurs over hundreds of years and begins when simple snow falls onto ice or in this case a glacier,’ said 35-year old photographer Orvar Thorgeirsson.

‘The snow sticks to the ice and has its air bubbles forced out during the movement of the glacier or transit of the ice.

‘Then this snow freezes more to become ice crystals and becomes clearer.

Traveling to the cave from his home in Reykjavmk, Orvar was in awe at the 150-foot long and 16 foot wide natural wonder.

‘The ice becomes a blue colour like water is under the ocean,’ said Orvar.

‘It is about the light being absorbed through the hydrogen in the water and is a beautiful thing.’

The Vatnajvkull glacier on Iceland is the largest one in Europe by volume with an average thickness of 400 m and a maximum of 1,000m.

‘Ice caves are in general unstable things and can collapse at any time,’ said Orvar.

‘They are however much more stable in winter when the cold temperatures harden the ice.

‘Even so we could hear constant cracking sounds inside the cave.

‘It was not because it was going to collapse but because the cave was moving along with the glacier itself.

‘Each time the glacier moved a millimetre loud sounds could be heard.’

Nature at its best: Created by the awesome forces of the Vatnajvkull ice cap in the south of the volcanic island, the deep blue cave was formed by the glacier meeting the coastline

Changing size: Accessible through a 22-foot entrance on the shoreline, the cave tapers to a tight squeeze at the end no more than four feet high

Evolved: The centuries old ice that has come from the slopes of 6,921 feet tall Vrffajvkull, Iceland's tallest active volcano, has compressed all air out of the ice adding to the texture and colour of the cave

Not completely silent: Visitors to the cave can hear cracking sounds as the cave moves along with the glacier

Source

The Coming New International Climate Court

EU Times — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:07:41 +0000

Alex is joined by Lord Christopher Monckton to discuss the latest attempt to build world government on a foundation of eco-fascism.

Specifically, Monckton writes that the summit aims include: “A new International Climate Court will have the power to compel Western nations to pay ever-larger sums to third-world countries in the name of making reparation for supposed “climate debt”. The Court will have no power over third-world countries. Here and throughout the draft, the West is the sole target. “The process” is now irredeemably anti-Western.

Source

Venezuela Rains make 1000s Homeless

EU Times — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:02:09 +0000

Two people have died and thousands of people have lost their homes in Venezuela, after heavy rainfall hit different regions of the country causing massive landslides, Press TV reports.

Almost 2,000 people have been forced to leave their homes due to the landslides during the past days, which also killed two people in the Capital Caracas, a Press TV correspondent reported on Thursday.

Authorities are struggling to contain the emergency. Failures in superficial public transport and the underground network brought the capital city to a standstill.

At least four states have been declared on yellow alert requiring authorities to evacuate citizen from their homes and move them to shelters.

The northern Vargas State, located minutes away from Caracas, is the area where rainfalls caused the worst natural disaster in Venezuelan recorded history in December 1999.

Although the number of deaths remains a mystery, it is estimated that between 10,000 and 30,000 people perished. Since then, rain has become a source of panic for many Venezuelans.

Source

Octopus heave itself from the Water and Walk on Dry Land

EU Times — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:34:43 +0000

Up and out: This friendly octopus wandered around on dry land for about 2 minutes after it climbed out of the water

It’s a creature that’s so shy, scientists know little about its behavior in the wild.

But an Eastern Pacific Red Octopus outside San Francisco, California, was friendly enough that it hoisted itself from the water and walked about on dry land, much to the amazement of spectators who captured the entire thing on video.

‘Where are you headed, dude?’ the astonished cameraman asks as the slimy mollusc creeps through the seaweed next to a tide pool.

The octopus was spotted at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, about 20 miles south of San Francisco.

Is this the picture of primordial life emerging from the seas and learning to live on terra firma?

Probably not. Middlebury College researcher Alexa Warburton recounted several terrestrial escape attempts among the octopi she studied.

‘Octopuses in captivity actually escape their watery enclosures with alarming frequency,’ according to an article in Orion Magazine.

‘While on the move, they have been discovered on carpets, along bookshelves, in a teapot, and inside the aquarium tanks of other fish—upon whom they have usually been dining.’

The fellow pictured in the video stayed out of water for just about two minutes.

He wobbled creepily around, spit out a half-eaten crab, and slithered back into a tide pool.

The Eastern Pacific Red Octopus is one of the most prolific shallow-water octopi on on the west coast.

They typically weigh less than a third of a pound and have tentacles that grow up to 15 inches.

Source

Strange Brinicle Beneath the sea in Antarctica, destroys everything in its path

EU Times — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:23:24 +0000

The icicle of death: The brinicle can be seen extending towards the seabed. Slowly it grows bigger over time as more water freezes around it

An underwater ‘icicle of death’ which sinks to the seabed destroying everything it comes into contact with has been caught on camera for the first time.

The sinking brine is so cold that it causes the seawater to freeze around it.

BBC film crews recorded the brinicle for the first time ever as it sunk to the bottom of the sea in Antarctica.

When it hits the seabed, a web of ice spreads killing sea urchins and starfish.

The remarkable underwater footage was filmed for Frozen Planet on BBC One using timelapse technology.

The ‘icicle of death’ grew so rapidly towards the seabed that teams could see it advancing before their eyes. Brine falls to the surface as it is a lot more dense than seawater.

When the seawater freezes as it comes into contact with the brinicle it is a lot more spongelike than normal ice.

They are usually found in the Antarctic when saline water is introduced to the ocean.

Remarkable broadcast moment: The ice begins to expand outwards. The brine is a lot more dense than seawater so sinks to the bottom. It is also a lot colder - causing the freezing

Touchdown: The brinicle reaches the ocean floor. Starfish can be seen. Often the brinicles break up before they become so large

The remarkable footage was filmed underwater in temperatures of -2C by BBC cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson at Little Razorback Island, near Antarctica’s Ross Archipelago.

Mr Miller said the sinking brine grew rapidly before their eyes.

Killer: The ice floods outwards across the ocean surface rapidly, destroying everything in its wake

Destruction: The starfish are frozen by the ice as it expands outwards

‘It was a bit of a race against time because no-one really knew how fast they formed,’ he told BBC Nature.

‘The one we’d seen a week before was getting longer in front of our eyes… the whole thing only took five, six hours.

‘I do remember it being a struggle. All the kit is very heavy because it has to sit on the sea bed and not move for long periods of time.’

Although the existence of brinicles has been known since the 1960s, it is the first time it has been caught on camera.

Frozen Planet was screened at 9pm on Wednesday November 23 on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.

Broadcasting feat: Although the existence of brinicles has long been known it is the first time they have ever been caught on camera

Seabed spread: When the seawater freezes as it comes into contact with the brinicle it is a lot more spongelike than normal ice

Source