A new video posted by an Antarctic research team reveals a glimpse what the bottom of the world looks like for days on end.
Antarctic researchers exploring the Ross Sea have been traversing the South Pole for months on an ice breaker.
The video, taken from the mast of the icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer over two months' time and reduced to time-lapse, shows their research vessel in dizzying whiteout conditions, beautiful Southern Ocean sunscapes, spying on some playful animals and lots and lots of ice.
At one point in the video you will see the boat ripping its way through huge sheets of ice, creating its own path though some of the harshest terrain in the world.
Cassandra Brooks, of Stanford University posted the video to National Geographic Friday.
In an earlier post about her research mission in the Antarctica, she wrote:
"We've sampled more than 100 different locations in the Ross Sea and my hands are cracked, chapped, and leather-like from long days working with the cold and salty water. The temperatures outside have dipped below zero degrees, dropping to -60°F with the wind chill, and the sea continues to ice over. Some of our equipment is beginning to freeze."