Antarctic marine explorers reveal first biological changes after collapse of polar ice shelves

25-Feb-2007
Census of Marine Life

Deep-sea species at unusually shallow depths on uncapped seabed

Ice fish(photo (c) Julian Gutt, AWI)

Once roofed by ice for millennia, a 10,000 square km portion of the Antarctic seabed represents a true frontier, one of Earth’s most pristine marine ecosystems, made suddenly accessible to exploration by the collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, 12 and five years ago respectively.

Now it has yielded secrets to some 52 marine explorers who accomplished the seabed’s first comprehensive biological survey during a 10-week expedition aboard the German research vessel Polarstern.

The expedition forms part of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (http://www.caml.aq/), which has 13 upcoming voyages scheduled during International Polar Year, to be launched in Paris March 1.

Full text: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/coml-ame022207.php

Media coverage summary: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pRwdzmg01IrRlnlC14NiFPQ

Example coverage, click here

Example coverage: click here