Enduring Life at 10,000 Feet Below

Shipwreck buffs aren’t the only ones mesmerized by the undersea images of Endurance, Ernest Shackleton's long-lost ship at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Polar biologists are also gawping at the wreck, which is crawling with life.

Endurance has sat for more than a century, 10,000 feet deep on the ocean floor. Its recent discovery by the Endurance22 Project, with its remote controlled submersible equipped with cameras, reveals a remarkably well-preserved vessel that has become home to all manner of oceanic organisms.

Sponges, sea lilies, starfish, sea squirts, and other filter-feeders have found purchase on the sunken ship. The 90 seconds or so of footage released so far has also featured a surprise cameo by a ghostly white squat lobster, seen scuttling past a porthole.

The ship is in such good shape because at this latitude there are no wood-eating organisms among the menagerie. “Shipworms have been the bane of wooden ships throughout history and determined ship design from the classical Greek period through to Nelson's time and even today,” Marine zoologist Simon Cragg told the @BBC. “Decay of wood by marine bacteria and marine fungi is very slow, especially at low temperatures.”

When the ship went down in 1915, Shackleton’s expedition turned into a tale of survival. The creatures that survive aboard Endurance today are part of the legacy.

Footage of the depths here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aEKdCQv3jI

Photo credit: Endurance22