The British Antarctic Survey has been trawling the waters of Bellingshausen Sea in West Antarctica, and BAS photographer Pete Bucktrout was there to capture their haul in these gorgeous, watery portraits of polar creatures. The Bellinghausen is one of the fastest warming seas in the world and thus is a prism onto the effects of climate change.

“Few people realise just how rich in biodiversity the Southern Ocean is–even a single trawl can reveal a fascinating array of weird and wonderful creatures as would be seen on a coral reef,” said Dr. David Barnes of the BAS. “These animals are potentially very good indicators of environmental change as many occur in the shallows, which are changing fast, but also in deeper water which will warm much less quickly.”

To see a full Adventure Life gallery of Antarctic critters, go here. As always, remember to enable full screen mode–it’s so worth it.

Tagged as: antarctica, discovery, ocean, science, wildlife