Continent 7: Antarctica

Six teams of scientists arrive on the coldest, driest and windiest continent on Earth, after years of planning and with millions of dollars invested in their endeavour, to better understand climate change.

With a Condition 1 storm arriving in the Scott Base area, scientific missions are shut down and scientists are forced to remain inside their tents.

The teams are plagued by technical difficulties; heavy winds threaten the equipment of one team; the Mount Erebus team faces a malfunctioning computer; the US Coast Guard suffers an engine failure.

Climate change and human intervention threaten the survival of Antartic wildlife that has adapted to the hostile conditions of the continent. The scientists seek to understand just how great an impact these factors have on the Antarctic ecosystem.

With time running out, the teams scramble to collect data in order to complete their missions; Captain Walker's crew make their way slowly back to base; the Mount Erebus team seek data from a volcano.

The arrival of winter sees the crew diminished; a container ship makes its way through the ice with provisions for the skeleton crew who stay behind for the long, dark season.