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As Ice Melts in the Arctic, Some Deep-Sea Creatures Are Thriving
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- In 2021, scientists aboard the Polarstern research vessel discovered an unusual iceberg covered in dark rocks while sailing through the Fram Strait, an Arctic passage between Greenland and Svalbard.
- The researchers identified these rocks as "dropstones," which are debris trapped inside glacial ice that fall to the seafloor as icebergs melt.
- A new study published in Nature confirms that warming oceans have significantly increased the number of icebergs calving into the Fram Strait since the early 2000s.
- Analysis of 40 years of iceberg sighting data showed a sharp rise in icebergs starting around 2000, linked to increased glacier calving in northeast Greenland and the Russian Arctic.
- The dropstones left behind by these icebergs provide valuable insights into how global warming is altering ocean floor biodiversity.
