Physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski challenges her band of ocean experts to save their research from being jettisoned to save our sinking ship. Biogeochemist Dan Jones, oceanographer Stephanie Henson, marine biologist Nick Higgs and paleoclimatologist David Thornalley discuss their time at sea and why their work matters as they try to defend their favourite piece of scientific equipment from being thrown overboard.

The Arctic is hotting up: experts say that within decades the Arctic Ocean will be largely ice-free during summer months. This could open up new shipping lanes and untapped oil reserves and cause environmentalists to clash with economists. So what does the future hold? Helen Czerski tests the waters with sea ice physicist Jeremy Wilkinson, Arctic plant ecologist Robert Baxter and geopolitics expert Klaus Dodds.