Glass sponge gardens, bioluminescent octopus squid and a 150-foot siphonophore – the longest animal ever recorded – were just a few of the discoveries made aboard the research vessel Falkor off the coast of Western Australia earlier this year. Led by Nerida Wilson, senior research scientist at the Western Australian Museum, the expedition explored never-before-seen ocean canyons and coral reefs using a remotely controlled robotic vehicle capable of descending to depths of 4,500 metres. Accompanied by words of insight and wonder from the expedition’s scientists, this video offers both a rare look at bioluminescent deep-sea life and a glimpse into how the human impulse for exploration helps to drive scientific discovery.
See what no human eyes have seen before, deep in the sea off Western Australia
Video by the Schmidt Ocean Institute
22 June 2020
videoEcology and environmental sciences
Racing rising tides, volunteers work to save a bird on the brink
25 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
Close-ups reveal how caterpillars live long enough to cocoon
9 minutes
videoBiology
What would it mean if we were able to ‘speak’ with whales?
65 minutes
videoBiology
For 3 billion years, life was unicellular. Why did it start to collaborate?
4 minutes
videoBiology
Dive deep into an egg cell to see how ageing reboots when a new life begins
2 minutes
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
Join endangered whooping cranes on their perilous migratory path over North America
6 minutes
videoEnvironmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes
videoOceans and water
A stunning visualisation explores the intricate circulatory system of our oceans
5 minutes