Monsters of the deep: Marine biologist reveals alien world deep under the arctic ice

Many would assume that the icy depths of the sea off the northwestern coast on Russia would have little to offer nature photographers. 


But one man has braved the freezing elements to capture the beautiful monsters of the deep who display a surprising variety of colourful speices.


Marine biologist Alexander Semenov spent two years in the hostile environment at the ultra-remote White Sea Biological Station to create his bizarre collection of images.

Up close and personal: A skeleton shrimp shows its pincers and antennae. It most likely male because of its elongated head

Give us a kiss: A Ragworm showing its mouthparts. They are marine annelid worms that burrow in wet sand and mud using parapodia (limb-like outgrowths).

The lead undetwater photographer breaks through arctic sea ice dropping into -2degree water from a -30 degree world above.

He has documented striking differences between these species who have evolved cut off from their cousins that live in warmer waters elsewhere in the world.   


Mr Semenov said the marine fauna of this cold sea bears no resemblance to anything he has seen before.


'It's a unique place for marine biologists,' he said.


'When I went underwater for the first time I was absolutely shocked. White Sea showed me another world with it's own aliens, and some of them were really amazing creatures.'

Sea butterfly: A swimming predatory marine sea snail. They have two wing-like outgrowths (lower right) derived from their foot, which they continually flap to swim through the water

Sea angel: A small swimming sea slug makes it way through the -2C waters

Included in his works are the bright pink skeleton shrimp, the weird sea angel, and the odd sea butterfly - a type of snail that spins a web to capture small creatures.   


'Most of these creatures are known and seen only by a few specialists and marine biologist,' Mr Semenov said.

'They all live in cold seas in remote regions inside the Arctic circle.

'These are hard places to reach for most divers - under ice in low temperatures.


'Some of these creatures are so small divers just can't notice them and see them with the naked eye.'

Sandworms: These marine worms move through the water suing their bristles

A marine worm fluorescing: Polychaetes are a class of annelid (segmented) worms. Each segment has a pair of fleshy limb-like appendages (parapodia) which help them to move.

The White Sea, where these pictures were taken, is one of the most remote and untouched places left on Earth.

Located in the north east Atlantic Ocean it is twice the size of Denmark and is only recently being explored by divers attracted by it's crystal clear waters that allow divers to see an astonishing 40 metres underwater.

A cousin to coral: The tentacled feeding structures of a Hydrozoan, which is related to corals and sea anemones

Meet the neighbours: Amphipod crustaceans shelter amongst the tentacled feeding structures of a hydrozoan colony.

Mr Semenov's biological research station is 12 miles from the nearest village, which means if he runs short of supplies he can't simply jump in the car and drive there - because no road exists.


'Our station is a educational and research centre,' he said.


'Communication with the nearest village is possible only by boat during the summer and snow mobile during the winter.


'But our location is an ideal place to study the marine environment.


'The creatures I photograph are so bright and unusual that you want to explore and learn something about their lives.'

True blue: A Polychaete marine worm that is made up of segments and displays a startling blue flash

Sonic hedgehog of the seas: This is a nudibranch - which is a shell-less marine mollusc.

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