Science: Life under the ice

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The WaPo reports (not paywalled) about life found in the water and on the seabed after a 19 mile long chunk of ice broke loose in the Antarctic:

A huge iceberg broke off Antarctica. What scientists found under it startled them.


Crustaceans, snails, worms and fish are among the dozens of creatures that deep-sea explorers discovered under a massive Antarctic ice shelf. Expectations weren’t high. The scientists didn’t think much life could thrive tucked under such a thick blanket of ice. .... In total, the researchers believe they will be able to identify dozens of new species from the expedition.


The tentacles of a solitary hydroid drift in currents 360 meters deep


A large sponge, a cluster of anemones, and other life ~230 meters


A stalk of deep-sea coral at ~1200 meters


A helmet jellyfish drifts with tentacles splayed



A giant phantom jelly is documented in the Bellingshausen Sea off Antarctica, at an area where the shelf break and slope are cut by several underwater gullies. This jellyfish can grow a bell more than one meter (3.3 feet) across with four ribbon-like oral arms that can grow to more than 10 meters (33 feet) in length



Brittle stars climb on a sponge, documented at 215 meters deep


An octopus rests on the seafloor 1150 meters deep



By Germaine: Science-lite aficionado & anti-global warming advocate-lite

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