Sneak Peek - National Geographic Channel's Documentary Series CONTINENT 7: ANTARCTICA

It's 2:04 a.m., 12 hours into a whiteout storm, 100 miles from home base. The wind is 30 mph and the temperature is minus 32 F.

In Antarctica, that's just another day at the office. Antarctica is the coldest, driest, windiest continent on the planet. It's 5.4 million square miles of desert. Researchers risk these extremes to conduct groundbreaking and life-changing science, supported by small outposts dedicated to keeping them alive. Life on an Antarctic base is like a fully operational extraterrestrial facility - a space station on ice.

Viewers will have unprecedented access to the leading scientists of New Zealand's Scott Base and their missions, and the men and women behind the scenes who are responsible for keeping everyone alive. CONTINENT 7: ANTARCTICA, a cross-platform six-episode series, will air globally on National Geographic Channel in 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages. The series will also be covered extensively on nationalgeographic.com and on the unparalleled portfolio of social media assets at our disposal.

Upcoming episodes include:

Continent 7: Antarctica - "Take Your Best Shot"
Premieres Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 10/9c
All life forms on Antarctica have to endure the harshest climate on earth in order to survive and thrive as a species. Much of Antarctic life congregates in the ocean, where more nutrients and prey are available. Scientists therefore have focused their research in these icy waters in an effort to determine how both climate change and direct human interference have affected the marine ecosystem. Whale biopsies determine how their diet has changed over time and the dire need to reverse climate change effects before its too late. On the other hand, life for humans on this continent can be put in danger when the machinery and transportation they rely on in this isolated part of the world fails them. In Antarctica both humans and animals alike do what it takes to adapt and survive.

Continent 7: Antarctica - "Science of Survival"
Premieres Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 10/9c
In two weeks, Science in Antarctica will shut down for the winter. Scott Base has a heavy load of logistics to manage in order to send teams out to finish their missions for the season and prepare for the arrival of an entire year's worth of supplies coming into port. Captain Walker and the crew of the USS Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star are once again challenged by their aging ship as they try to finish the last stages of cutting a channel in the ice before they escort the Ocean Giant in. Meanwhile, Graham Hill and the Mount Erebus team struggle to salvage as much data as they can from the volcano before they go home. Barbara Bollard Breen and her team carefully take digital pictures of the historic Scott Hut historical site and map the surrounding area by drone. In the Dry Valleys, Craig Cary leads an expedition for one more set of samples from the sand before the helicopter comes to pick up the team from the field.

Continent 7: Antarctica - "Race to Escape"
Premieres Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 10/9c
As winter approaches, field teams are finishing up their Science for the season. It's the last chance to obtain information for their research on the frozen continent. As most people are preparing to leave, a container ship is on its way in to supply the continent with food and materials needed for the skeleton crew that remains during the cold dark winter months.

The clips below show the extreme danger the United States Coast Guard faces as they violently slam their ship into an ice channel with a force comparable to a 10-12 Richter scale earthquake to create a passageway for supply ships to enter. Because of engine failure, two divers risked their lives and dove deep into the world's coldest water, over 20ft below the icy surface, to do an underwater inspection.

Photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Jeremiah Kelley