National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Photo: Ice Shelf Collapses Reveal New Species, Ecosystem Changes


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Species such as this Antarctic ice fish are moving into a region of the Weddell Sea that was once covered by two massive ice shelves, researchers recently announced. The first of several planned voyages to study the areas where the ice shelves collapsed offered scientists a glimpse of nearly a thousand rare species, including some that might be new to science.

The expeditions will also help scientists understand how pristine ecosystems—such as this ocean area that was capped by thick ice for millennia—respond to sudden environmental change.

Photograph © J. Gutt/Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research