Antarctic Ecosystem Research following Ice Shelf Collapse and Iceberg Calving Events

The calving of A-68, the 5,800 km2 iceberg that separated from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in July 2017, presents a unique and time-sensitive research opportunity. This event and other ice-shelf losses (e.g., from Larsen A and B, Wilkins, Wordie) are harbingers of warming effects along the Antarctic Peninsula in particular, and ultimately around all of Antarctica. The scientific momentum and public interest created by this most recent event led to an NSF funded workshop in November 2017. A consortium of US and international researchers with a diversity of expertise in Antarctic glaciological, geological, biological, and ecological sciences shared and reviewed the latest research, identified important research priorities and knowlegde gaps, and outlined strategic plans for the research community to advance understanding of the continent-wide changes that Antarctic ice shelves and surrounding ecosystems will experience in response to warming. The workshop has leveraged an opportunity to synergize efforts in investigating Antarctic ecosystems under the direct and indirect effects of ice-shelf collapse, and climatic warming in general. Here we present a review on the known and unknown ecosystem processes that will occur in the wake of massive, abrupt ice-shelf break-off and how they will affect ice-associated, pelagic, hard-bottom and soft-sediment substrates. We also present a view on future research approaches to address gaps in our knowledge and advance our understanding of the widespread effects of ice-shelf break-off and collapse.