Ecological impact of a large Antarctic iceberg

Abstract

Satellite imagery has been used to document for the first time the potential for large icebergs to substantially alter the dynamics of a marine ecosystem. The B-15 iceberg (∼10,000 km2), which calved off the Ross Ice Shelf in the biologically productive southwestern Ross Sea, Antarctica, restricted the normal drift of pack ice, resulting in heavier spring/summer pack ice cover than previously recorded. Extensive ice cover reduced both the area suitable for phytoplankton growth and the length of the algal growing season. Consequently, primary productivity throughout the region was >40% below normal, which changed both the abundance and behavior of upper trophic level organisms.