Under Antarctic Ice by Norbert Wu and Jim Mastro, University of California Press, $39.95, ISBN 0520235045 Reviewed by Alison George
THINK Antarctica, think monotone white ice, right? But there鈥檚 one aspect of this continent that most visitors never see: the world buried beneath the frozen sea. Here, life positively teems and, in places, is as diverse as that of tropical coral reefs.
This is the world captured in Norbert Wu鈥檚 stunning photos. Under Antarctic Ice contains all the usual suspects 鈥� penguins, whales, seals 鈥� but also many creatures that don鈥檛 necessarily spring to mind: giant sponges (鈥渒ings鈥� of the Antarctic sea floor), sea spiders, jelly fish, nudibranchs (like slugs dressed up for carnival) and fish that live in cracks in the ice.
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The temperature hovers around 鈭�2 掳C, boosting the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water and allowing creatures to grow to huge proportions under the ice. Sponges can grow as large as bears and sea spiders have leg spans of half a metre. The photos alone earn this book a place on your coffee table, and each is accompanied by a short paragraph telling the story behind it.