ktlight
18th April 2011, 11:00
The removal of a massive iceberg from the Mertz glacier in East Antarctica has revealed a huge diversity of new life.
The 78-kilometre long iceberg separated from the Mertz glacier last year after it was rammed by another giant iceberg.
It has exposed a section of the Southern Ocean previously covered in hundred of metres of ice.
This summer scientists were able to deploy underwater cameras where the glacier tongue used to be.
They have discovered new species of marine life, including sponges and fish as well as sea stars the size of hub caps.
Oceanographers from the Australian Antarctic Division also found that the salinity of the ocean around the glacier has decreased.
Over time they hope to learn how this natural event will affect ocean currents and use that information to make predictions about climate change.
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201104/r752725_6256111.jpg
The 78-kilometre long iceberg separated from the Mertz glacier last year after it was rammed by another giant iceberg.
It has exposed a section of the Southern Ocean previously covered in hundred of metres of ice.
This summer scientists were able to deploy underwater cameras where the glacier tongue used to be.
They have discovered new species of marine life, including sponges and fish as well as sea stars the size of hub caps.
Oceanographers from the Australian Antarctic Division also found that the salinity of the ocean around the glacier has decreased.
Over time they hope to learn how this natural event will affect ocean currents and use that information to make predictions about climate change.
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201104/r752725_6256111.jpg