About the book: 1968 / Is it possible to go underwater in the cold Southern Ocean, covered with two-meter ice? What animals and plants live there, in the depths of the south polar seas? The reader, together with scuba divers and hydrobiologists, members of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition, will sail through all latitudes from the Arctic Circle to the South, dive under Antarctic sea ice for the first time, see the richest fauna at the bottom of the Davis Sea and the Cosmonaut Sea, learn how divers met whales and octopuses, discovered rare sea lilies and collected corals and sponges at the bottom of the sea. The book describes many adventures, but at the same time it is not just a story about an interesting expedition. M. V. Propp, the head of the underwater research group of the 11th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, talks about the place underwater research plays in the study and development of the immense riches of the ocean. The book is intended for a wide range of readers.