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Community Forum · Est. 2006
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#1
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11-23-2011, 03:57 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:893 Male Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 845
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845Posts 2,096Thanked 9Quoted 0Mentioned 6Contrib. |
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A Bizarre Underwater 'Icicle of Death' Has Been Captured on Camera by BBC Filmmakers
With timelapse cameras, specialists recorded salt water being excluded from the sea ice and sinking. The temperature of this sinking brine, which was well below 0C, caused the water to freeze in an icy sheath around it. Where the so-called "brinicle" met the sea bed, a web of ice formed that froze everything it touched, including sea urchins and starfish. The unusual phenomenon was filmed for the first time by cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson for the BBC One series Frozen Planet. The icy phenomenon is caused by cold, sinking brine, which is more dense than the rest of the sea water. It forms a brinicle as it contacts warmer water below the surface. Mr Miller set up the rig of timelapse equipment to capture the growing brinicle under the ice at Little Razorback Island, near Antarctica's Ross Archipelago. "When we were exploring around that island we came across an area where there had been three or four [brinicles] previously and there was one actually happening," Mr Miller told BBC Nature. The diving specialists noted the temperature and returned to the area as soon as the same conditions were repeated. "It was a bit of a race against time because no-one really knew how fast they formed," said Mr Miller. "The one we'd seen a week before was getting longer in front of our eyes... the whole thing only took five, six hours." The location - beneath the ice off the foothills of the volcano Mount Erebus, in water as cold as -2C - was not easy to access. "That particular patch was difficult to get to. It was a long way from the hole and it was quite narrow at times between the sea bed and the ice," explained Mr Miller. "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." As well as the practicalities of setting up the equipment, the filmmakers had to contend with interference from the local wildlife. The large weddell seals in the area had no problems barging past and breaking off brinicles as well as the filming equipment. "The first time I did a timelapse at the spot a seal knocked it over," said Mr Miller. But the team's efforts were eventually rewarded with the first ever footage of a brinicle forming. |
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#2
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11-23-2011, 04:19 PM
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 My Rank: MAJOR Poster Rank:12 Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 93,062
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93,062Posts 137,687Thanked 2,009Quoted 91Mentioned 239Contrib. |
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Re: A Bizarre Underwater 'Icicle of Death' Has Been Captured on Camera by BBC Filmmakers
That's awesome  Love the footage of the starfish too. |
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#3
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11-23-2011, 05:05 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:113 Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 14,025 14,025Posts 30,704Thanked 3,721Quoted 44Mentioned 0Contrib. |
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Re: A Bizarre Underwater 'Icicle of Death' Has Been Captured on Camera by BBC Filmmakers
Incredible. This is the first time that I have ever heard of this phenomenon. |
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#10
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11-24-2011, 06:07 PM
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 My Rank: LANCE CORPORAL Poster Rank:1970 Male Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 256 256Posts 275Thanked 0Quoted 0Mentioned 0Contrib. |
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Re: A Bizarre Underwater 'Icicle of Death' Has Been Captured on Camera by BBC Filmmakers
At 1:17 of the video is the fish that comes in from near the top left trying to disguise his face fromthe camera by wearing sunglasses and a fake nose?
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