UL03202 Marin dan Pembangunan Komuniti

2020/21

Title:

The Effects of Icebergs Drifting on Marine Biodiversity

Lecturer: Kennedy Aaron Aguol

Group members:

Matric Number Member’s name

BN20110081 AMABEL SEE LI YEN
BN20110097 LOW BEI XUAN
BN20110101 LIM KIM YEE
BN20110113 IVY BINTI CYRIL
BS20110445 BA YONG HENG
BS20110458 NUR MAISARAH SOFIA BINTI ISMAIL
BB17271119 HUANG LUO QIAN
BB17271101 LUO KAI
1.0 Introduction

Iceberg is known as a chunk of ice that floats on the surface of the sea or lake. Its
size may vary from few meters and up to 100 meters and larger. This simply means that an
iceberg can exist in size similar to a small island to incredible huge size as a small country.
Only the ice chunk that is larger than 5 meter can be categorized as an iceberg. The ice chunk
that is smaller in size is known as growler and bergy bits. These ice chunks can be very
dangerous to sailing ships as they are harder to spot than an iceberg. The region that consists
of the most iceberg is the cold-water region of Antarctica and The North Atlantic.

The process of formation and breaking off of an iceberg can be interesting. Iceberg is
usually found in the cold-water ocean. It is hard to believe that the iceberg is made up of
freshwater instead of saltwater. An iceberg usually formed from ice chunks that formed during
the breaking of a larger iceberg, which will eventually drift along the ocean following the ocean
current. This is known as a phenomenon called iceberg drifting. As the iceberg drift to a
region of warm water ocean, the melting of the iceberg starts to occur from all sides. On the
iceberg's surface, the warm air will melt the top of the iceberg, forming melt ponds in the
iceberg which will cause wider cracks. The warm water surrounding the iceberg will cause
the edge of the iceberg to crack and breaks off. Meanwhile, the warm water will also melt
the iceberg from the bottom to the top.

Nowadays, scientists are spending lots of effort and time studying the formation of the
iceberg. This is because the formation and melting of the iceberg can reflect the happening
of global warming. Therefore, the changes in the iceberg area and the happening of iceberg
drifting are constantly under observation by scientists. The happening of iceberg drifting can
be disastrous as the iceberg drifting can cause many impacts to the marine biodiversity. For
example, iceberg drifting will cause the rising in seawater level as the melting of the iceberg
may occur when the iceberg reaches the warm water region. This may result in the destructive
erosion of coastal habitats, loss of marine life habitats, wetland flooding and even cause the
contamination of soil by saltwater. In contrast, iceberg drifting and melting that happens
naturally can also be beneficial to marine life. When the iceberg melts, the nutrients will leak
into the ocean, which can be used by the marine life in the surrounding. In this study, we
are going to learn more about whether the iceberg drifting will affect the marine biodiversity.
2.0 Hypothesis Statement

Hypothesis Null (𝐻0): Iceberg drifting will not affect marine life.

Hypothesis Alternative (𝐻1): Iceberg drifting will affect marine life.

3.0 Article

Article 1

Melting icebergs boost sea-level rise

EARTH 30 April 2010

By Kate Mcalpine
Sea rise ahoy
(Image: Jonathan Hayward/Re x Features)

When an ice cube melts in a glass, the overall water level does not change from when the ice is frozen to
when it joins the liquid. Doesn’t that mean that melting icebergs shouldn’t contribute tosea-level rise? Not
quite.

Although most of the contributions to sea-level rise come from water and ice moving from land into the
ocean, it turns out that the melting of floating ice causes a small amount of sea-level rise, too.

Globally, it doesn’t sound like much – just 0.049 millimetres per year – but if all the sea ice currently bobbing
on the oceans were to melt, it could raise sea level by 4 to 6 centimetres.

Fresh water, of which icebergs are made, is less dense than salty sea water. So while the amount of sea water
displaced by the iceberg is equal to its weight, the melted fresh water will take up a slightly larger volume
than the displaced salt water. This results in a small increase in the water level.

Diluted oceans
Andrew Shepherd and colleagues from the University of Leeds, UK, used iceberg surveys to analyse the
amount of ice floating on the world’s oceans. Taking into account melting ice shelves, melting Arctic sea ice,
and the increase of Antarctic sea ice – which removes water from the oceans – they estimate that about 746
cubic kilometres of ice are melting each year, overall.

“The ice melting is diluting the oceans, decreasing its density and raising sea levels as a
consequence,” says Shepherd.

The team calculate that the melting of floating ice accounts for a small amount of the 0.3 millimetres per
year unaccounted for in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s best model of sea-level rise,
currently measured at about 3.1 millimetres per year.
David Holland of New York University’s Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science says the work is a useful
contribution to understanding the details of sea-level rise. “Global sea-level change from floating ice is
small, but perhaps in a regional sense detectable,” he says.

Journal reference: Geophysical Research Letters, DOI: 10.1029/2010GL 042496 (in press)

More on these topics: CLIMATE CHANGE

Magazine issue 2759 , publishe d 8 May 2010

Article 2

Your source f or the latest research news

Antarctic Icebergs: Hotspots Of Ocean Life

Summary:

June 22, 2007

University of Calif ornia - San Diego

Global climate change is causing Antarctic ice shelves to shrink and split apart, yielding thousands of free-drif ting
icebergs in the nearby Weddell Sea. According to a new study these f loating islands of ice -- some as large as a dozen
miles across -- are having a major impact onthe ecology of the ocean around them, serving as "hotspots" f or ocean lif e,
with thriving communities of seabirds above and a web of phytoplankton, krill and f ish below.

FULL STORY

Global climate change is causing Antarctic ice shelves to shrink and split apart, yielding thousands of
free-drifting icebergs in the nearby Weddell Sea. According to a new study in this week's journal
Science these floating islands of ice -- some as largeas a dozen miles across -- are having a major
impact on the ecology of the ocean around them, serving as "hotspots" for ocean life, with thriving
communities of seabirds above and a web of phytoplankton, krill, and fish below.

The icebergs hold trapped terrestrial material, which they release f ar out at sea as they melt. The researchers
discovered that this process produces a "halo ef f ect" with significantly increased phytoplankton, krill and seabirds out
to a radius of more than two miles around the icebergs. They may also play a surprising role in global climate change.

"One important consequence of the increased biological productivity is that f ree-f loating icebergs can serve as a route
f or carbon dioxide drawdown and sequestration of particulate carbon as it sinks into the deep sea," said oceanographer
Ken Smith of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), f irst author and principal investigator f or the
research.

"While the melting of Antarctic ice shelves is contributing to rising sea levels and other climate change dynamics in
complex ways, this additional role of removing carbon f rom the atmosphere may have implications f or global climate
 models that need to be f urther studied," added Smith.

To understand the icebergs' complex impacts, the multidisciplinary team of researchers carried out the most
comprehensive study ever done of individual icebergs and their immediate environment, taking a wide array of
measurements -- physical, biological and chemical, and using satellite images provided by NASA.

At the same time, the wealth of data brought new challenges in how to manage this avalanche of inf ormation. "The
whole is def initely greater than the sum of the parts, and to answer questions across the dif ferent areas f rom ecology to
chemistry and climate, scientists need access to all the data," explained researcher John Helly of the San Diego
Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego who managed the data. "And we need to reliably harvest this
inf ormation at sea, thousands of miles from our shore-based labs, and to preserve it as a unique snapshot of these
iceberg ecosystems at this point in history."
Using SDSC-developed technologies, Helly collected the data using the SIOExplorer-in-a-Box digital library system and
then stored the inf ormation in collections at SDSC f or access and analysis by scientists now and in the f uture.

Just getting to the icebergs was a challenge. First the scientists used satellite images to select two icebergs to study in
detail. Then they sailed aboard the Antarctic research vessel Laurence M. Gould to reach their targets in the remote
Weddell Sea, an arm of the Southern Atlantic Ocean that cuts into the Antarctic continent southeast of Cape Horn. The
icebergs in the study were up to a dozen miles long and more than 120 f eet high, with one extending nearly 1,000 f eet
into the depths.

Despite the risks of getting close to these mountains of ice -- which can shed huge pieces or overturn without warning -
- the scientists began their shipboard sampling mere hundreds of feet f rom the icebergs and continued out to a
distance of some f ive miles, where the icebergs' inf luence was no longer detectable.

"Phytoplankton around the icebergs was enriched with large diatom cells, known f or their role in productive systems
such as upwelling areas of the west coast of the U.S. or ice-edge communities in polar oceans. As diatoms are the
pref erred f ood f or krill, we expect the changes in phytoplankton community composition to favor grazing as a key
biological process involved in carbon sequestration around f ree-f loating icebergs," said oceanographer Maria Vernet
f rom Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, one of the members of the research team.

"We used a small, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to explore the submerged sides of the icebergs and the waters
between the bergs and where the ship was, standing of f at a saf e distance," said Bruce Robison of MBARI, an
oceanographer and ROV pilot. "We f lew the ROV into underwater caves and to the undersides of the icebergs,
identif ying and counting animals with its color video camera, collecting samples, and surveying its topography."

Based on their new understanding of the impacts of the icebergs and their growing numbers -- the researchers counted
close to 1,000 in satellite images of some 4,300 square miles of ocean -- the scientists estimate that overall the
icebergs are raising the biological productivity of nearly 40 percent of the Weddell Sea's area.

In addition to Smith, Robison, Vernet and Helly, the study's authors include Henry Ruhl of MBARI, Ronald Kauf mann of
the University of San Diego, Timothy Shaw and Benjamin Twining of the University of South
Carolina. These preliminary results were gathered as part of a small exploratory study funded by the National Science
Foundation's Of fice of Polar Programs. Many research questions remain to be answered about the role of icebergs in
the pelagic ecosystem of the Southern Ocean. This research is f unded to continue these studies in 2008 and 2009.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of California - San Diego. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Article 3

(//www.euronews.com) (/green) NEWS CLIMATE NATURE LIVING ECO-INNOVATION

G RE E N N E W S ( //W W W .E U RO NE W S . CO M /G R E E N/G RE E N- NE W S )
 How the world's biggest iceberg could still spell
disaster for this remote wildlife haven

The iceberg, known as A68, is too big to be caught on camera from the air. - Copyright Cpl Phil Dye RAF/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2020 via Storyful (#)

By Rosie Frost (https://twitter.com/RosiecoFrost) • Updated: 23/12/2020

In 2017, a giant piece of ice the size of a small country broke away f rom the
Antarctic. Measuring 5,800 square kilometres, twice the size of Luxembourg, it
was one of the largest icebergs ever recorded.
Advertisement

1
This vast mass of f rozen water has been slowly drif ting through the ocean since
it made a break f rom the Larson C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula three years
ago. Tracked by satellites the berg, shaped like a hand with an outstretc h ed
index f inger, began moving north in 2018.

That was until last year when the iceberg, labelled as A68, was quickly propelled into the
Southern Atlantic
(//www.ebuyr sotnenwgsc.cuo
ro rrm
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During its travels, it has shrunk and broken in two, but its unpredictable nature
is causing concern f or conservationists. It is still so large that photographs
captured by the UK Royal Air Force
(https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2F2020%2
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earlier this month couldn’t f it it into a single shot.

As the iceberg closed in on the wildlife haven of South Georgia

(https://www.google.com/url?
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in the southern Atlantic Ocean earlier this year, experts grew increasingly
 worried it could cause an environmental disaster.

“The iceberg is going to cause devastation to the sea f loor by scouring the
seabed communities of sponges, brittle stars, worms and sea-urchins, so
decreasing biodiversity,” explains Prof essor Geraint Tarling, an ecologist at the
British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Enormou
“These communities help store large amounts of carbon in their body tissue
and surrounding ssediment.
UK to Destruction by the iceberg will release this stored
carbon back intofight
the water and, potentially, the atmosphere, which would be a
f urther negative impact.”
Photographers on an RAF fly past of the iceberg couldn't get the whole thing in one photo. - RAF Air Load Master/UK MOD © Crown

copyright 2020 via Storyful

RELATED Chernobyl: Why the nuclear disaster was an accidental environmental success

(https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/05/07/chernobyl-w hy-the-nuclear-disaster -

was-an-environmental-success)

(//www.euronews.com) (/green) NEWS CLIMATE NATURE LIVING ECO-INNOVATION

A threat to penguins and seals

South Georgia is one of the world’s most important ecosystems. The remote
island is home to millions of macaroni, gentoo and king penguins as well as
seals, albatross and other rare wildlif e. Of the 30 species of birds that breed
there, 11 are considered to be threatened or near threatened by the IUCN.

With no permanent human inhabitants, the island has levels of biodiversity

comparable to the Galapagos Islands. To preserve this valuable ecosystem, the
Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands created one of the
world’s largest Marine Protected Areas in the region in 2012.

RELATED 'Strong and successful without men’: Why two women spent a year in the Arctic )
(https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/03/08/strong-a nd-successful-without-men-

why-two-women-spe nt-a-year-in-the-arctic )

Despite the enormous iceberg starting to break apart in the last f ew days, it
still poses a threat to the creatures that call South Georgia home. The largest
of the separate pieces, labelled as A-68a, could still disrupt underwat er
ecosystems and stop animals f rom f inding f ood.
 This chunk is now heading south-east where scientists expect it will be picked
up by a current that would carry it around towards the island’s east coast.
Prof essor Tarling told the BBC
(https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F% 2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews% 2
Fscience-environment-
54798031&sa=D&ust=1608573666255000&usg=AOvVaw1Fwgum3HA_ox8Dg3u1j
ekn) that if the iceberg runs aground it would have “massive implications” f or
South Georgia’s animal inhabitants.
“When you're talking about penguins and seals during the period that's really crucial to them -
during pup-
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S CL IM AT E NATURE LIVIN G ECO-INN OVA TION
have to tr avel to find f ood (fish and krill) r eally matter s. If they have to
do a big detour, it means they're not going to get back to their young in time to prevent them starving to death in
the interim,” he said.

According to the European Space Agency, if the iceberg becomes lodged on

the shoreline of the island, it could remain there f or up to 10 years.

Studying the world’s largest iceberg

Ice shelves f orm as glaciers move towards the sea and sheets of f rozen water
f loat in the water. It takes thousands of years f or them to build up and, as part
of their natural lif ecycle, pieces break of f .

When these pieces split f rom Antarctic ice shelves, they almost always drif t
counterclockwise around the continent. If they survive long enough without
breaking up, they are carried north towards South Georgia into an area known
as “iceberg alley”.
RELATED Plans to map the entire ocean floor by 2030 are off to a great start

(https://www.euronews.com/green/2020/11/20/a -fifth-of-the -worl d-s-ocean-floor-has-

now-been-mapped)

The disintegration of the ice shelf is not thought to be directly related to climate
change but as Antarctica gets warmer, experts predict events like this could
become more common. That makes studying their impact on marine
ecosystems vitally important and researchers hope to use this unique
opportunity to do just that.

A team of scientists led by the BAS is setting sail next month on an urgent
mission to study the iceberg. They will embark on a three-day voyage aboard an
ocean research vessel called the RRS James Cook to researc h the impact of
the giant piece of ice on the environment.

“We have a unique opportunity to visit the iceberg,” Says Oceanographer Dr Povl
Abrahamsen who will be leading the mission. He explains that it usually takes
years to plan f or voyages like this but that governments recognising the urgency
of the situation had allowed them to act quickly. “Everyone is pulling out all the
stops to make this happen.”
6/1/2021 NASA - Iceberg Makes a Big Splash on Sea Life

(//www.euronews.com) (/green) NEWS CLIMATE NATURE LIVING ECO-INNOVATION

Two submersible gliders will “f ly” through the water collecting inf ormation
about temperature, salinity, and levels of chlorophyll, a molecule vital f or
photosynthesis. The team will also measure the amount of plankton around
the berg, a microorganism that generates half of the atmosphere’s oxygen
and makes all ocean lif e possible.

“Whilst we are interested in the ef f ects of A-68a’s new arrival at South

Georgia, not all the impacts along its path are negative,” says Tarling.

“For example, when travelling through the open ocean, icebergs shed
enormous quantities of mineral dust that will f ertilise the ocean plankton
around them, and this will benef it them and cascade up the f ood chain.”
Article 4

Disclaimer: This material is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at
the time of publication, it is no
longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information, and parts may not function in current

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I ce b er g M ak es a Bi g S pla sh o n S ea Lif e 10 .23 .03

Space Station
Solar System NASA satellites observed the calving, or breaking off, of one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, named "C-19." The iceberg
separated from the western face of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in May 2002, splashed into the Ross Sea, and virtually
Universe eliminated a valuable food source for marine life. The event was unusual, because it was the second-largest iceberg to calve in
Aeronautics the region in 26 months.
Earth

Technology

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A b o v e : I ce b er g C - 1 9 i n th e R o ss Se a , A n ta r tic a.
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Over the last year, the path of C-19 inhibited the growth of minute, free-floating aquatic plants called phytoplankton during the
iceberg's temporary stopover near Pennell Bank, Antarctica. C-19 is located along the Antarctic coast and has diminished little
Plans in size. Since phytoplankton is at the base of the food chain, C-19 affects the food source of higher-level marine plants and
animals.
Reports
Kevin R. Arrigo and Gert L. van Dijken of Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., used chlorophyll data from NASA's Sea-viewing
Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The instrument, on the OrbView-2 satellite, also known as SeaStar, was used to locate
and quantify the effects of C-19 on phytoplankton. The researchers were able to pinpoint iceberg positions by using images
from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), an instrument aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites.
6/1/2021 NASA - Iceberg Makes a Big Splash on Sea Life
icebergs that drift through the southwester n Ross Sea during spring
z to
and summer," Arrigo said.

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T h e s e i m a g e s f r om t he y e ar s 2 0 00 , 2 0 01 & 2 0 0 2 sh o w s the
g r e a t e st a m o u nt o f p la n kto n in th e R o ss Sea o ccu r r ed in
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2 0 0 0 , a s i d e n tifie d by ye llo w a n d r e d c olo r s i nd ica tin g
c h l o r op h yll in t h e flo a tin g p la n ts. I n 2 0 0 2 , m or e s e a ice ( dar k
g r a y ) p r e ve nt ed p la n kto n gr o w t h.
B l a c k ar e a s a r e o p en w a te r r e g ion s o b s cur e d b y c lo ud s. A b o v e : T r a ck ing th e m o ve m e n t o f th e C - 1 9 ice b er g
M a j o r i ce b er g s a r e in w h ite a n d a r e l ab e le d. + V i e w a n im a tio n
C R E D I T : S t a nf or d U niv er s ity
+ V i e w la r ge r im a ge Arrigo and van Dijken also used imagery from the Defense
Meteorologic al Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite Special
Sensor Microwave lmager and Scanning Multichannel
Microwave Radiometer, managed by the U.S. Department of
Defense. The data was used to monitor the impact of C-19 on the movement of sea ice. The data is archived at the National
Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Arrigo said most of the face of the Ross Ice Shelf has already calved. There is another large crack, but it is very difficult to
predict if and when another large iceberg will result.

NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth System
Science to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards using the unique vantage point of space.

More information, movies and high resolution images see: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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N A S A G o d d a r d S p a ce F lig h t C e nt er

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Article 5

View in Hindi: i!I cl,

The Debate India News

Home / Technology News / Science / Scientists expose Antarctic sea life that was trapped under ice for over 50 year

Last Updated: 20th March, 2021 19:12 1ST

Scientists Expose Antarctic Sea

Life That Was Trapped Under Ice
For Over 50 Years
After an iceberg cracked off of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and
began drifting through the Weddell Sea, researchers got a
glimpse of the marine life.
6/1/2021 NASA - Iceberg Makes a Big Splash on Sea Life

Written By Akanksha Arora .. .. £)Koo

After an iceberg cracked off of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and

began drifting through the Weddell Sea, researchers got a
glimpse of the marine life living deep below the ice. This was
exposed after five decades of ice cover. By using the German View all
research vessel Polarstern, the researchers managed to get MUST READ

Aarogya Setu rolls out

new features
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View in H i n d i : [I1)i! I cl, [i!REPUBLICWORLD. t'

The Debate India News Arnab Online Coronavirus World News Entertainmen-

>
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directions and
sea cucumbers, and at least five species of fish and two squid
speeds once
species. German Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek
we've left. This
said, "It is a unique opportunity offered to researchers on
board Polarstern to explore the Antarctic Ice Sheet. I am data forms the
grateful to the crew of the Polarstern for taking on the basis
associated hardships and also risks. Polar research makes a
decisive contribution to better understanding and foreseeing
climate change and its consequences for our earth. We need
this knowledge in order to be able to take effective
countermeasures against climate change. The effects of
climate change in Antarctica, among others, are worrying".

Analysing the seafloor

The research was essential in understanding the processes
that the events set in motion. Such massive icebergs only
calve roughly once every 10 years in the Antarctic. As per the
AWi experts, the Antarctic is currently losing ice mass at a
higher rate than before 2 0 0 0 . The researchers, in order to
create simulations, need data from the specific regions.
READ I Antarctic Ozone Hole: Cold temperature, strong wind lead to
formation of large & deep hole

II
Dr Hartmut Hellmer, a physical
oceanographer at the AWI and head of the
expedition said, "It's extremely fortunate
that we were able to respond flexibly and
explore the calving event at the Brunt Ice
Shelf insuch detail". He added, "That being
said, I'm even happier that we successfully
replaced a number of moorings, which will
continue to record elementary data on
temperature, salinity, and ocean current
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NASA researchers develop ways to culture 'living heart...

--::,· -- -· --· --····J ··-·· ,-·-···J ···-
sea level will rise in the future - and
provide the political community and
society at large with sound data for
making decisions on necessary
climate change adaptation
measures'

The deep-sea research team observed numerous

organisms that had settled on stones of various sizes.
The stones come from the Antarctic continent and are
transported to the ocean by glaciers. The majority of
the organisms on them are filterers. As per AWE, in
the future, new technologies like autonomous
underwater robots will be used to investigate such
habitats.
Article 6

MAY 21, 2021

Vast Antarctic iceberg could drift through ocean for years

This handout image provided by the European Space Agency

(ESA) shows a representation of the size of an which iceberg has calved from the western side of
the Ronne Ice Shelf, lying in the Weddell Sea, in Antarctica. A vast iceberg that broke off from
Antarctic earlier this month could drift through the ocean for years before it breaks up and melts
away, a scientist from the ESA said Friday, May 21, 2021. Spotted in recent images captured by
the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, the iceberg is around 170 km in length and 25 km wide, and is
slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca. Credit: ESA via AP
A vast iceberg that broke off Antarctica earlier this month could drift through the ocean for
several years before it breaks up and melts away, a scientist from the European Space Agency
said Friday.

The iceberg, dubbed A-76, is more than 40 times the size of Paris, or about 73 times as big as
Manhattan, making it the largest currently afloat.

It was first spotted by scientists at the British Antarctic Survey and confirmed by the U.S. National
Ice Center using images taken by the European Space Agency's Sentinel 1A satellite.
Mark Drinkwater, a senior scientist at the space agency, said that while icebergs regularly calve
from Antarctic ice shelfs, the region where A-76 broke off had seen relatively little change in
recent decades.

"It's become a poster child, obviously, and there'll be a lot of attention on it," he said of the 4,320
square-kilometer (1,668 square-mile) floating island of ice.

A-76 will eventually escape from the Weddel Sea around Antarctica and drift into the South
Atlantic, but that journey could take years, Drinkwater said.

"We've seen icebergs that can last up to 18 years that have been tracked around Antarctica if
they remain in relatively cold waters," he said. "But it's likely that once this thing gets ejected
from the Weddel Sea out into the South Atlantic, it'll disintegrate fairly quickly."

The even larger iceberg A-68 that calved from Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf in 2017 disappeared
by early this year

Drinkwater said satellites have helped scientists keep track of the changes happening on the vast
but largely uninhabited continent that would otherwise go unnoticed.

"The continent that everybody thinks of as a benign, frozen part of the world that never changes
is actually very dynamic," he said, adding that increasing calving activity in parts of Antarctica
monitored from space over the past 30 years can be attributed to climate change.

Antarctic ice shelves regularly lose large chunks to the sea even as fresh ice forms inland, a
process that Drinkwater compared to a bank account that's continually being paid into and
withdrawn from.

"Parts of Antarctica are in arrears, and that's largely a consequence of increase in temperature or
large calving events that have removed ice and destabilized the ice shelves themselves," he said.
"Climate is responsible for these changes. And over the longer term, of course, it will have wide -
ranging impacts in different locations around Antarctica."

Article 7

Images of World’s Largest Iceberg Drifting in the

Southern Ocean

The sides rise nearly 100 feet - photos courtesy of BFSAI

PUBLISHED DEC 7, 2020 7:43 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Britain’s Royal Air Force released dramatic images of what is believed to be the world’s largest
iceberg as it drifts from the Antarctic shelf towards South Georgia island. Using enhanced
technologies fitted aboard an RAF Airbus 400M, the crew, which is part of the British Forces
South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) force, captured detailed images of berg for scientists to study and
predict the impact of this and other icebergs.

Known as A68a, the berg broke away from the Antarctica ice shelf in July 2017. At the time,
scientists estimated its size at nearly 6,000 sq km (approximately 2,300 sq. miles). They said it
could weigh more than one trillion tons.

A68a as seen from the window of the aircraft - BFSAI photo

Over the past three years, they have been closely tracking its progress as it slowly drifts towards
the British islands. While the berg has decreased by a third to approximately 4,200 sq km (1,600
sq miles) it remains the largest known piece to have broken from the ice shelf and is, of course, a
menace to shipping. In addition to the island forced from the berg, shipping in the region faces
danger as it breaks apart into what is known as tabular icebergs and debris that could pose a
threat to patrol vessels.

The BBC reports that experts were surprised that A68a has not broken apart into a series of large
pieces. They had expected it would have lost more of its mass before now. The sides of the berg
reach as much as 100 feet in height above the water. The imagery of the vertical sides however
uncovered tunnels under the iceberg, as well as deep fissures extending downwards that could be
an indication of instability.

Releasing its images, BFSAI said that the sheer size of A68a meant it was impossible to capture
its entirety in one single shot from the A400M aircraft. Instead, they were able to observe with
unprecedented detail cracks and fissures within the main body of the iceberg. The A400M crew
members and an officer from the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
(GSGSSI) were also able to visually identify ice debris in the surrounding waters.

“Guided by the satellite tracking, the A400M can get under the weather and closer to the iceberg,
enabling more detailed observations,” explained Squadron Leader Michael Wilkinson, Officer
Commanding 1312 Flt. “I know I speak on behalf of all of the crew involved when I say this is
certainly a unique and unforgettable task to be involved in.’’
Tunnel opening up in the massive berg - BFSAI photo

The A400M was able to capture the outline of the iceberg in detail. The reconnaissance provided
close up imagery of the iceberg and surrounding waters for observers and scientists to enjoy and
study. The data collected by the A400M reconnaissance has been shared with both GSGSSI and
the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) who are following the progress of the A68a. The imagery stills,
video footage, and visual observations will all assist in predicting the iceberg’s future behavior and
ascertaining the scale of the threat to the local area.

Typically, the iceberg would have attracted the attention of the numerous cruise ships in the
Southern Ocean during the summer, BFSAI said. However, with the global pandemic on-going,
cruise ship traffic is negligible this year, meaning that the reconnaissance flight provided the only
details on the berg and its current course.

The latest observations confirmed that A68a remains on a course towards the island of South
Georgia. It is expected to pass by the southern end of the island, however, there is a danger that it
could ground on the continental shelf in which case it would pose a threat to the natural habitat of
the local wildlife.

The berg is estimated to measure over 1,600 sq km - BFSAI photo

Tabular icebergs and debris pose the greatest risk to shipping - BFSAI photo
Article 8

National Snow and Ice Data Center

Icebergs are commonly found near Antarctica and in the North Atlantic Ocean near Greenland.

What is an iceberg?

Icebergs are pieces of ice that formed on land and float in an ocean or lake. Icebergs come in all shapes and sizes,
from ice-cube-sized chunks to ice islands the size of a small country. The term "iceberg" refers to chunks of ice larger
than 5 meters (16 feet) across. Smaller icebergs, known as bergy bits and growlers, can be especially dangerous for
ships because they are harder to spot. The North Atlantic and the cold waters surrounding Antarctica are home to
most of the icebergs on Earth.

How do icebergs form, and where do they go?

Icebergs form when chunks of ice calve, or break off, from glaciers, ice shelves, or a larger iceberg. Icebergs travel
with ocean currents, sometimes smashing up against the shore or getting caught in shallow waters.

When an iceberg reaches warm waters, the new climate attacks it from all sides. On the iceberg surface, warm air
melts snow and ice into pools called melt ponds that can trickle through the iceberg and widen cracks. At the same
time, warm water laps at the iceberg edges, melting the ice and causing chunks of ice to break off.

On the underside, warmer waters melt the iceberg from the bottom up.

Support

Icebergs can develop into a variety of shapes as

they break apart. Credit: Ted Scambos, NSIDC

Why are icebergs important?

Icebergs pose a danger to ships traversing the North Atlantic and the waters around Antarctica. After the Titanic
sank near Newfoundland in 1912, the United States and twelve other countries formed the International Ice Patrol
to warn ships of icebergs in the North Atlantic.
The International Ice Patrol uses airplanes and radars to track icebergs that float into major shipping lanes. The U.S.
National Ice Center uses satellite data to monitor icebergs near Antarctica. However, it only tracks icebergs larger
than 500 square meters (5,400 square feet).

Icebergs can also serve as tools for scientists, who study them to learn more about climate and ocean processes.

Scientists test their equipment on a small iceberg during

the 2006 IceTrek expedition. Credit: Ted Scambos,
NSIDC

Why do scientists study icebergs?

Climate scientists study icebergs as they break up for clues to the processes that cause ice shelf collapse. Scientists
have noticed that the way icebergs break up when they reach warmer waters mirrors the disintegration of Antarctic
ice shelves. By studying the factors that cause icebergs to break up, researchers hope to better underst and the
influences that lead to ice shelf breakup, and to better predict how ice shelves will respond to a warming climate.

Oceanographers follow icebergs because the cold freshwater they contribute to the sea can influence currents and
ocean circulation far away from their origins.

Biologists study icebergs to find out how they influence ocean life. As icebergs melt, they leak nutrients into the
ocean around them. Recent studies have shown that the water surrounding icebergs teems with plankton, fish, and
other sea life.

Large tabular icebergs such as the one pictured are

common in the waters near Antarctica. Credit: Ted
Scambos, NSIDC

How can I learn more?

Outside Resources
International Ice Patrol. Learn more about the history of the International Ice Patrol, the Titanic, and icebergs in the
North Atlantic Ocean.

Canadian Ice Service. Learn how this agency provides the most timely and accurate information about ice in
Canada's navigable waters.
U.S. National Ice Center (http://www.natice.noaa.gov). Learn how this agency, a department of the U.S. Navy,
monitors icebergs.

NSIDC Data
NSIDC distributes scientific data sets related to icebergs. See Advanced Data Search to learn more about our data
holdings.

Article 9

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 RELATED CONTENT

—Images of melt: Earth's vanishing ice

—Photo gallery: Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier cracks
—In photos: Huge icebergs break o Antarctica

Because the ice shelf that this berg calved from was already oating on water, the event won't directly impact sea
levels. However, ice shelves help to slow the ow of glaciers and ice streams into the sea; so indirectly, the loss of
parts of an ice shelf eventually contributes to rising seas, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center
(NSIDC). The NSIDC also says that the continent of Antarctica, which is warming at a faster pace than the rest of the
planet, holds enough frozen water to raise global sea levels by 200 feet (60 meters). Scientists don't think that
human-induced climate change caused the calving of A-76 or its nearby predecessor, A-74.

"A76 and A74 are both just part of natural cycles on ice shelves that hadn't calved anything big for decades," Laura
Gerrish, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey, wrote on Twitter. "It's important to monitor the frequency of all
iceberg calving, but these are all expected for now."
Satellites will continue to track the new iceberg, much as they did for A-68A, the previous title holder for the world's
largest iceberg. After splitting from the Antarctic ice sheet in 2017, A-68A was set loose by ocean currents in 2020
and came perilously close to colliding with South Georgia Island, a breeding ground for seals and penguins. The
rogue berg shattered into a dozen pieces before it caused any harm,
Live Science previously reported. Subscribe

The Ronne Ice Shelf, which birthed the recent iceberg, is mostly spared from in uxes of warm water that disrupt the
Antarctic's natural cycle of ice calving and regrowth. But not all parts of West Antarctica have been quite so lucky.
Live Science reported in April that the Thwaites Glacier, or the "Doomsday Glacier," was discovered to be melting
faster than previously thought. This was due to a warm water current from the east whittling away at the vital
"pinning points" that anchor the shelf to the land.
Originally published on Live Science.

Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct the relative size of the iceberg.

Article 10

Gigantic iceberg A68 threatens the island of South Georgia, in the South Atlantic Ocean, on
December 17, 2020. More recent satellite images suggest that the iceberg has, as predicted, come
to rest on the undersea shelf of f the island and begun to break up.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CORPORAL PHIL DYE/MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/CROWN COPYRIGHT 2020

Huge iceberg breaking up off
South Georgia Island is still a
threat
What effects on wildlife and the ecosystem the icebergs will have are
unknown.
BY SARAH GIBBENS

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 29, 2020 • 12 MIN READ

Update: As of today, the A68 iceberg, once the world’s largest, has lost significant
chunks of ice and continues to break apart, satellite images show. On December 17,
about 69 square miles broke from the iceberg, forming A68d. On December 22, the
front, pointed tip of the iceberg broke, producing 68-square-mile A68e and 252-square-
mile A68f. Since the iceberg calved from the Larsen C ice shelf three years ago, it has
lost two-thirds of its volume. Recent satellite images show that the icebergs are caught
in a strong ocean current that seems likely to sweep the chunks of ice around the
southern edge of the island and spin them north. It’s unclear whether the remainder of
A68 and its siblings will become stuck there and cut South Georgia’s wildlife off from
feeding grounds, but the chunks of ice are rapidly releasing freshwater into an
ecosystem adapted to saltwater.

What was the largest iceberg on Earth is threatening to come to a halt

soon in a pristine Antarctic wildlife sanctuary that’s home to penguins,
seals, and a small population of endangered blue whales.

The iceberg, labeled A68, broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf on the
east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2017. It had been slowly inching
north until this year, when an ocean current quickly propelled it into the
Southern Atlantic Ocean. (Find out about how climate change is melting
the Antarctic Peninsula.)
 © NGP, Content may not reflect National Geographic's current map policy.

About 95 miles long and 30 miles wide at its widest point, the
iceberg covers an area of roughly 1,500 square miles and extends
500 to 600 feet underwater. Satellite images show it is shaped like
a closed hand with an index finger pointing forward.

Scientists expect the iceberg, currently about 31 miles from South

Georgia, to either anchor in the shallow waters around the island or
move past it in the coming days. Should it come to a halt, it’s also
unclear how long the iceberg might stay intact and in place.

“There’s always a chance it could shoot up north, or it could get

grounded where it is for a period of time,” says Chris Readinger,
the Antarctic lead analyst at the U.S. National Ice Center. “It looks
like the highest probability is it would drift south of the island.”

Recent images, he says, show the iceberg is beginning to break

apart, and scientists are eagerly watching to see what it does next.

Left: Satellite images f rom December 14 show the

Antarctic iceberg A-68A (lef t) closing in on the island of
South Georgia (right). South Georgia is a marine sanctuary
in the South Atlantic Ocean and home to endangered
species like elephant seals, king penguins,
 and blu... Read More

PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA

Right: Iceberg A68a f loats near South Georgia Island. Also

photographed is A68d, which broke f rom A68a around
December 17. Approximately the size of a small island, the
iceberg is big enough to get its own name. A British Royal
Air Force aircraf t captured the photo.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CORPORAL PHIL

DYE/MINISTRY OF DEFENCE/CROWN

COPYRIGHT 2020

Left: A68 broke of f f rom the Larsen C ice shelf in July of 2017. This
image was captured during a November 12 f light over the iceberg in that
same year. For three years, the massive Delaware-sized iceberg slowly
drif ted north until a strong ocean current propelled it into the...

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN SONNTAG NASA

Right: An image of A68 f rom November 2017 shows the craggy, steep edges of the iceberg's borders.
Scientists estimate the clif f s are nearly seven stories, about 100 f eet, tall. As the iceberg moved into the
Atlantic's warmer waters in 2020, it began to break apart, s...

“We don’t have that much scientific information for icebergs like
this,” says Geraint Tarling, an ecologist for the British Antarctic
Survey. He describes A68’s genesis as a natural event, but says given
the warming climate, particularly in the region that spawned the berg,
it could be “a taste of things to come.”

Timeline of A68
The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming regions on Earth,
and the ice shelves along its eastern coast are breaking apart. The Larsen
A ice shelf, near the northern tip of the peninsula, collapsed in 1995; its
neighbor to the south, Larsen B, was caught on spectacular satellite
images as it followed suit in 2002.

The Larsen C is the next ice shelf in line and by far the largest of the three. A
large, deep crack appeared in 2010 and continued to grow until July

2017, when it broke off. The A68 iceberg was born—a chunk of ice the
size of Delaware with a mass of about 10 percent of the shelf itself.

For most of 2017, the berg didn’t move much. But in 2018 it began
drifting north and rotated several times, according to tracking records
from Brigham Young University. Throughout 2019, it wandered north
through Antarctica’s Weddell Sea until it was caught in the strong
Antarctic Circumpolar Current, a counterclockwise ocean current that
circles the continent.

Icebergs the size of A68 are so massive and extend so deeply into the sea
that it often takes a sizable current to propel it forward. Throughout
2020, A68 chugged north and east, zigging and zagging and rotating
occasionally —but advancing steadily closer to South Georgia.

“It probably can’t get any closer,” says Readinger. “The ocean there
is about 500 feet deep and the berg is about there [in depth].”

The iceberg could screech to a halt on the shallow underwater shelf that
surrounds the island and not collide with dry land. Readinger notes that
it’s in warmer waters than can sustain it and it’s likely already beginning
to break apart.

“There are little tiny bergs about a mile long spinning off of it,”” says
Readinger. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a large piece breaks off and we
name it A68d.”

Chunks of A68 have broken off in the past three years, named A68b and

“It’s getting very close to grounding, which means it will hit the
underwater shelf. If it does that, it will get stuck, or it will rotate around,”
says David Long, director of the center for remote sensing at Brigham
Young University, a lab that tracks iceberg movements. Long says it may
hit “pointy end first,” which could cause it to break apart more quickly,
and ocean currents could force the rest of the iceberg to pirouette north
past South Georgia. He expects it to rotate around to the east before
continuing north.

A taste of what’s to come?

Ice shelves like the Larsen C are the floating ends of glaciers on land. As
the glacier flows out to sea, icebergs calve off the ocean-facing end of the
ice shelf. In a world that isn’t warming, these natural processes can be in
balance. The Larsen C has existed for at least 10,000 years.

9:17

HOW WILDLIFE OVERCAME SOUTH GEORGIA'S HAUNTING PAST

The crew sailed f or six days through some of the roughest ocean on the planet to reach the
island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean.

L O GI N Renew SUBSCRIBE MENU

Its collapse at the hand of global warming was first predicted more than
40 years ago—but that doesn’t mean global warming launched A68.
“When you try to say something about climate change, you can’t say it
about one event,” says Kelly Brunt, a geophysicist from the University of
Maryland. “Climate change is a statistical game.”

But is it likely to send more icebergs toward South Georgia in the future?

About 90 percent of the icebergs that break off from all of Antarctica
travel counterclockwise around the continent, hugging the coast, into the
Weddell Sea; from there they drift north toward South Georgia, through a
region that’s dubbed “iceberg alley.”

In 2002, Long tracked every berg he could identify from 1978 to the
present. The result was an exponential increase in the number of them,
seemingly an indication of climate change. But by tracing icebergs to their
points of origin, he found that the increase he measured may have been
part of a natural cycle of ice shelf growth and decay. So while it couldn’t be
blamed on warming in the region with the data they had at the time, “It
did not rule out that warming was contributing,” he says.

When the A68 calved from Larsen C in 2017, the British Antarctic Survey
reached similar conclusions, saying climate change may have played a
role, but the ice shelf’s natural life cycle was also a factor.

The collapse of Larsen B in 2002, however, demonstrated how a warming

atmosphere can help bring that life cycle to a sudden end. Meltwater ponds
formed on the surface of Larsen B, and water percolating down through

the ice helped shatter the shelf into an armada of icebergs.

More recent work Long has done with scientists at the National Snow and Ice
Data Center suggest that the ice shelves remaining on the Antarctic Peninsula
may be very vulnerable to that “hydrofracture” mechanism. Based on that, Long
says, “We could expect more icebergs as warming continues.”

How many will make it as far as South Georgia is another matter. Even if
icebergs do become more common in the region, country-size ones like
A68 may remain rare. Since the 1970s, Readinger says the number of
such giants in iceberg alley hasn’t measurably increased or decreased.

And smaller bergs tend to break apart before reaching the area
around South Georgia.
 Left: Elephant seals can be 20 f eet long and weigh up to

8,800 pounds. About 50 percent of the world's

population of southern elephant seals breed in South

Georgia, according to the British Antarctic Survey.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MACDUFF EVERTON,

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION

Right: A large colony of King penguins roost in a

mountainous valley on the island of South Georgia. Should
the iceberg anchor in place of f the coast, it could be a
deadly wall between penguins and their f eeding grounds.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW COLEMAN,

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION

“They have to be pretty big to get all the way [to South Georgia],”
says Long. “It’s hard to know whether there will be an increase.”

A threat to wildlife
For now, A68 poses a large threat to the region’s wildlife and
marine biodiversity.

Large icebergs with deep keels “scour the seabeds,” explains Tarling. “What’s
really important about South Georgia is that it’s incredibly diverse on the
seabeds. It’s a diversity almost equivalent to the Galapagos.”

On the seabeds surrounding South Georgia, scientists have found

abundant communities of brittle stars, urchins, worms, and sponges.
They’re also home to an abundance of fish and Antarctic krill, an
essential part of a food chain that feeds seals, penguins, and a number of
whale species.

The region’s charismatic penguins and seals will also suffer if the
iceberg grounds in place, because it would create a wall between land
and their feeding grounds at the edge of the coastal shelf.
“It’s a really important time in the life cycle when the adults are bringing
up chicks and pups and need to make small, frequent journeys out to
feeding areas,” says Tarling.

He notes that even if the iceberg breaks apart, the resulting fleet of little
bergs could still block the animals’ foraging paths.

A68, which contains hundreds of millions of tons of freshwater, will

ultimately melt, making living conditions harder for creatures such as
algae and plankton that have adapted to living in saltwater.

In late January, a team of scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey will
depart from the Falkland Islands to the iceberg to study its effects on the
ecosystem. The information will be crucial to understanding how the
ecosystem will change if warming results in more icebergs in the future.
Article 11
Democracy Dies in Darkness

Massive icebergs slowly swerve, threatening

penguin habitat on South Georgia Island
Penguins, sea birds and other unique wildlife could be harmed if icebergs block access to hunting grounds
By Andrew Freedman

Dec. 22, 2020 at 3:02 a.m. GMT+8

An iceberg that broke off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 2017 is slowly drifting off the coast of South
Georgia Island, a British territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The iceberg, designated A68a by the National
Ice Center, has even given birth to a smaller but still sizable chunk of ice, now known as A68d, and together they
could threaten wildlife on the island if they wander too close and get stuck on the seafloor.

So far, the icebergs have not run aground on the shallow shelf area extending from the island, but scientists worry
that ocean currents will carry them southeast, away from the island, but then turn them back to the west,
grounding them on the island’s eastern side. If this occurs, penguin colonies in that region, as well as other marine
wildlife, could have a harder time foraging for food, having to divert around the ice to get to the best areas for
fishing, for example.
This could cause sudden population declines of penguins and seals during peak breeding season. The island is
home to millions of king and macaroni penguins, seals, sea birds and blue whales that feed on krill just off the
coast.

The main tabular iceberg, characterized by a flat, plateau-like top and steep cliffs along its sides, is about the size
of Rhode Island and more than 650 feet thick, with about nine -tenths of it underwater. The smaller chunk of ice
would ordinarily be considered large in its own right, at about 12 miles long and 6 miles wide at its widest point.

When A68a broke away from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica in July 2017, it measured nearly 2,300 square
miles — about the size of Delaware. After shedding ice at its edges and breaking off chunks as it traveled
through the rough waters of “Iceberg Alley,” the iceberg is now smaller.

The Antarctic Peninsula, where the Larsen C ice shelf is located, is one of the fastest-warming areas in the world.
In February, a temperature of nearly 70 degrees was recorded on Seymour Island in the Antarctic Peninsula, which
may be the continent’s highest temperature on record. As ice shelves like Larsen C melt, they free up inland ice to
move into the ocean, raising sea levels
Scientists to head to the iceberg in a rare,rapid-response
study
To better understand the process by which large icebergs break up and their effects on the surrounding ocean and
ecosystems, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) plans to lea d a research mission to the iceberg via a ship that will set
sail from the Falkland Islands in late January. Researchers will use robotic gliders that can cruise underwater to gather
data about the iceberg and the surrounding waters.

Scientists aim to spend four months taking readings of ocean salinity, temperature and chlorophyll at different
spots along the iceberg, as well as oceanic plankton concentrations.

“The team will investigate the impact of freshwater from the melting ice in to a region of the ocean that sustains
colonies of penguins, seals and whales. These waters are also home to some of the most sustainably managed
fisheries in the world,” the Antarctic Survey stated in a news release.

Geraint Tarling, an ecologist at the BAS, says he expects “devastation” if the iceberg were to make contact with the
sea floor.

This would occur due to scouring of the seabed communities, damaging populations of sponges, brittle stars, worms
and sea urchins, he said in the news release. “These communities help store large amounts of carbon in their body
tissue and surrounding sediment. Destruction by the iceberg will release this stored carbon back into the water and,
potentially, the atmosphere, which would be a further negative impact.”

However, there would be some positive impacts of the iceberg’s visit, as well, Tarling said. “For example, when
traveling through the open ocean, icebergs shed enormous quantities of mineral dust that will fertilize the ocean
plankton around them, and this will benefit them and cascade up the food chain.”

Tabular icebergs inject freshwater into the Southern Ocean

While it isn’t unusual to have icebergs, including one this large, drifting in the South Atlantic between Antarctica and
South Georgia Island, new scientific research shows tabular icebergs coming off ice shelves like A68a play a significant
role in transporting freshwater from the Antarctic ice sheet into the Southern Ocean. Such icebergs are expected to
increase in frequency as the region’s air and sea temperatures increase, leading to a greater transport of ice into the
sea.

In the Southern Ocean, the injection of freshwater from large, tabular icebergs can influence globally
significant ocean currents, which are powered by density differences between water containing different
amounts of salt. Saltier water tends to sink, whereas slightly milder freshwater is lighter and stays near the
surface.
According to a study published Dec. 16 in Science Advances, nearly half of the freshwater the Antarctic Ice Sheet
adds to the Southern Ocean each year comes in the form of large tabular icebergs calving from ice shelves, such as
Larsen C. However, this freshwater transport is not represented properly in climate models, causing them to
misrepresent the future ocean circulation of the Southern Ocean.

Mark England, the lead author of the study from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, said the goal of the study is to simulate the breakup of large, tabular icebergs since
current computer models show that happening close to the edges of Antarctica, which isn’t the case.

“We want to simulate them, since where you put this freshwater in the Southern Ocean is important,” England said in
an interview.

He and co-author Ian Eisenman, also of Scripps, said the Southern Ocean is a critical region for taking carbon out of
the atmosphere and storing it in the ocean, and for determining ocean currents. Failing to accurately simulate large
iceberg transport and breakup means current models are not accurately predicting changes in currents and carbon
absorption in coming years.

“The Southern Ocean is where a lot of the uncertainties lie,” England said of climate change projections.

The calving of icebergs from ice shelves like Larsen C does not affect sea level rise since the shelves are already
floating. However, it can speed the transport of inland ice to the sea, which does contribute to sea level rise.

By Andrew Freedman

Article 12

Oceanograph THE OffICIAL MAGAzINE O f THE OCEANOGR APHY SOCIETY

islands of ice: influence of Free-drifting Antarctic

icebergs on pelagic Marine ecosystems
 B y M A r i A V e r N e t, K e N N e t h l . S M i t h J r . , A d r i á N O . c e FA r e
l l i , J O h N J . h e l l y, r O N A l d S . K Au F M A N N , h A i l i N , d AV i d g . l O N g , A
l i S O N e . M u r r Ay, B r u c e h . r O B i S O N , h e N r y A . r u h l , t i M Ot h y J . S h
g O r d O N r . S t e p h e N S O N J r . , K e i t h M . S t u A r t, A N d B e N J A M i N S . t W i N i N g
regional warming around West
Antarctica, including the Antarc ti c
peninsula, is related to the retrea t
of glaciers that has resulted in
signif icant ice mass loss in recent
decades
(de Angelis and Skvarca, 2003).
large icebergs (> 18.5 km long)
originating f rom ice shelves in the
ross and Weddell Seas (Scambos
et al., 2000) are attributed
primarily to major loss events in
these regions. Once f ree, icebergs
become entrained in the
counterclockwise Antarctic coastal
current (Figure 1), eventu- ally
entering a strong northward f low in
the Northwest Weddell Sea. We
examined f ree- drif ting icebergs in
the Atlantic sector of the Southern
Ocean in december 2005, aboard
ArSV Laurence M. Gould, and in June
2008 and March/April 2009, aboard
rViB Nathaniel B.
Palmer. prior to these studies, little
information was available about the
ef f ects of icebergs
AW, A l A N A d. S h e r M A N , J A N e t S p r i N tA l l ,
Figure 1. tracks of icebergs around Antarctica
detected by SeaWinds satellite (1999–2009) show-
ing concentration through iceberg Alley in the
Northwest Weddell Sea (Stuart and l ong, 2011).
on the pelagic realm. On these cruises,
we investigated the “iceberg ecosystem”
(Smith et al., 2007; Smith, 2011) to
assess the degree
to which icebergs are (1) hotspots of
biological activity across multiple trophic
levels, and
(2) f ocal points for enhanced export of
organic carbon to the deep sea. An
important f ocus
of this work was to examine the
f undamental mechanisms by which
icebergs af f ect the pelagic ecosystem,
including physical disrup- tion and
ef f ects on the availability of critical
nutrients (e.g., iron, nitrate).
ecOS yS te M Structure
We observed elevated densities of
seabirds, seals, and whales in the open
water regions near icebergs (Figure
2). These organisms may be f eeding
on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and
salps (Salpa thompso ni) that we collected
at highest densities within ~ 2 km of an
iceberg. turbulence created by iceberg
mixing and meltwater input maintains an
active diatom-enriched phytoplankton
community with high photosynthetic
ef f iciency. intense zooplankton grazing
and meltwater dilution seem to explain
relatively low phytoplankton densities
measured close to icebergs and a “ring”
of elevated phytoplankton ~ 2 km away.
Other biotic effects of icebergs are
apparent: diatom mats (Thalassiosira
signyensis) attach
to minerals encrusted in the ice on the
iceberg f lanks, providing food for krill.
An iceberg- related bacterioplankto n
community occurs at 75–250 m
depth.
icebergs affect their physical and
chemical surrounding s in
significant ways. Meltwater and
turbulent advection alter water
column structure, as ref lected in
the distribution of
salinity, temperature, and levels, suggesting top-down control
carbon dioxide. At the surface, of phytoplankton by zooplankton.
meltwater is detected as f ar concentrations of photo- synthetic
away as 19 km and persists pigments in the guts of E. superba
f or at least 10 days. At depth, and S. thompsoni track patterns in
iceberg sidewall and basal surf ace chlorophyll a and are
melting con- tribute meltwater comparable to maximum gut
to the water column through pigment concentrations f rom highly
dif f usive and turbulent pro- ductive marginal ice zones.
upwelling processes. iceberg systems also
upwelling of basal meltwater
mixtures appears to be
localized and intermittent;
however, thermohaline
“staircases” consistent with
sidewall melting are evident up
to 19 km f rom iceberg c18-A in
data f rom 2009. horizontal
spreading of meltwater
provides a means by which
the seasonal mixed layer can be
enriched in nutrients f rom ice
melt. concentrations of
dissolved iron in iceberg ice
are elevated 5- to 600-f old
above seawater, a result of
accumu- lated terrestrial
material in the ice. highest
levels of dissolved iron
concentrations are associated
with low-salinity waters,
regardless of distance from
the iceberg. Slight surf ace
depletion of dissolved iron
occurs within 1 km of icebergs,
while surface enrichment is
evident at most stations more
than 10 km away. This
observation suggests general
iron enrichment in the lower-
salinity surf ace mixed layer
and enhanced iron removal,
either via scavenging or
biological uptake, at the
iceberg f ace.
ecOSySte M FuNcti O N
The iceberg ecosystem is
enriched at higher trophic
levels with respect to lower
 show efficient trophic transfer to heterotrop hic microbial production, with tight coupling of bacteria-
phytoplankton production. higher iron-binding ligand concentrations are associ- ated with active summer
plankton, indicating an important role f or biologically produced ligands in enhancing the solubility and reten-
tion of dissolved iron in the waters around icebergs. Signif icantly, export fluxes of total mass and carbon are
two to three times higher near icebergs than in surrounding iceberg -free waters. These enhanc ed processes,
combined with the altered biological, physical, and chemi- cal properties, create and def ine the iceberg
ecosystem (Figure 2).

AcKNOWle dg e MeNt S Thanks to the captains and crews of ArSV Laurence M. Gould and rViB Nathaniel B.

Palmer, to raytheon polar Services for technical and logistics support, and to d. chakos and
t. g unther for figure design. This work was f unded by the National Science Foundation Office of polar
programs grants Ant-0636730, Ant-0636319, Ant-0636809, Ant-0636723, and Ant-0636543.

Article 13

Free-Drifting Icebergs: Hot Spots of Chemical and Biological

Enrichment in the Weddell Sea
Kenneth L. Smith Jr. et al.
Science 317 , 478 (2007);
DOI: 10.1126/science.1142834
Free-Drifting Icebergs: Hot Spots of Chemical and
Biological Enrichment in the Weddell Sea
Kenneth L. Smith Jr., 1* Bruce H. Robison, 1 John J. Helly, 2 Ronald S. Kaufmann, 3 Henry A. Ruhl, 1 Timothy J. Shaw, 4 Benjamin S. Twining, 4
Maria Vernet5

The proliferation of icebergs from Antarctica over the past decade has raised questions about their potential impact on the s urrounding pelagic
ecosystem. Two free-drifting icebergs, 0.1 and 30.8 square kilometers in aerial surface area, and the surroundin g waters were sampled in the
northwest Weddell Sea during austral spring 2005. There was substantial enrichment of terrigenous material, and there were high
concentrations of chlorophyll, krill, and seabirds surrounding each iceberg, extending out to a rad ial distance of ~3.7 kilometers. Extrapolating
these results to all icebergs in the same size range, with the use of iceberg population estimates from satellite surveys, in dicates that they
similarly affect 39% of the surface ocean in this region. These results suggest that freedrifting icebergs can substantially affect the pelagic
ecosystem of the Southern Ocean and can serve as areas of enhanced production and sequestration of organic carbon to the deep sea.

Article 14

This article is more than 11 years old

Giant Antarctic iceberg could affect global ocean circulation

James Sturcke
Fri 26 Feb 2010 12.19 GMT
An iceberg the size of Luxembourg that contains enough fresh water to supply a third of the world's population for a
year has broken off in the Antarctic continent, with possible implications for global ocean circulation, scientists said
today.

The iceberg, measuring about 50 miles by 25, broke away from the Mertz glacier around 2,000 miles south of
Australia after being rammed by another giant iceberg known as B-9B three weeks ago, satellite images reveal. The
two icebergs, which both weigh more than 700m tons, are now drifting close together about 100 miles north of
Antarctica.

Rob Massom, a senior scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems
Cooperative Research Centre in Hobart, Tasmania, said the location of the icebergs could affect global ocean
circulation and had important implications for marine biology in the region.
The concern is that the massive displacement of ice would transform the composition of sea water in the area and
impair the normal circulation of cold, dense water that normally supplies deep ocean currents with oxygen.

"Removal of this tongue of floating ice would reduce the size of that area of open water, which would slow down the
rate of salinity input into the ocean and it could slow down this rate of Antarctic bottom water formation," Massom
told Reuters.

Mario Hoppema, chemical oceanographer at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in
Germany, said that as a result "there may be regions of the world's oceans that lose oxygen, and then of course most
of the life there will die".

B-9B is a remnant of a 2,000-square-mile iceberg that calved in 1987, making it one of the largest icebergs recorded
in Antarctica. It drifted westwards for 60 miles before becoming grounded in 1992. It has recently re-floated itself
and rotated into the Mertz tongue.

The Mertz glacier iceberg is among the largest recorded for several years. In 2002, an iceberg about 120 miles long
broke off from Antarctica's Ross ice shelf. In 2007, a iceberg roughly the size of Singapore broke off from the Pine
Island glacier in west Antarctica.

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Article 15

Search … -

A nonprofit oceanographic research cente

r

May 11, 2011

Antarctic icebergs help the ocean take up carbon dioxide

The first comprehensive study of the biological effects of Antarctic
icebergs shows that they fertilize the Southern Ocean, enhancing
the growth of algae that take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
and then, through marine food chains, transfer carbon into the deep
sea. This process is detailed in 19 new research papers published
electronically in a special issue of the

journal Deep Sea Research Part II: Icebergs such as this one carry iron-rich sediment from
Antarctica out into the Southern Ocean. The darker parts
Topical Studies in Oceanography.
of the ice contain higher concentrations of sediment.
Image: Debbie Nail Meyer © 2009 MBARI
The research team was led by MBARI marine biologist Ken Smith and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Smith, along with researchers from more than a dozen other institutions, conducted three month-long cruises to the
Weddell Sea in 2005, 2008, and 2009. By tracking individual icebergs and deploying remotely controlled aircraft and
submersibles, as well as robotic drifters, the team was able to document a process that had previously been
suspected, but never proven.

Global climate change is causing Antarctic ice shelves to shrink and split apart, releasing thousands of free -drifting
icebergs that are carried by currents into the nearby Weddell Sea. The new research suggests that these icebergs
carry iron-rich sediment from the land out into the ocean. As these icebergs melt and drift across the ocean, some of
the iron dissolves in the seawater, creating a trail of iron-rich meltwater that can be up to 19 kilometers (12 miles)
long. The iron in this water helps fertilize the growth of microscopic algae.

During their three cruises, the team studied an area they called “iceberg alley” in the inhospitable and s ometimes
dangerous Southern Ocean. Instead of avoiding icebergs,
 Instead of avoiding icebergs, the research vessel
Nathanial Palmer approached very closely to these
floating “islands” of ice during this five-year research
project. Image: Debbie Nail Meyer © 2009 MBARI
below the ocean surface while a large iceberg drifted
overhead, then rise back to the sea surface after the
iceberg had passed. This instrument, called a “Lagrangian
sediment trap,” was used to collect particles of sediment,
Researchers programmed this Lagrangian
sediment trap (the gray tube with white funnels)
to sink 600 meters below the surface as a large
iceberg drifted overhead. After collecting sinking
debris for about three days, the trap rose to the
surface. At that point, researchers and crew
members used a small boat to lift the trap
carefully out of the water and then hoisted it
onto their research vessel. Image: Debbie Nail
Meyer © 2009 MBARI

bits of dead algae, and other debris that drifted down

from the waters under and around the iceberg. This
device allowed scientists to measure, for the first time,
the amount of organic carbon sinking into the deep sea
beneath a large (6-kilometers wide, 35-kilometers long,
and 28-meters tall), free-floating iceberg.

The researchers compared the amount of carbon sinking

down to 600 meters beneath the iceberg with the
amount of carbon sinking in the open ocean nearby. They
found that about twice as much carbon sank into the
deep sea within a 30kilometer (18.6-mile) radius of the
iceberg, compared with an open-ocean “control” area.

Extrapolating their findings to the rest of the Weddell Sea,

the researchers concluded that the icebergs (both large
and small) were playing an important role in controlling
how much carbon they directed their research vessel to
approach and follow drifting icebergs the size of small
towns. To follow individual icebergs, they used satellites
and GPS tracking devices that were dropped on the
icebergs using a radio-controlled airplane. They also used
three different robotic submersibles to study life on the
undersides of the icebergs.

MBARI engineers, led by Alana Sherman, developed a

new robotic instrument that was programmed to sink 600
meters (about 2,000 feet)
from the atmosphere was taken up by algae and ultimately transported into the deep sea. “The role of icebergs in
removing carbon from the atmosphere may have implications for global climate models that need to be further
studied,” said Smith.

In addition to the direct measurements of material sinking beneath the icebergs, the multidisciplinary research
team performed a wide variety of physical, chemical, and biological studies around the icebergs. Many of these
studies are detailed in the special issue of Deep-Sea Research. The 19 papers in this special issue describe:

New methods and tools for tracking icebergs from a moving ship at sea
Water-sampling and video surveys by remotely operated vehicles
Aerial surveys and tracking of icebergs using radio-controlled aircraft
The fresh water, iron, and sediment released by melting icebergs
The design and operation of the Lagrangian sediment traps, and the amounts of debris, organic carbon, and
other materials collected by these traps
Populations of marine microbes, algae, marine animals, and seabirds around the icebergs

After overcoming many challenges to study a few icebergs, Smith and Sherman are working
on strategies and automated tools for measuring the effects of the many icebergs in
“iceberg alley” over periods of months to years. This would provide a much better estimate
of how icebergs are affecting the chemistry and biology of the Southern Ocean.

Note: The primary authors of papers in this special issue of Deep-Sea Research II are affiliated with the
Ken Smith (left), Alana Sherman (right), and other Monterey Bay Aquarium Research
members of the research team examine a Lagrangian Institute (MBARI), the University of
sediment trap after it was brought back on board the
research vessel. Image: Debbie Nail Meyer © 2009 South Carolina, Scripps Institution of
MBARI Oceanography, University of San
Diego, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean
Sciences, Brigham Young University,
University of Nevada Desert Research Institute, Leeds University (UK), Stanford

University, the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina), the University of California at San Diego, and the
University of Southampton (UK).

Research Journal:
Ken Smith (ed.), Free-Drifting Icebergs in the Southern Ocean, Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in
Oceanography, Volume 58, Issues 11-12, Pages 1277-1504 (June 2011).
4.0 Executive Summary

Article 1

The article Melting icebergs boost sea-level rise mentioned the effect of melting of the
iceberg in the sea level. Based on the article, the melting of the iceberg may contribute a lot
to the rising of sea level. Because the iceberg is made up of freshwater, the iceberg will have
a lower density than the seawater. This causes the melted iceberg to produce freshwater,
which will occupy a larger volume than the seawater, which will eventually cause the rising
sea level. The rising sea level will cause problems such as coastal erosion and lead to loss of
habitat of marine life. This will indirectly cause a decrease in fish and mollusc population in
the ocean. This will eventually lead to ecosystem imbalance and affecting marine biodiversity.

Article 2

Based on Antarctic Icebergs: Hotspots of Ocean Life, iceberg drifting has a major
impact on the ecology of ocean around it. In this article, free-drifting icebergs nearby Weddell
Sea was investigated. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was used to explore thousands of the
submerged side of the icebergs nearby Weddell Sea in order to investigate the animals around
the icebergs. ROV was used to identify the animals present around the submerged part of the
icebergs. The animals present were counted to calculate the biological activity of the ocean
around the free-drifting icebergs. Colour video camera, collecting sample and surveying
topography were done to support the counting of animals. According to the research, 4,300
square miles of ocean had been examined and an estimation of nearly 40% of raising of
biological productivity had been obtained in the Weddell Sea’s area. This is most probably due
to “halo effect” which is the effect produced by melting of icebergs. “Halo effect” will
significantly increase the population of phytoplankton, thus increase the population of k rill and
also seabirds at a radius more than two miles around the icebergs. As phytoplankton is the
producer in ocean, the rich population of diatom phytoplankton will increase the population
of the aquatic life and also seagulls around the icebergs. Thus, free-drifting icebergs will affect
the marine biodiversity around them.

Article 3

According to Rosie Frost in “How the world’s biggest iceberg could still spell disaster
for the remote wildlife haven”, a giant free-drifting iceberg can cause disaster to the marine
biodiversity. A giant iceberg with size of 5,800 square kilometres was broken away from
Antarctic in 2017. It was one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. The iceberg propelled into
Southern Atlantic by strong current and drifts towards South Georgia. Although the iceberg
has broken into two pieces, but the size of the icebergs was still very large. Experts believe
that the huge iceberg will cause environmental disaster. Due to the huge size of the iceberg,
it will scour the seabed communities of sponges, brittle stars, worms and sea-urchins by
destroying the sea floor. This will reduce the biodiversity on the seabed. The iceberg will also
bring threat to penguins and seals that live in South Georgia. South Georgia is the home to
millions of penguins such as macaroni, gentoo and king penguins, seals, albatross and other
rare wildlife. The chunk of iceberg that is approaching towards Georgia South will cause
“massive implication” to the animals inhibit in the island. Professor Tarling said that the iceberg
will block the way of penguins and seals when finding food. They will need to have a big
detour to avoid the iceberg. This causes a massive impact especially during pup- and chick-
rearing period as this will increase the time for finding food making them unable to get back
to feed their young causing starvation and death. Although the iceberg brings a lot of negative
impacts, but it can also bring benefits to the ocean plankton as it shed enormous quantities
of mineral dust to the sea when it melts. The effect will cascade up the food chain and benefit
the whole food chain. Thus, iceberg will cause impact to the marine diversity around it.

Article 4

From the article, an iceberg named ‘C-19’ which is recorded as one of largest iceberg
ever found break off from western face of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica on May 2002. It
has given big impact to marine life in the source of food. The size of the iceberg was so big
which the size is about twice of Rhode Island. The iceberg was 32 km (almost 20 miles) wide
and 200 km long (124 miles) long. Due to its size, it causes blockage to sea ice from moving
out of the southwestern Ross Sea region. It resulted to uncommon high sea – ice cover during
the summer and spring. Hence, the light was blocked which give impact to reduction of
phytoplankton blooms that occur on the surface of ocean. In 2006, the growth of
phytoplankton (free – floating aquatic plant) has inhibited because of this separation from
Ross Ice Shelf Antarctica which occurs on 2006. The inhibition of phytoplankton has given big
impact to the higher – level of marine plants and animal in food web. This is due to shortage
of phytoplankton which is the main source food source in marine biodiversity.

Article 5

From the article, after the calving of the Antarctic Ice Sheet event, the iceberg
began to drift along the Weddell Sea. The event led the research to have a glance at
the marine life living under the drifted iceberg which is deep below the ice. The research
has led to findings such as community of molluscs, filter feeders, sea stars, sea stars,
sea cucumbers, and at least five species of fish and two species of squids. This is a
success due to the contribution of German research vessel Polar stern in participating in
the research. Polar research has contributed to a better understanding and foreseeing
climate change. Aside from that, the researchers conducted observations and analyses
of the seafloor. Many organisms were observed carved on stone of various sizes in the
deep sea. The stone originated from the Antarctic continent and is transported to the
ocean.

Article 6

From the article, this handout image provided by the ESA shows a depiction of the size
of an iceberg that calved from the westernmost point of the Ronne Ice Shelf. The iceberg is
around 170 km in length and 25 km wide. A scientist from the space agency said that while
icebergs regularly calve from Antarctic ice shelfs, the region where A-76 broke off had seen
relatively little change in recent decades. Antarctic ice shelves regularly lose large chunks to
the sea even as fresh ice forms inland, a process compared to a bank account that's
continually being paid into and withdrawn from.

Article 7
From the article, it was about largest iceberg drifting in the Southern Ocean. Also known as
A68a, the berg broke away from the Antarctica ice shelf in July 2017. At the time, scientists
estimated its size at nearly 6,000 sq km (approximately 2,300 sq. miles). It said that it could
weigh more than one trillion tons. The BBC reports that experts were surprised that A68a has
not broken apart into a series of large pieces. They had expected it would have lost more of
its mass before now. The sides of the berg reach as much as 100 feet in height above the
water. Typically, the iceberg would have attracted the attention of the numerous cruise ships
in the Southern Ocean during the summer, BFSAI said. However, with the global pandemic
on-going, cruise ship traffic is negligible this year, meaning that the reconnaissance flight
provided the only details on the berg and its current course.

Article 8

This article has explained the importance of icebergs on maintaining the marine
ecosystems. Climate scientists would study about iceberg due to disclose the clues to the
processes that cause ice shelf collapse. These researchers wish to get a better understanding
on the influences that leads to ice shelf breakup, this is also to make a better prediction on
how the ice shelves will respond to a warming climate. Biologists do study to find out the
melting and drifting affects the ocean life. This is because when icebergs melt, it will leak
nutrients into the ocean around them. There are many recent studies that has shown that the
water surrounding icebergs teems with plankton, fish and other marine creatures. Therefore,
it clearly states that the drifting of icebergs will affect the marine biodiversity.

Article 9

The title of the article is World’s Largest Iceberg breaks off of Antarctica. In this article,
it writes about an enormous iceberg has broken off Antarctica. According to European Space
Agency, the size of the iceberg that broke off was roughly 170km long and 25km wide, spotted
by the satellites as it calved from the western side of Antarctica’s Ronne Ice Shelf. Due to the
ice shelf that this berg calved from was already floating on water, the event won’t directly
impact sea levels. However, ice shelves will slow the flow of glaciers and ice streams into the
sea. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the loss of parts of an ice
shelf eventually contributes to rising seas. The splitting of A-68A, the previous title holder for
the world’s largest iceberg, was set loose by ocean currents in 2020 and came close to colliding
the South Georgia Island, the breeding ground for seals and penguins. The iceberg shattered
into a dozen pieces before it caused any harm. The Ronne Ice Shelf, which birthed the recent
iceberg, is mostly spared from influxes of warm water that disrupt the Antarctica’s natural
cycle of ice calving and regrowth.

Article 10

This article tells that South Georgia, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, is threatened by the
huge iceberg A68. The 69-square-mile iceberg has stopped on the ocean floor shelf off the
island and is beginning to disintegrate. This huge iceberg may threatening to come to a halt
soon in a pristine Antarctic wildlife sanctuary that’s home to penguins, seals, and a small
population of endangered blue whales. Its cracking is a threat to the local marine life. And on
the seabed around South Georgia, scientists have discovered abundant communities of brit tle
stars, sea urchins, worms, and sponges. They are also home to large numbers of fish and
Antarctic krill, and they are an important part of the food chain that provides food for seals,
penguins and many whales. If the iceberg arrives, the attractive penguins and seals in the
area will also be affected, as it will form a wall between the land and the feeding grounds on
the edge of the coastal continental shelf. Even if the iceberg breaks, the resulting small iceberg
can still block the animal's foraging path. At the same time, A68 contains hundreds of millions
of tons of fresh water, which will eventually melt, making the living conditions of organisms
such as algae and plankton adapted to living in salt water more difficult. It can be seen that
the disintegration of the A68 iceberg will pose a great survival threat to the local wild marine
life.

Article 11

This article tells that an iceberg that broke off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica in
2017 is slowly drifting off the coast of South Georgia Island, a British territory in the southern
Atlantic Ocean. Scientists worry that ocean currents will take them to the southeast, away
from the island, and then turn them to the west, stranding them on the eastern side of the
island. If this happens, penguins and other marine wildlife in the area may be more difficult
to find food. This may result in a sudden decrease in the number of penguins and seals during
the peak breeding season. Because the island is home to millions of emperor and macaroni
penguins, seals, seabirds, and blue whales, who feed on krill near the coast. On the other
hand, there would be some positive impacts of the iceberg’s visit, as well. For example, when
traveling through the open ocean, icebergs shed enormous quantities of mineral dust that will
fertilize the ocean plankton around them, and this will benefit them and cascade up the food
chain. In general, the breaking of icebergs may threaten larger marine life such as penguins
and seals, which makes them more difficult to find food, but for marine plankton, it will benefit
them.

Article 12

Based on the article, large icebergs originating from ice shelves in the ross and
Weddell Seas are attributed to major loss events in these regions. Once free, icebergs
become entrained in the counter clockwise Antarctic coastal current. We examined
free- drifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in December 2005,
aboard ArSV Laurence M. Gould. We observed elevated densities of seabirds, seals,
and whales in the open water regions near icebergs. An iceberg-related
bacterioplankton community occurs at 75–250 m depth. Meltwater and turbulent
advection alter water column structure, as reflected in the distribution of salinity,
temperature, and carbon dioxide. Slight surface depletion of dissolved iron occurs
within 1 km of icebergs, while surface enrichment is evident at most stations more
than 10 km away. We found dissolved iron in iceberg ice are elevated 5- to 600-fold
above seawater. The iceberg ecosystem is enriched at higher trophic levels with
respect to lower levels. Suggests top-down control of phytoplankton by zooplankton.
High levels of photo- synthetic pigments in the guts of E. superba and S. thompsoni
track patterns.
Article 13

Based on the article, two free-drifting icebergs, 0.1 and 30.8 square kilometers
in aerial surface area, and the surrounding waters were sampled in the northwest
Weddell Sea during austral spring 2005. There was substantial enrichment of
terrigenous material and high concentrations of chlorophyll, krill, and seabirds
surrounding each iceberg. Icebergs are very conspicuous features across the
seascape of the Southern Ocean. They range in size from objects that are meters in
diameter to large tabular structures that can exceed 300 km in length. Little is known
about the impact of free drifting icebergs on the surrounding pelagic ecosystem. Top
predators, such as seabird sand seals, are also commonly associated with icebergs.
The disintegration of ice shelves on both sides of the Antarctic Peninsula has been
associated with retreating ice shelves and glaciers in the past 60 years has been
attributed to atmospheric warming. The Antarctic over the past decade, par- and has
contributed to the increased frequency of icebergs in the Weddell Sea, particularly
around the Antarctic peninsula. The density of acoustically reflective targets, believed
to be zooplankton and micronekton, was twice as high under a free-drifting iceberg
as compared with that of targets in surrounding open water.

Article 14

This article makes it clear that the break-off of the iceberg directly affects the ocean
world and marine biology. When the iceberg breaks up, it will drift far away and continue to
melt. Due to its huge area and freshwater volume, it is hard to ignore, which can directly lead
to the rise of the global sea level, slow down the rate of salinity input into the ocean, slow
down this rate of Antarctic bottom water formation and impair the normal circulation of cold,
dense water that normally supplies deep ocean currents with oxygen, eventually may be
regions of the world's oceans that lose oxygen, and then of course most of the life there will
die.

Article 15

This article tells the biological effects of Antarctic icebergs shows that they provide
fertilizer for the Southern Ocean and promote the growth of algae, which absorb carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and then transfer it to the deep ocean through the marine food
chain. Global climate change is causing the Antarctic ice shelf to shrink and split, releasin g
thousands of free-floating icebergs in the ocean. These icebergs carry iron-rich sediments
from land to the ocean. As these icebergs melt and drift across the ocean, some of the iron
dissolves in the sea, forming a 19km long iron-rich meltwater track. The iron in this water
helps the growth of microalgae. The researchers concluded that icebergs play an important
role in controlling how much carbon algae absorb from the atmosphere and eventually
transport it to the deep ocean.

In the nutshell, based on all the above evidence, the null hypothesis that states “The
drifting of icebergs will not affect the marine biodiversity” is rejected. Icebergs drifting will
effect the marine biodiversity.
4.0 Reference

Andrew Freedman (December 22, 2020). Massive icebergs slowly swerve,

threatening penguin habitat on South Georgia Island. The Washington
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