The mysteries of the Antarctic deep have now been uncovered by Isis, the UK's first deep-sea remote operated vehicle. The submersible plunged to depths of 3.5km (two miles) during its exploration of the Marguerite Bay area on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Ancient "meltwater channels", carved into the bed rock, were created thousands of years ago when sea ice extended much further out from land. The steep sides of the meltwater channels observed were covered in diverse fauna. Filter feeders, such as vase sponges, brittle stars and lamp shells can be seen here clinging to the rocky wall.

This multi-armed starfish, measuring an impressive 30cm (1ft) across, was also found as Isis explored the meltwater channels, at depths of 600m (2,000ft).

And this image shows a five-armed starfish that measures about 0.5m (1.6ft) across on the sea-bed floor. To the right of this black-tipped creature, a fish can be seen darting past.