The race is on to study untouched Antarctic waters exposed by giant iceberg

In mid-July, one of the largest icebergs ever observed broke off the Larsen C Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. The iceberg, known as A-68, did not come as a surprise, since scientists were tracking the spread of a lengthening fissure in the ice shelf for years before it finally broke off an ice chunk about the size of Delaware. 

Since it broke away, the iceberg has been slowly pushing away from the ice shelf, revealing a section of open ocean previously covered with thick ice at the surface for about 120,000 years. Now, a group of scientists supported by the British Antarctic Survey, or BAS, is en route to survey the newly-exposed ocean waters before new species move in and establish themselves, changing the ecosystem forever.  Read more...