08/06/2026
On World Oceans Day, we turn our attention beneath the Arctic ice.
In May 2024, scientists aboard the research vessel Kronprins Haakon travelled north through the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard, exploring one of the least understood regions on Earth. Using REV Ocean’s 6,000-metre-rated ROV Aurora, the team surveyed deep-sea habitats including the Knipovich Ridge, Jøtul Vent Field and Molløy Deep – the deepest point in the Arctic Ocean at 5,550 metres.
What they found was extraordinary.
From hydrothermal vent communities powered by chemosynthesis rather than sunlight, to vast sponge gardens, cold-water corals, sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers and microscopic organisms that drive nutrient cycling across the ocean floor, the expedition revealed a hidden world thriving in extreme conditions.
Among the discoveries were shrimp covered in bacteria capable of converting toxic chemicals into energy, a reminder that life can flourish in places once thought impossible.
These ecosystems are not only scientifically significant, they are increasingly vulnerable. As ocean temperatures rise and interest in deep-sea resource extraction grows, documenting and understanding these environments has never been more urgent.
Through world reknowned polar photographer and friend of Shackleton’s, Martin Hartley ’s photography, the creatures surviving and thriving in these remote polar landscapes and the oceans that sustain them are brought into view, helping tell the stories of places few will ever see, but all of us depend upon.
The more we discover, the more there is to protect.
