Antarctic Oddities

New Zealand scientists were part of a 50-day “voyage of discovery” through the Ross Sea recently, coming face-to-face with some truly odd creatures. The marine life encountered during the 2,000-mile voyage included, jellyfish with 12ft-long tentacles, giant sea snails and starfish the size of food platters. NIWA scientist Stu Hanchet was also surprised to find fields of 20-inch-tall lilies stretching hundreds of yards. “Some of these big meadows of sea lilies I don’t think anybody has seen before.” The survey was conducted as part of International Polar Year, a global programme aimed at achieving a better understanding of the land and sea environments of the Antarctic and Arctic and to monitor the effects of climate change in the regions.