British scientists are leading a mission to reveal the secrets of the deep Atlantic Ocean.

Launching this week, the Atlas project - involving 24 research institutions around Europe and North America - will spend four years studying the deep sea, exploring unknown ecosystems and measuring the changing ocean currents that impact on our climate.

The project, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, will explore some of the remarkably diverse ecosystems shown here - gathering samples and filming creatures at ocean depths of many kilometres.

Victoria Gill reports