The 'Finger of Death' that Freezes Everything it Touches | Earth's Great Seasons | BBC Earth

Under the ice freeze of Antarctica, the water normally remains around minus two degrees. This might sound cold, but compared to the icy surface, it's a balmy and stable climate. However, danger from above can sometimes make its way down to the ocean floor…

#Arctic #Wildlife #Starfish

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Taken from 'Earth's Great Seasons' (2016)
Every year, spectacular seasons transform our planet. These beautiful stand alone films explore the unique opportunities and challenges posed by each season. Spring brings new life, but it's also a dash to wake up and get ahead of everyone else. Summer is a time of long days and glorious abundance. But the living isn't always easy when the temperatures rise. Autumn brings the world's most spectacular transformations. It's also the last chance to breed, to grow up, to stock up before the cold returns. And during winter - the most magical, dramatic season of all - animals find inventive ways to survive.
Narrated by Andrew Scott.

Welcome to BBC EARTH! The world is an amazing place full of stories, beauty and natural wonder. Here you'll find 50 years worth of entertaining and thought-provoking natural history content. Dramatic, rare, and exclusive, nature doesn't get more exciting than this.

[kongogaming]

That is the most sinister looking piece of ice I have ever seen.

[temporaladvisor]

This looked like a scene from a sci-fi/horror film. High praise for the people who filmed this awesome, and slightly horrific, video.

[livingproof]

3:39 I’m amazed at whoever came up with how to film all this. Kudos.

[Sleezy.Design]

What's almost as fascinating and mindblowing as the earth we're living on is the way these beautiful scenes were captured. I can't wrap my head around how you go about filming something like this. Not just this segment, but the entirety of the "Planet Earth" movies. Nonstop high quality visuals with amazing storytelling, often filmed under extreme temperatures and/or dangerous circumstances. Massive props to the crews that are responsible for capturing these amazing images!

[erichodge]

This is why I love these BBC nature shows. I've lived 66 years and never heard about "brinicles" until this very day. Amazing...

[koopakarmichael]

This deserves some type of film award. Truly amazing footage.

[abelincoln]

3:58 minutes of pure magic. Well done, thanks BBC .

[Pulsonar]

The way that ice tornado came in sending the animals scrambling for their lives was superbly captured. Shows the same world of fear and survival like our own even if it’s on a much slower timescale to ours.

[waynetemplar]

Those starfish scuttling over the freezing cold brinicle remind me of my wife when she leaves the warmth of the duvet in a winter's night to go to the toilet

[Dimaz]

_"Finger of Death" refers to a phenomenon called a brinicle, which is an underwater icicle that forms when supercooled saline water is expelled from sea ice. As the denser, extremely cold brine sinks, it freezes the seawater around it, creating a tube-like structure that extends downwards. Anything the brinicle touches, such as sea life on the seafloor, can freeze in its path._

_The speed at which a brinicle forms can vary, depending on factors like temperature, salinity, and water depth. Typically, a brinicle can form at a rate of a few centimeters to about 10 centimeters (4 inches) per minute. However, the exact speed may fluctuate depending on the local conditions in Antarctica where they occur._

[christiandulaney]

This is shockingly good footage. Absolutely breathtaking! You can almost feel the cold and desolation.

[ryanbw]

The motions of that one starfish trying to pull his frozen "leg" out of the ice look so human at this speed!!

[vwildlife]

BBC Earth nailed it again! The perfect mix of background sound and the narrator's voice makes this a truly captivating watch

[Spicy_Pita]

I love how everything looks underwater. So beautiful.

[tangojuli]

Who knew starfish and sea urchins and sea worms could survive in those temps all! Catching that timelapse of the Icy Finger of Doom was AMAZING!

[yandhayudhian]

0:25 at first, i thought it was the crew yelling

[Shrivedh]

Kudos to Robin Cox and his team at BBC Earth for this remarkable footage. Appreciate the timelapse as I have work in the morning and didn't have 12 hours to wait for the brinicle to reach the bed.

[julieagarcia]

That made me so sad!😢
I have watched nature documentaries since the early 60s. I have never seen this phenomenon. The advancement in filming and the courage of the scientists and photographers to record these events are truly magnificent. There is always more to learn about our world.

[mentalizatelo]

Just WOW.... Earth is such an amazing place. Amazing footage, incredible job for the BBC.

[classicrkr]

0:35 “So she resorts to using her teeth.”

There isn’t enough Sensodyne on Earth that could get me to do that.