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Antarctic icebergs -- Hotspots of ocean life

06-21-2007 · EurekAlert!

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 large as 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.

Keywords: antarctic, icebergs, hotspots, ocean, life, iceberg, hotspot

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