Images related to the news release
Antarctic Icebergs: hotspots of ocean life
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copied, reprinted, or used without explicit permission from MBARI or from the photographers. Members of the media needing higher-resolution versions should contact Kim Fulton-Bennett, kfb@mbari.org, 831-775-1835.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Kim Reisenbichler
Iceberg W-86 in the Weddell Sea. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around such floating icebergs.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
Iceberg W-86 in the Weddell Sea. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around such floating icebergs.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
Iceberg W-86 in the Weddell Sea. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around such floating icebergs
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
Iceberg W-86 in the Weddell Sea. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around such floating icebergs.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Henry Ruhl
Iceberg W-86 in the Weddell Sea. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around such floating icebergs.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
Researcher Ken Smith (at right) led an expedition to study Antarctic icebergs using a multidisciplinary approach that included examining life beneath the icebergs using this small remotely operated vehicle.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Bob Wilson
This team of marine biologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute used a small remotely operated vehicle to examine undersea life in the vicinity of two icebergs in the Weddell Sea. From right to left, the members of the ROV team were Kim Reisenbichler, Bruce Robison, Karen Osborn, and Rob Sherlock.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
Researchers on Ken Smith's iceberg research cruise examine the tether for the remotely operated vehicle that was used to study animals living underneath Antarctic icebergs.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
This very large iceberg in the Weddell Sea (designated A-52) was about 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide and 21 kilometers (13 miles) long. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around both large icebergs such as this one and around a smaller iceberg that was only a few kilomters across.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
This very large iceberg in the Weddell Sea (designated A-52) was about 5km wide and 21 km long. Researchers found zones of abundant marine life around both large icebergs such as this one and around a smaller iceberg that was only a few kilomters across.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Rob Sherlock
Ken Smith's team observed that several types of open-ocean birds, including these Cape Petrels, were more abundant around drifting icebergs than in the open waters of the Weddell Sea. The waterfall behind the birds is meltwater from the iceberg, which appears to act as a fertilizer to the waters surrounding the ice.
Image credit: (c) 2005 Kim Reisenbichler
In addition to harboring penguins such as these, drifting icebergs also attract open-ocean seabirds that feed on smaller animals congregating around the giant slabs of ice in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica.