A massive iceberg from Antarctica’s George VI Ice Shelf calved in January, offering researchers a rare chance to explore an untouched part of the planet. The opportunity arose when a team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute happened to be nearby, and they quickly capitalized on it.
The ice shelf spanning 510 square kilometers (197 square miles) broke off, revealing a previously inaccessible area. The team used remotely operated vehicles to explore the seafloor over eight days, reaching depths of up to 1,300 meters (4,265 feet). They discovered a rich community of fish, coral, octopus, sea spiders, anemones, and sponges, which they suspect are being sustained by deep ocean currents delivering nutrients.
The team collected numerous samples for further study, including potentially new species of fish, crustaceans, and polychaete worms. The area revealed sharp cliffs, sometimes vertical, near steep depressions 1,300 meters deep, similar to Yosemite National Park underwater.
As climate change accelerates ice sheet melting in Antarctica, calving events like this one are expected to become more frequent. The researchers plan to return to the site to track changes in ocean currents and seafloor ecosystems, developing models that can project how ice loss from Antarctica will evolve under different climate change scenarios.
Source: https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/huge-iceberg-breaks-from-antarctica-revealing-a-rich-seafloor-ecosystem