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Never Before Seen Ecosystem is Revealed After Giant Iceberg Broke Off the Antarctic Peninsula
And the international team of researchers investigating the 209-square-mile swath of seabed were shocked by what they saw.
As much as modern humans have explored our planet, many pockets remain challenging to investigate, such as deep in the jungles of South America or the depths of the global ocean. Thankfully, technological advancements, such as sonar, LiDAR, ground penetrating radar, and remotely operated underwater vehicles, make exploring these environments much easier.
Still, in addition to technology, sometimes luck is required to study Earth’s more mysterious locations, like beneath ice sheets. Such was the case for a team of international researchers who happened to be in the right place at the right time when an iceberg the size of Chicago broke away from an ice shelf, revealing 209 square miles (510 square kilometers) of seafloor that modern humans have never seen before.
Right Place, Right Time
In January 2025, scientists from Chilé, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States were sailing to Antarctica on the Falkor (too), a research vessel belonging to the Schmidt…
