An international team aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor in Southern Ocean's Bellingshausen Sea adapted their research plans to explore an area that had been covered by ice until recently.
On January 13 2025, an iceberg roughly the size of Hyderabad city, designated A-84, detached from a vast floating glacier (George VI Ice Shelf) connected to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet.
The team arrived at the newly revealed seafloor on January 25 and became the first to examine a region that had previously been inaccessible to humans.
This rare opportunity allowed scientists to conduct the first detailed, interdisciplinary investigation into the geology, physical oceanography and biology of this newly exposed region.
Using the remotely operated vehicle ROV SuBastian, the team explored depths of up to 1,300 meters, discovering thriving ecosystems dominated by large corals and sponges that supported a diverse array of marine life, including icefish, giant sea spiders and octopuses.
These communities, which appear to have existed for decades or even centuries, challenge conventional understanding of how life persists in extreme environments, particularly in areas cut off from surface nutrients for hundreds of years.
Beyond its biological discoveries, the expedition provided critical insights into the behavior of the Antarctic ice sheet, which has been shrinking due to climate change.
By analysing the newly exposed seafloor, scientists gathered data to better understand the ice sheet's historical dynamics and its contribution to global sea level rise. This information is vital for improving projections of future ice loss and informing policies to address climate change.
The expedition was part of the Challenger 150 initiative, a global collaborative effort endorsed by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, highlighting the importance of international cooperation in deep-sea research.