Laurent Ballesta (France) endures below-freezing dives to reveal the diversity of life beneath Antarctica’s ice.
Living towers of marine invertebrates punctuate the seabed off Adelie Land, 32 metres under East Antarctic ice. At the centre, a tree-shaped sponge is draped with life, from giant ribbon worms to sea stars.
The extreme conditions in Antarctica, as well as its isolation, are responsible for its remarkable underwater biodiversity. An estimated 17,000 marine invertebrate species are found here, many of which are found nowhere else in the world and are highly adapted and hence vulnerable to warming water temperatures.
France
Laurent has authored 13 photography books on underwater wildlife. As co-founder of Andromède Océanologie, he’s been leading major expeditions for 10 years. He illustrates the underwater world as both a naturalist and an artist, whether that be capturing the first images of a coelacanth taken by a diver at a depth of 120 metres, documenting 700 sharks off Fakarava hunting at night or photographing the deepest and longest dive in Antarctica.
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