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The invisible life hidden beneath Antarctica’s ice | Ariel Waldman

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. In this tour of the microscopic world, explorer and artist Ariel Waldman introduces the charismatic creatures lurking beneath Antarctica’s massive ice sheet, the largest on earth. From “cuddly” water bears to geometric algae made of glass, Waldman shows how…

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Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

In this tour of the microscopic world, explorer and artist Ariel Waldman introduces the charismatic creatures lurking beneath Antarctica’s massive ice sheet, the largest on earth. From “cuddly” water bears to geometric algae made of glass, Waldman shows how this seemingly barren landmass is actually a polar oasis of life — if we just know where to look.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a Media Request here:

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74 Comments

74 Comments

  1. Ariel Waldman

    August 10, 2020 at 4:41 pm

    Thanks for coming to my TED talk! 😊 You can catch more videos from my Antarctic expedition at

    • Matt Biddulph

      August 10, 2020 at 5:11 pm

      I’m biased, but those videos are great!

    • Mététong 206

      August 11, 2020 at 7:14 pm

      Your research field is wonderful!!! who would have guess that tardigrades where such a cute animal 😳

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 8:14 pm

      Mététong 206 – 😊 I know, right!?

    • muhammad ali

      August 12, 2020 at 11:30 pm

      Life is everywhere in every form,may be we find one day all of that.😱😨😍😘

  2. horacechin1

    August 10, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    “There’s more” – 2020

  3. Md Masud Gazi

    August 10, 2020 at 5:03 pm

    From Bangladesh

  4. jon budihna

    August 10, 2020 at 5:06 pm

    Did i make the right decision when i decided to study biology?

  5. Renny Zero

    August 10, 2020 at 5:23 pm

    Lost Civilization of Atlantis Trapped Under Ice?

  6. Liter A

    August 10, 2020 at 5:24 pm

    Aren’t those tiny creatures cute and adorable 💚

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 5:34 pm

      They’re so freakin’ cute.

    • Liter A

      August 10, 2020 at 5:43 pm

      @Ariel Waldman I love this talk, btw. Made me feel more appreciative of the world and its wonders.

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 7:43 pm

      Liter A – 😊

  7. abhishek darade

    August 10, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    I just love this content beautiful. 👍

  8. Natto Jelly

    August 10, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    Her enthusiasm for those tiny creatures is so charming

  9. Abhipray

    August 10, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    Wow, her narration

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 8:22 pm

      😊

  10. Shubham kumar

    August 10, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    Binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod binod

  11. MH •

    August 10, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    Liberals. 2:26 global warming who?

  12. Lisa Love Ministries

    August 10, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Develop fellowship with Christ our Savior.
    John 3:16
    Proverbs 3

  13. disarmyouwith a

    August 10, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    This is way better than most TED talks, nowadays.. I really dig it without an audience that makes all of the presenters feel so self important. xD

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 8:21 pm

      Now we just have the awkwardness of no audience 😆

    • First thing to Come to mind

      August 10, 2020 at 10:07 pm

      @Ariel Waldman Your talk was great. Your enthusiasm rubbed of on me as a viewer.😁

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 12:12 am

      First thing to Come to mind – Yay 👏

  14. Kevin Wallace

    August 10, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    “Some of the critters I found you may recognize” You have vastly overestimated my knowledge

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 7:34 pm

      😁

    • Brett

      August 11, 2020 at 3:14 am

      Hahaha! Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.

  15. plant Family

    August 10, 2020 at 6:47 pm

    They say that’s where some of the fallen angels are Nephilim😉

  16. GreenM&M_11

    August 10, 2020 at 6:50 pm

    Water bears!! 😍😍

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 7:34 pm

      They’re the best!

  17. WatchmanOn ThePod

    August 10, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    I must admit, I truly loved this video!

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 7:34 pm

      Thank you!

  18. Foxen Oxen Gaming

    August 10, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    Maybe it’s just me, but I cannot stand the way she says Antarctica. She says, “ANT-TART-TICA”. AHH!

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 8:03 pm

      😂 I’ll open a pastry shop next time I’m in McMurdo

    • Foxen Oxen Gaming

      August 10, 2020 at 8:17 pm

      @Ariel Waldman I’m sorry. I still love you and your information. It was awesome! I just have a bad habit of grammar correcting people. Like OCD almost. : But your pronouncing it correctly. It just sounds like you run off that T. It sounds like “Tartica” instead of “Tarctica” Don’t mind me. LoL! Your a smart, badass chick! Way smarter then me Ariel. 😉 👍 I would have loved to do work out there on that ice sheet and camp out for a month or more while studying the melt, the biological creatures, the micro biologic creatures and the general land mass that’s underneath the ice. I’ve always been interested….. fascinated in that continent. Thank you again Ariel! I look forward to more videos. 👍 ✌

  19. 0 0

    August 10, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    Botox? Looks like her face is frozen in place, speaking of antártica

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 11:59 pm

      Nope! Never done it, but I did have to stay carefully in place to stay in focus since we had a small depth of field.

  20. 0 0

    August 10, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    More scenes with her than of the critters living in ice! Narcissism!? Hmmm

  21. Paymaan Jafari

    August 10, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    Love the passion Ariel always shows when she talks about life forms.

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 11:58 pm

      Thanks 😊 so many fun creatures in this world

    • Paymaan Jafari

      August 11, 2020 at 2:22 pm

      @Ariel Waldman Thanks to you! Show us more!

  22. Mac Clift

    August 10, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    Is this dangerous? Scientists Wake Up Ancient Viruses Unknown to Medicine – The Infographics Show:

  23. David M Wells

    August 10, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    Great video!! I love TED Talks!!!

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 11:58 pm

      Thank you for tuning in!

  24. Kim Senior

    August 10, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    Excellent! I’m going to have to watch where I tread from now on! 😊

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 10, 2020 at 11:57 pm

      It’s so fun to think about this stuff when you walk around.

    • Kim Senior

      August 11, 2020 at 12:02 am

      Ariel Waldman, It certainly is. In all seriousness, I’ve always been fascinated by the microbial world & the part they play in the survival of the ecosystem. Thanks once again for a fascinating video, better than Star Trek anyway!

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 1:03 am

      Kim Senior – I can’t possibly compete with Star Trek, but thank you! 😊

    • Kim Senior

      August 11, 2020 at 10:44 am

      Ariel Waldman 😊

  25. Startup Funding Event Global

    August 11, 2020 at 12:45 am

    Super cool talk! Feels more like a documentary, great format!

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 1:04 am

      Thank you! 😊

  26. Nawang sherpa

    August 11, 2020 at 2:04 am

  27. Oracle of Dephi

    August 11, 2020 at 2:15 am

    ~~~I could say the same thing about dreams and con SCIENCE~~~

  28. Brett

    August 11, 2020 at 3:12 am

    We need to raise the CO2 levels up to about 1000ppm. The plants are on the edge of suffocation.

  29. Davis Hueter

    August 11, 2020 at 5:39 am

    I found a water bear in my 8th grade science class (as a student)

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 7:54 am

      Awesome!

  30. Shahir Khan

    August 11, 2020 at 5:44 am

    Ariel this vedio was too short!
    More expander talk would have been amazing 😍

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 7:54 am

      There’s more on my YouTube channel!

  31. John Long

    August 11, 2020 at 6:14 am

    I think she is very pretty

  32. craig blackwood

    August 11, 2020 at 10:03 am

    On world Instead of OFF WORLD. Do you still work with or assist TESTED ms.Waldman?

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 4:14 pm

      I’m still part of the Tested team but we’ve had to put Offworld on hiatus due to the pandemic unfortunately.

    • craig blackwood

      August 12, 2020 at 12:57 am

      @Ariel Waldman Oh. I was hoping you folks would use Zoom or Skype but I guess scheduling would be an issue. Can’t wait for things to get somewhat back to normal.

  33. Joaquin Hernandez

    August 11, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    I know what she’s talking about thanks to @Journey to the Microcosmos. This is so cool!

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 11, 2020 at 4:14 pm

      Yay! They’re great.

  34. Myra Leonie

    August 11, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    I SEE ONLY ONE THINGS IN THIS WORLD : SILICON VALLEY AND THE CHURCHES ARE THE MAFIA ELITES !! IN THIS WORLD

  35. Mike Vieira

    August 11, 2020 at 4:23 pm

    Coolest Ted Talk EVER.

  36. Tue Sorensen

    August 12, 2020 at 12:45 am

    This is interesting. I wonder: Because of human impacts on the environment, we find ourselves in the middle of a mass-extinction event, but does that also impact these very small critters? Are there fewer diatoms, tardigrades, nematodes, etc. because of man-made pollution, etc., or are they hardly affected at all? This I would like to know more about.

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 12, 2020 at 5:01 am

      In Antarctica, a warming climate means that new critters will be able to gain a foothold there, creating competition for the existing critters that may or may not end well for them. A warming ocean might be okay for some diatoms and not for others, leading to a decrease in the 100,000+ species diversity that currently exists. Microbial mats tend to only exist in extreme environments where other creatures can’t get to them.

    • Tue Sorensen

      August 12, 2020 at 5:05 am

      Thanks! 🙂

  37. Billy Lunger

    August 12, 2020 at 9:44 am

    Amazing. But to short. Please more.

    • Ariel Waldman

      August 12, 2020 at 11:09 pm

      There’s much more on my YouTube channel!

  38. Hashim

    August 12, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    Binod

  39. Sofia Pasotto

    August 12, 2020 at 5:53 pm

    Sad to think that all the life in the Artic and in Antarctica is threathened by climate change. As well as our life, let’s be honest. We need to act, fast.

  40. muhammad ali

    August 12, 2020 at 11:37 pm

    Very informative,appreciated for your hardwork.🙎🙏😸😹

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