Marine Life Trapped In Ice For Half A Century

Different creatures such as filterers, sea cucumbers, sea stars, mollusks, five fish species and two squid species were discovered by German researchers along the Antarctic seafloor. The discovery was made after a massive iceberg calved from the continent's ice sheet. Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and other international partners studied the iceberg, dubbed A-74:

"Once-in-a-lifetime" photographs captured by the crew revealed an "amazing level of biodiversity and sediment samples taken from the seafloor are "expected to provide more detailed insights into the ecosystem."

In addition, geochemical analysis of the water samples collected will allow conclusions to be made regarding its nutrient content and ocean currents.

Video footage and an extensive collection of photos taken using the OFOBS (Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System) exposed life deep below the surface and numerous organisms surrounded by a silty landscape.