RRS Sir David Attenborough central to discovering Antarctica's changing climate

For all the wildlife, wilderness and wonder in Antarctica, ITV News has been on a journey of scientific discovery through unchartered waters.

The scientists aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough are getting the data which drives global climate science.

The team have collected a certain type of moss they can share with scientists back in the Netherlands - just one example of scientists across the world working together.

Samples collected will be kept in a freezer to be analysed later.

What might look like mud to the average person is to Marine Chemist Dr Rhiannon Jones a gold mine of data.

“What we’ve previously seen is that glaciers are really important in the summer providing food to the ocean nearby through meltwater. But what we’ve seen in winter this time is it looks like there are different drivers of that food supply.”

During this journey, the RRS Sir David Attenborough has been mapping the sea floor, often passing through unchartered waters which used to be solid glaciers.

Measurements show walls of ice can stretch up to 200 metres underwater, making them even more susceptible to warming waters than previously thought.

Professor Mike Meredith, from the British Antarctic Survey, told ITV News that scientists have learned more about global warming during the journey.

“We’ve learnt a lot about how the ocean impacts the glaciers in Antarctica and how that works differently in the winter rather than the summertime.”

This new information will help forecast how Antarctica will change as climate change progresses.

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