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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesScientists found a thriving deep-sea community of corals, sponges, fish and other animals beneath the Antarctic ice shelf after iceberg A-84 broke away. The discovery shows that complex marine life can flourish in a dark habitat cut off from the usual supply of food sinking from surface waters, although exactly how the community gets its nutrients remains unknown.
What did scientists find beneath the iceberg?
Researchers saw large corals and sponges supporting a community that included icefish, giant sea spiders and octopus. The animals were observed on the seabed at depths of up to 1,300 metres.
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The corals and sponges are important parts of the habitat, not just striking individual finds: their structures provide places for other animals to live. Some of the sponges were large enough to suggest that the community may have persisted for decades or even hundreds of years. That is an estimate based on growth rates, however, not a direct measurement of the animals’ ages.
What is iceberg A-84, and where did it come from?
A-84 broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf in the Bellingshausen Sea on 13 January 2025. The calving exposed about 510 square kilometres of seabed that had been covered by the ice.
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The R/V Falkor (too), operated by Schmidt Ocean Institute, reached the newly exposed seafloor on 25 January. The rapid response gave scientists an unusual chance to survey habitat that had only recently become accessible to a research vessel.
How did researchers investigate the seafloor?
The team used the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian to survey the site for eight days. It collected video and samples while researchers also mapped the seabed and gathered geological and biological material. Autonomous underwater gliders measured physical and chemical conditions associated with glacial meltwater.
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The work formed part of a broader effort to study the poorly mapped Bellingshausen Sea and the boundary between ice and ocean. Together, the vehicles and sampling methods let the team examine both the animals and the environment around them.
How can animals live beneath ice without sunlight?
Many deep-sea habitats depend on organic material that sinks from surface waters. But this ecosystem lay beneath roughly 150 metres of ice for centuries, separating it from that direct supply.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The expedition scientists propose that ocean currents may carry nutrients beneath the ice and help sustain the community. That is a hypothesis, not a confirmed explanation: the precise source and route of the food supporting these animals have not yet been established. The discovery documents a flourishing community, but does not by itself solve how its food web works.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the ecosystem untouched for centuries?
The animals were living beneath ice that had covered the area for centuries, according to Schmidt Ocean Institute. That does not mean researchers measured the age of the whole ecosystem or proved that every organism there had been undisturbed for that entire period.
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The size of some sponges suggests that at least parts of the community may have been present for a long time, but the decades-to-centuries estimate is inferred from growth rates. It should not be treated as a direct age determination.
Did scientists discover new species?
The expedition observed animals and collected specimens for analysis, but the available reports do not establish a formal count of newly identified species. It would be inaccurate to describe this as the discovery of dozens of new species unless later taxonomic work confirms that claim.
“Alien-like” is a description of the ecosystem’s unusual and remote setting, not evidence of extraterrestrial life. What the observations do establish is a diverse community of familiar marine animal groups living in a habitat that is difficult to reach and still poorly understood.
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