David Attenborough’s famous BBC series Blue Planet 2 gave the world an insight into just how little our oceans had been explored. During the second episode of the programme, cameras revealed how a team of scientists were able to head 1000m below the ice of Antarctica for the first time ever. Using a Triton submarine, researchers captured incredible footage as they entered the “twilight zone”.
The programme revealed a strange, long creature floating through the water, that captured the interest of the team.
Sir David said in 2017: “The sunlight fades and the seas darken.
“Here in the Pacific, 200m down, we enter an alien world – the Twilight Zone – a sea of eternal gloom.
“There are strange creatures here – a pyrosome – a tube of jelly two metres long that dwarfs a visitor from above, an oceanic whitetip shark.”
The team took a boat out to the waters around Antarctica (Image: BBC)
A Triton submarine was sent 1000m below the water (Image: BBC)
There are strange creatures here – a pyrosome – a tube of jelly two metres long that dwarfs a visitor
David Attenborough
Pyrosomes are free-floating colonial tunicates that grow up to 60ft in length.
They are made up of hundreds to thousands of individuals known as zooids, commonly known as “sea pickles”.
Sir David continued to describe the alien-like scene as he spotted more unusual creatures.
He added: “Only a tiny amount of light filters down this far.
“Survival here means making the most of every last glimmer."
The pyrosome was uncovered by the team (Image: BBC)
The bizarre creature is bigger than a shark (Image: BBC)
As the narrator noticed a nearby swordfish, he added: “This swordfish has eyes as big as tennis balls to help it see in the dusk.”
During the same series, the team also ventured into an area known as the “midnight
