How is Antarctic and the Southern Ocean changing in a warming world and what are the local and global consequences of their response?
A 2024 voyage to Antarctica’s Ross Sea sought to collect critical data and observations to address this question. A new short documentary, Voyage to the Ross Sea, Antarctica – monitoring a rapidly changing environment, follows scientists aboard the Italian icebreaker R/V Laura Bassi. Filmed as part of Italy’s 39th Antarctic scientific campaign, and in collaboration with New Zealand’s Antarctic Science Platform (ASP), the documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at climate and ocean research taking place in the Ross Sea — one of the most environmentally significant and rapidly changing regions of Antarctica.
Through interviews and footage captured at sea, the film highlights the realities of Antarctic science, including life onboard a research vessel, working in extreme conditions, and conducting field research in remote polar environments.
As ASP Director, Natalie Robinson, states in the documentary:
“Now we’re moving into an era where we need to extend that cooperation also into the ocean and we need to be so ambitious with our science that international collaboration is the only way to make that really happen.”
Visit the Antarctic Science Platform webpage to read more about the voyage, including reports back from the ship.
