Terra Antarctica: Rediscovering the Seventh Continent

Filmmaker, author and adventurer Jon Bowermaster provides a unique, up-close introduction to the stark beauty, fragility and importance of the remote continent of Antarctica. For six weeks Bowermaster and his team explored the Antarctic by sailboat, sea kayak, foot and small plane — observing first-hand the fast-changing evolution of the continent.

The earth is a complex system with Antarctica its heart. The annual expanding and shrinking of the ice sheet, which holds about 70% of the earth’s fresh water, affects the entire planet’s weather and oceans. Today, the continent is increasingly impacted by human activities: global warming is causing the ice to melt at a greater pace and endangering wildlife, nations are fighting over Antarctica’s natural resources, and the area has become a major tourist destination.

Bowermaster’s film mixes footage of stunning scenery with factual information in an engaging and entertaining way. We witness the rarely seen collapse of a massive ice arch, hike through massive snow mountains, visit with biologists tracking declining penguin populations, and scientists monitoring the ozone layer from the site where the hole in the ozone was first discovered.

Jon Bowermaster has traveled around the world for the last decade to study, film and write about the human impact on the world’s oceans.