Science - More Antarctic Icebergs Means Greater Scouring Of Seabed, Home To 80% Of Area Biomass

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Shrinking sea ice is significantly increasing the rate at which icebergs scour the Antarctic seabed, taking away large swathes of marine organisms in the process, say British researchers.

The study published in the latest issue of Science, says about 80% of Antarctic marine life is found on the seabed, and iceberg scours crush animals and plants living up to 500 metres below the surface.

Lead by Dan Smale of the British Antarctic Survey, the researchers say that, the current increased rate of iceberg scouring could change the distribution of key species and affect the type and number of creatures living in Antarctic waters.

The number of ice scours is expected to increase in the short-term as global warming continues to reduce the size and duration of winter sea ice, researchers say. "Conversely, on longer time scales (centuries) we envisage a drastic reduction of ice disturbance, as glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula retreat past their grounding lines and the amount of free floating sea ice (which scours the very shallows) decreases," the researchers conclude.

EDIT

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/07/18/2307345.htm?site=science&topic=latest