Antarctica: The Alien Continent (4K)

On the dark, secluded underside of our planet, we find its most alien continent, Antarctica. A frozen desert larger than Europe, lying atop a sheet containing more than 90% of the world’s ice. But buried beneath this frosty surface, lie fossils and relics from an age where Antarctica was wildly different- covered not by ice, but by forests of trees.

Today, we will relive that story as we unravel the continent’s rich history; how it transformed from an oasis of life, into the largest desert on the planet, Antarctica.

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SOUNDTRACK:

"Black Star" - Lustmord
Song: https://lustmord.bandcamp.com/track/black-star
Artist: https://lustmord.bandcamp.com

“Frozen in Darkness, the Shadowed Halls Underscore” - CO.AG

‘Futuristic Alien Videogame Music” - StoryBlocks Media

“Incredulity” by Scott Buckley (Creative Commons 4.0 International License):
Song: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/incredulity/
Artist: https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/library/

“Frozen City, Mysterious Fantasy Orchestra” - StoryBlocks Media

“If you love me” - CO.AG Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1FJ_S73tg

“This Machine Managed to Trick Time” - CO.AG Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxQtQJ8wiyQ

“Delay Time” - CO.AG Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JVunbxm1MI

“Mysterious Darkness, Reveal Fear” - StoryBlocks Media

FOOTAGE:
The space scenes in this video were captured using SpaceEngine Pro, a virtual universe simulator: http://spaceengine.org/
Get SpaceEngine on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/314650/SpaceEngine/

Multiple graphic sequences were provided by Storyblocks.com

NSF McMurdo Tour “A Little Tour of McMurdo”, by @JoeSpinstheGlobe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hww2trxgLo

Ross Island Ariel Pan, By Iban Ameztoy on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvYBpSMPhgY

MIT’s Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Science Department’s Simulation of the West Wing Drift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui2rJf3R7q0

ESA Animation of Magnetic Antarctica sliding apart: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm/Antarctica_s_magnetic_link_to_ancient_neighbours

Colossal Squid Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzPoG9H8Hlo

Bill Clinton’s Address of Potential Life Signs in Alan Hills 84001, by clintonlibrary42 on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHhZQWAtWyQ

SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

"Antarctica", Britannica Encyclopaedia for Statistics & History: https://www.britannica.com/place/Antarctica
 
ABC News, Antarctic Wildlife & Marine Life [Accessed May 2025]:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-03/nuyina-scientists-collect-antarctic-sea-creatures-denman-glacier/105130020
 
Antarctica Educational Resource - National Geographic [Accessed April 2025]:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/antarctica/
 
"Antarctic Peninsula", Britannica Encyclopaedia [Accessed April/May 2025]:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Antarctic-Peninsula
 
"New Map of the Landscape Beneath Antarctica Unveiled", British Antarctic Survey [Accessed April 2025]:
https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/new-map-of-landscape-beneath-antarctica-unveiled/
 
Ebbing J. et al., "East Antarctica Magnetically Linked to Its Neighbours in Gondwana", Nature [Accessed April 2025]
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84834-1
 
NSF McMurdo Statistics & Fact Sheet: https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/ail/mcmurdo-station
 
"Ice Shelf Holding Back Keystone Antarctic Glacier Within Years of Failure", Science.org [Accessed April/May 2025]
https://www.science.org/content/article/ice-shelf-holding-back-keystone-antarctic-glacier-within-years-failure

CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Seventh Continent
3:48 The Southern Ocean
5:55 The Great Ice Sheet
7:14 West Antarctica
9:21 East Antarctica
11:52 Gondwana: Antarctica’s Past
15:38 Ross Island
16:44 Race to the South Pole
19:34 Little America Bases
21:37 McMurdo Station
23:53 Alien Environments in Antarctica
28:36 The Doomsday Glacier

Antarctica, Largest Desert on Earth
South Pole, Southern Ocean, Upwelling
Antarctic Krill, Whales, Orcas, Penguins, Birds, Squid, Leopard Seals, Extremophiles, Moss, Fungi
Coldest Temperature, Ice Sheet
Antarctica No Ice, Antarctic Peninsula
Vinson Massif, Southern Andes, Transantarctic, Mt. Kirkpatrick, Queen Alexandra Range,
Dinosaurs, Antarctic Dinosaur Bones, Hanson Formation, Gondwana, Glossopteris, Beardmore Glacier, Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island
Heroic Age, Antarctic Expedition, Discovery, Race to the South Pole
Little America, McMurdo Station, McMurdo Sound, Mt. Erebus, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Meteorite
Lake Vostok, Europa Moon, Thwaites Glacier, Doomsday Glacier, Climate Change