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12 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, supplementary information https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep27234.-- It is a contribution to the Coastal Ecology Monitoring programme of Instituto Antártico Argentino/Dirección Nacional del Antártico in Carlini Station and the research program PACES II (topic 1, workpackage 5) of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Strandings of marine animals are relatively common in marine systems. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We observed mass strandings of krill in Antarctica that appeared to be linked to the presence of glacial meltwater. Climate-induced glacial meltwater leads to an increased occurrence of suspended particles in the sea, which is known to affect the physiology of aquatic organisms. Here, we study the effect of suspended inorganic particles on krill in relation to krill mortality events observed in Potter Cove, Antarctica, between 2003 and 2012. The experimental results showed that large quantities of lithogenic particles affected krill feeding, absorption capacity and performance after only 24 h of exposure. Negative effects were related to both the threshold concentrations and the size of the suspended particles. Analysis of the stomach contents of stranded krill showed large quantities of large particles ( > 106 μm3), which were most likely mobilized by glacial meltwater. Ongoing climate-induced glacial melting may impact the coastal ecosystems of Antarctica that rely on krill, This project benefited from the financial support of PICT-Raíces 2011–1320 to IS, the Total Foundation (ECLIPSE Project). It has been additionally supported by the European Commision under the 7th Framework Programme through the Action – IMCONet (FP7 IRSES, action no. 319718)